The Q80T is an impressive TV with vibrant HDR pictures, rich colors and surprisingly deep blacks. It is great for both daytime viewing and enjoyable movie nights.
Key features
- HDR10 + support
- object oriented sound
- smart platform Tizen
- Game function Motion Plus
The Samsung Q80T is a 2020 Local Dimming Full Array QLED 4K UHD TV that offers high-quality picture and sound, advanced connectivity, great design and powerful gaming experience.
Situated in the hierarchy between Q70T and Q90T, for many this model can become the “golden mean” in the Samsung QLED line with an optimal price-quality ratio.
The Q80T is not a direct replacement for last year’s Q80R and is closer to the Q70R in terms of its characteristics . The TV is offered in 5 diagonal sizes to suit the needs of most buyers:
Design and connections
The beauty of the bezel-less screen outweighs the bulkiness of the case
The presence of full array backlighting requires space, which explains the rather impressive 5.5 cm depth of the case for a premium model. However, this does not underestimate the design merits.
The panel is surrounded by a thin silver metal bezel, making it virtually bezel-less. The solid yet sleek stand does not require a large installation surface. Free space under the screen allows you to place the soundbar in front of the TV without disturbing viewing.
Connections are provided by 4 HDMI connectors, one of which supports eARC technology, 2 USB connectors, digital audio output, and satellite and antenna inputs.
The Q60T also offers other HDMI 2.1-related features such as the ability to receive 4K / 120Hz signals, a variable refresh rate as FreeSync (except for the 124cm diagonal) and automatic switch to game mode (ALLM) when launching a game from a compatible console. This makes this model an excellent choice for those planning to purchase the next generation PlayStation or Xbox.
The delivery set includes two control panels, one standard and the other with a pointer function.
Smart features
Variety and ease of external connections are at the forefront
The Samsung Q80T uses the latest version of the Tizen platform, which offers a two-tiered interface with a main feed of features and apps and pop-up suggestions with recommended content. Its size has become smaller and now accommodates more icons.
In addition to the Ambient Mode, which existed in previous models and allows the TV to show screensavers in the form of textures and images, and useful information, the Multi View function has been added. With its help, you can split the screen and broadcast on one half of the screen of a mobile device next to the image of the TV itself. It can be useful, for example, for gamers who can watch a video with tutorials on how to play it simultaneously with the game.
Image quality
Q80T is a pizza with a rich filling
Samsung’s Quantum 4K video processor is arguably the most advanced in its class on the market today. It offers a range of innovative solutions that enhance image quality and convert low-definition video to near 4K. It continuously analyzes and adjusts color, clarity, contrast and other parameters.
One interesting example of a scientific approach in his work is the reconstruction of textures. The processor examines the image in detail and, using correlation, complements the missing touches in flora, fauna, and landscape. It is able to recognize which elements are an integral and correct part of the image, and which are noise and distortion, comparing each frame with a texture database, and then adjusting the scene as a result of this analysis. As a result, your films on old DVDs and Blu-ray discs take on an updated and improved look.
Preset screen modes – Dynamic, Standard, Normal, Cinema – accentuate the high brightness of the QLED panel. Aggressive Dynamic Mode settings oversaturate the image a little, while Standard and Normal modes provide a sweet spot. The latter offers higher contrast at the expense of shadow detail, but emphasizes better highlights in HDR footage.
The Q80T has fewer dimming zones (the same number as last year’s Q70R ) than Samsung’s flagship models, but its screen provides good uniformity.
The most serious remark that we found in the work of the backlight concerns the following. When watching widescreen movies, we have noticed that sometimes the halos from bright objects spill over to the edges of the black bars limiting the image. But the effect appears temporarily and does not particularly distract from viewing.
Samsung has always focused on the high brightness of QLED TVs, although it must be understood that statements of this kind by manufacturers are, in part, a marketing ploy. But the Q80T did live up to expectations, with HDR peak brightness just below 900 nits.
By the way, this model supports HDR10, HDR10 + and HLG from high dynamic range standards. Unfortunately, Samsung is still in opposition to Dolby Vision.
On the other hand, the Q80T showed remarkable gaming abilities, in particular, it showed a surprisingly short input signal latency. In addition, the TV offers more than just a game mode, but in addition to it the Motion Plus function, which improves the quality of transmission of dynamic scenes, as well as surround sound.
With additional options enabled, the Q80T demonstrates an input latency of only 19.7ms. Just turn off Motion Plus and it drops to the best-in-class 8.7ms.
Sound quality
Object-based audio is a step up from standard down-firing speakers
Samsung refers to the Q80T’s audio system configuration as 2.2.2, indicating its Object Oriented Feature (OTS).
This sound is possible thanks to the large number of speakers (six) located on the bottom and top of the panel. More expensive Samsung models call this system OTS + and also include side speakers. New sound technology works surprisingly well for making movies and live shows more realistic. There is a pleasant feeling that the voices come from the characters themselves, even when they are in motion. The sound stage in such a system becomes wider, and the sound is tied to the action.
The total speaker power of the Q80T is 60W, i.e. this is sufficient for a relatively large room. The TV is also capable of transmitting Dolby Atmos to an external audio system if you wish to set up a home theater.
In addition to OTS, the Q80T offers an intelligent sound mode that optimizes sound settings based on the environment and the program you are watching. The result, in our opinion, turned out to be ambiguous. While playing the voices, we caught constant background noise. However, when listening
music, the sound quality turned out to be high, which surprised us a little.
Another new addition to the TV is the Q-Symphony feature, which combines the operation of a compatible Samsung soundbar (such as the HW-Q80T) with the TV’s audio system to create an immersive surround sound experience.
Should you buy the Samsung Q80T TV?
So, the Samsung Q80T is an impressive TV offering vivid HDR images, rich colors and unexpectedly deep black levels. It provides both comfortable viewing in daylight conditions and high-quality nighttime movie shows.
Conclusion
Particularly discerning moviegoers may complain that the TV does not support Dolby Vision, and the HDR10 + format is inferior in quality to its counterpart. However, on the side of the Q80T is the ability to beautifully convert HD video to 4K, as well as wide functionality.
Samsung Q80T is also great for use as a gaming monitor. Even with a number of additional features included, it outperforms most of its competitors in performance. In simple games, this difference, of course, does not play a special role, but esports fans will be pleasantly impressed with the capabilities of the Q80T.