Samsung QN90D 4K TV review – mini-LED magic for movies and sports
The Samsung QN90D series is among the company’s top 4K mini-LED TVs for 2024. It replaces the Samsung QN90C series, which ranked on our list of best TVs in 2023 as the best model for sports owing to its exceptional brightness, anti-glare screen coating and wide viewing angle. The QN90C series launched in screen sizes ranging from 43- to 85-inches. For 2024, Samsung will expand the lineup with a 98-inch model, one benefiting from the company’s new Supersize Picture Enhancer for ultra-large TVs.
Samsung recently invited me to its New Jersey facility to do a hands-on test of the 65-inch QN90D model. Having reviewed last year’s QN90C, I was eager to see what, if any, improvements had been made to the new series. I had sufficient time during my visit to do a full set of measurements, and also had substantial time for subjective tests. Read on for my thoughts on the QN90D, which improves on last year’s model, and is in many ways a worthy, and much lower-cost, competitor to the new Samsung QN900D 8K mini-LED TV and Samsung S95D OLED TV, both of which were also tested during my visit.
The QN90D series is available in 43-inch to 98-inch screen sizes. Pricing for the lineup is notably higher than for last year’s QN90C series, particularly for the larger 75- and 85-inch screen sizes.
43-inch: $1,499 (around ￡1,190 / AU$2,300)
50-inch: $1,599 (around ￡1,270 / AU$2,450)
55-inch: $1,999 (around ￡1,580 / AU$3,060)
65-inch: $2,699 (around ￡2,140 / AU$4,130)
75-inch: $3,299 (around ￡2,610 / AU$5,050)
85-inch: $4,799 (around ￡3,800 / AU$7,350)
98-inch: $14,999 (around ￡3,640 / AU$22,980)
An updated NQ4 AI Gen2 processor with 20 AI neural networks powers audio and video on the QN90D series. Picture enhancements include Neo Quantum HDR+ and HDR Brightness Enhancer to improve the look of 4K images with HDR, and there’s also an Auto HDR Remastering feature to give a dynamics boost to regular HD sources. Quantum Matrix Technology helps with backlight control for local dimming, and same as with the QN90C there’s an anti-glare screen coating and Ultra Viewing Angle to improve picture uniformity when viewing from off-center seats.
The QN90D has a 4.2.2-channel built-in speaker system powered by 60 watts and provides many of the same audio processing features found on the company’s other premium TVs. These include Object Tracking Sound+, which expands the sound field to heighten the impact of Dolby Atmos effects and Active Voice Amplifier Pro, which boosts both dialogue and sound effects to heighten their clarity in the mix. The QN90C also supports Q Symphony for combining the TV’s speakers with supported Samsung soundbars for even greater audio immersion.
Gaming features on the QN90D series include four HDMI 2.1 inputs with 4K 120Hz support (and up to 144Hz for PC gaming) and FreeSync Premium Pro. There’s also Samsung’s Gaming Hub, which serves as portal for accessing more than 3,000 titles from cloud-based apps such as Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now, Utomik and more. Samsung’s Game Bar menu now also features an AI Auto Mode option that can recognize game genres and adjust picture and sound settings to suit. During my test, I measured input lag in Game mode at 9.7ms – an excellent result that about matches last year’s QN90C.
Brighter and better-looking
With the QN90D set to its Movie picture mode, pictures were seriously bright and had excellent contrast even when viewing with overhead room lights turned on. Peak brightness measured on a white 10% window pattern was around 2,000 nits, and brightness with a full-screen white pattern was just short of 600 nits. Those numbers indicate a modest boost over last year’s QN90C, a TV that in my estimation already had brightness to spare.
The QN90D’s color gamut coverage was about the same as what I measured on the QN90C at 94% for UHDA-P3 and 71% for BT.2020.
I normally wouldn’t expect a small brightness boost to have an impact on a TV’s performance, but I was fully captivated by the QN90D. Watching the demonstration footage section on the Spears & Munsil HDR Benchmark 4K Blu-ray disc with the 2,000 nits version selected, images of snow-capped mountains at sunset showed powerful and detailed highlights, while darker scenes revealed a marked improvement in local dimming over last year’s QN90C, with only the slightest degree of backlight blooming visible on high-contrast shots.
The QN90D’s picture maintained excellent uniformity when viewed from off-center seats (see pic below). There was some judder and motion blur visible when I watched a reference scene from the James Bond movie No Time to Die with the TV at its default Movie Mode settings, but a quick visit to the motion settings in the picture setup menu fixed that issue.
A relative bargain
At $2,699 (around ￡2,140 / AU$4,130) for the 65-inch model Samsung made available for my hands-on test, the QN90D isn’t exactly cheap. But having tested it during the same session where I did hands-on reviews of the much more expensive QN900D 8K mini-LED and S95D OLED models, it comes across as a bargain in the Samsung TV universe. It will take a full review to determine just how good the QN90D ultimately is, but given my relatively brief time with it, I found it to be the TV that left the strongest impression.
