Home Theater | CX Gang

However, while Samsung may not have felt ready yet to open up its core 2018 TV range to wide scrutiny, it has shown off an early version of its 2018 replacement for 2017’s flagship Q9F series to selected media - both at its TV unveiling event on Sunday, and in an invitation-only area of its CES show booth. And I’m happy to report that these early viewings suggest that Samsung has taken on board the criticisms its TVs received in 2017. At least for its most high-end 4K QLED set.

Particularly importantly, the new replacement for the Q9Fs goes back to using a direct lighting system, where the lights sit behind the screen rather than around its edges. Plus, as you would expect of a flagship LCD TV these days, that direct lighting array is driven by a local dimming system.

Why do I think this? Because one of the two samples I’ve seen, one, at least, suffered less with backlight clouding, striping and blooming than any other LCD TV I’ve ever seen. Including Sony’s outstanding Z9D.

Yep, that’s right: Samsung’s chutzpah even extended to running this early version of its Q9F replacement against a 2017 OLED TV. And a Sony Z9D. And even a 2017 Q9F. And it was clear to all of us watching the demonstration in the ‘secret’ part of Samsung’s stand that the new QLED model was delivering both the best contrast and best light uniformity of all the screens on show. Which is genuinely remarkable.

I was seriously impressed, too, by how the exceptionally deep and even black levels the Q9F replacement was capable of reproducing still contained plenty of subtle colour and greyscale details. It’s certainly not the case that the screen is just completely shutting off its backlights in the darkest zones to deliver absolute but hollow blackness.

By Kibner Go To Posti won't believe it until rtings reviews it

By Freewheelin Go To PostSo I'm looking to buy a 4k TV with HDR… there are so many options atm it's hard to choose which one to go for lol. I've also seen reports that some TVs ship with 8bit HDR and that you need 10bit to really get the full experience…plus there's Dolby Vision too. This is confusing lol.

help pls.

By Pennywise Go To PostDepends on your budget, what you need (size, multimedia requirements, OS preferences) and so on.

By Freewheelin Go To PostWell, my size preference is 49" (hurrdurr) and I'm looking for an all in one TV bascially. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XW413VJ/ref=dp_cerb_2 - this one looks really really good and is above my budget, but I'm sure I can stretch it a little further. But I'm looking for any other recs :)

For the past few years pretty much everything Samsung has done in the TV world has been an attempt to move away from using OLED screens for anything bigger than mobile phones and tablets. Especially since OLED televisions started to be championed by its arch rival, LG Electronics.

Now, though, a report from Korea suggests that Samsung is on the verge of turning back to OLED TV technology once more - albeit with a liberal sprinkling of its beloved Quantum Dots thrown in for good measure.

According to an article on the tech-focused etnews website, anonymous industry sources have just confirmed that Samsung is developing a new ‘QD-OLED’ TV display technology that allegedly marries the brightness and color benefits of Quantum Dot technology with the self-emissive lighting, ultra-thin designs, response speed and black level benefits of OLED technology.

ETNews concludes its story with a quote from its unnamed Samsung source stating that ‘Samsung does not recognize the current OLED TV technology used by other brands as true OLED TV technology because it uses color filters and white pixels. We are working to evolve QD-OLED into a new technology that takes advantage of the strengths of Quantum Dot technology and compensates for its drawbacks

By Smokey Go To Post

https://youtu.be/rwYxXrbcJUg

By Dark PhaZe Go To PostMonitor upgrades feel hard to justify when you've got a nice 4k TV. Still haven't managed to get away from my 1080p Gsync yet. Would love to get to 1440p but the prices just seem way too expensive.

In September, Apple introduced its fifth-generation TV peripheral, the Apple TV 4K box, along with 4K HDR content on iTunes. Apple used both HDR10 and Dolby Vision from the beginning. Apple insisted that 4K movies should cost no more than HD movies, so maximum $19.99 each. Apple got all major studios on board. All except that one studio that sits on the fence when the others jump in.

Apple's announcement was a big boost for Dolby Vision, for HDR in general, and even for 4K. Nobody could justifiably claim any longer that 4K was an elite, niche format. And if movies studios were willing to sell 4K titles for under $20, surely that must be good news for Ultra HD Blu-ray as well.

While the number of titles released by 2017 was more than double that of 2016, at the beginning of 2018 we're seeing ominous signs. Sure, studios continue to issue new movies as well as back catalog on UHD BD. But it's beginning to look like they're sabotaging the format in various ways.

For one, Ultra HD Blu-rays are not released 'day and date' with streaming editions but weeks later. In the US, Blade Runner 2049 was released on streaming platforms strategically at Christmas but if you wanted the disc you had to wait three weeks longer, until January 18th. In the UK, the difference was smaller: The streaming release was January 28th, the disc release February 5th. By now, we’re looking at a typical delay of two weeks but the delta can be as big as four weeks in the case of Justice League.

Then, there's inferior video quality. Ultra HD Blu-ray is supposed to be the superior format, with up to 100GB capacity on a single disc, and – moreover – and maximum transfer rate of 128 Mbps, far more than iTunes or Vudu will ever give you, no matter how fast your broadband connection. By now however, there are about 30 Dolby Vision movies on disc, yet well over 200 on iTunes. Sure, this does include movies that were released on disc before Dolby Vision was an option, but it also includes the entire Harry Potter collection, more recently the Christopher Nolan collection and, perhaps most disturbingly, Blade Runner 2049. This movie, shot in 3.4K with CGI effects rendered in the same resolution and finished with 4K Digital Intermediate with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos was released in theatres in the Dolby Cinema format. One would expect such a flagship title to carry over this premium sound and picture quality on disc, but both Warner Bros Home Entertainment – responsible for Potter and Nolan movies and distribution of Blade Runner 2049 in North America – and Sony Pictures, handling distribution in Europe, decided otherwise. Although box art initially seemed to reveal the movie would come with both Dolby formats in Europe, this turned out to be a mistake. The movies come with no better quality level than HDR10 anywhere. On disc, that is – on iTunes you will get Dolby Vision.

By Dark PhaZe Go To PostYea, everything is heading the way of a streaming future these days for film/tv unfortunately. I don't really rewatch content so I haven't picked up a 4k Blu Ray player.

By Smokey Go To PostI mean yeah, it's definitely more convenient, but also potentially MORE EXPENSIVE. Data caps are a thing and at least with Comcast you have to come off of $35 a month extra for no cap, and 4k content rips it up. Not even including downloading games ,patches, etc. Straight up robbery. That's $420 a year.

By Dark PhaZe Go To Postby 4k content do you mean "4k" Netflix or something else

By Kibner Go To PostNetflix, Amazon Video, Youtube, I know he also has a Digital Foundry subscription and I think they do 4k content, too.

By Kibner Go To PostNetflix, Amazon Video, Youtube, I know he also has a Digital Foundry subscription and I think they do 4k content, too.

Yes, Virginia, there is a limit to what Verizon will let you do with FiOS' "unlimited" data plan. And a California man discovered that limit when he got a phone call from a Verizon representative wanting to know what, exactly, he was doing to create more than 50 terabytes of traffic on average per month—hitting a peak of 77TB in March alone.

By reilo Go To PostIs the 65C8 to get based on what I was looking at a few months ago, Smokey?

LG has set $3,000 as the baseline price if you want one of the company’s latest, most advanced OLED TVs. That’s for the 55-inch model of the C8 series, which includes LG’s new a9 processor for reduced noise and smoother gradation (less banding).

There will also be a less expensive B8 series in the lineup, but it will lack the new chip and should offer near-identical performance to last year’s sets. Stepping up to the 65-inch C8 will cost $4,000, and the 77-inch version will run $10,000.

So yes, OLED TVs are still very pricey, but as CNET notes, the good news is that once these models go on sale, we should see some of the lowest prices LG has ever offered. Buying a brand-new TV as soon as it hits the market in the spring is almost always a bad idea. During last year’s Black Friday period, you could buy a terrific LG OLED for just $1,600. The B8 could ultimately drop even lower than that, though you’ll still have to pay a bit of a premium to get the a9 chip and the superior processing that LG has been talking up. As for the flagship “wallpaper” TV, that will run $15,000 at 77 inches.

By Mariosalic Go To Posti have my eye on the Q9 75", need to see it in person to judge if it's a decent enough upgrade over an 2016 OLED LG

The Sony X900F is a great 4k TV with impressive picture quality, especially in a dark room due to the high native contrast ratio and full array local dimming support. The TV excels at HDR as it can produce bright, vivid highlights. Motion handling is also excellent due to the fast response time and ability to flicker the backlight to clear up motion. The only main negative is the narrow viewing angle, so the best image quality is reserved for those directly in front of the TV.

"The A9 processor is the equivalent of the X1 processor from Sony. Both significantly reduce banding/posterization. The X1 Extreme still handles low quality content better than the A9…. but not by much. I personally don’t see the point of any Sony OLED at this point compared to the C8 unless one prefers the superior Sony build quality, aesthetics or Sony label for the higher price point."

It has been 14 years since OPPO Digital was established in the United States, and with the support of customers, technical partners, and movie/music studios, OPPO produced many award-winning Hi-Fi audio products and universal disc players, spanning three generations from DVD, Blu-ray, to 4K UHD.
As OPPO’s latest 4K UHD players reach the pinnacle of their performance, it is time to say goodbye. OPPO are proud to have made such well-regarded products and to have served the enthusiast community. Without its customers' suggestions, encouragement, and support, OPPO could not have accomplished these achievements.

Though OPPO Digital will gradually stop manufacturing new products, existing products will continue to be supported, warranties will still be valid, and both in-warranty and out-of-warranty repair services will continue to be available. Firmware will continue to be maintained and updates released from time to time. Customers can rest assured that they will continue to receive the high quality service and support that they have come to expect from OPPO Digital.

OPPO Digital UK will continue to trade while stocks last. However it expects to close its doors in the Summer. Technical support, warranty claims, servicing and spares will in future be handled by a third party, with details to follow. All commitments made by OPPO Digital UK will be met.

Nigel Rich, Managing Director of OPPO Digital UK had this to say: “We can be very proud of our achievements over the past few years. Along with market leading products, we have provided first rate customer service and support from our offices here in Norwich. I am very proud of our staff and very sad that we will now be closing our doors for good. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our European distributors, retailers and, of course most importantly, the people that have purchased OPPO products in Europe. We will continue to support products in and out of warranty and we have made provisions to continue this high level of service.”

Samsung QN65Q9FN Review: QLED Strikes Back - With A Vengeance

Cue the 2018 Q9FN: as sure a sign as we could have hoped for that Samsung hasn’t taken 2017’s problems lightly.

Here we have a TV range that combines direct backlighting with arguably the most comprehensive and impressively controlled local dimming engine the TV world has seen - and which is being sold at prices way cheaper than those of last year’s equivalent models.

In fact, crucially, the Q9FN prices are on a par with LG’s new C8 OLED TVs in the US (both the 65Q9FN and OLED65C8 will cost $3,800), and actually undercut the C8 OLED in the UK by a good few hundred pounds.

These price and backlight improvements are delivered, moreover, without compromising the class-leading, HDR-friendly brightness Samsung has been pushing so hard for over the last few TV generations. The Q9FN claims to deliver a wider effective viewing angle than last year’s QLED models too, as well as introducing a variety of new smart features and delivering an improved version of the remarkable reflection-removing screen filter that was such a key feature of 2017’s Samsung QLED models….

…One other big set up improvement for 2018 is that now, thankfully, the QN65Q9FN can automatically switch its HDMI ports into their necessary UHD Color mode when an HDR source is detected. You no longer have to remember to do this manually for each input with an HDR source attached….

…Fascinating though all this new smart stuff might be, the one thing the QN65Q9FN absolutely, definitely, unquestionably HAS to get right is its picture quality. And I’m very happy indeed to report that it does. With knobs on….

…The UN65Q9FN’s move to direct LED lighting with seemingly hundreds of zones of local dimming delivers a transformational improvement over last year’s Q9F where contrast and black levels are concerned.

For starters, dark areas of the picture now look spectacularly and convincingly black rather than washed out and grey. Even better, these beautifully deep blacks are no longer spoiled by large areas of backlight clouding. In fact, there’s practically no clouding at all. Seriously. It even proves almost bullet proof with my favorite backlight torture test, Chapter 7 from the Exodus: Gods And Kings 4K Blu-ray.

In fact, the QN65Q9FN’s pictures are less troubled by the backlight banding associated with edge LED lighting or the ‘blooming’ around bright objects associated with direct LED lighting than any previous LCD TV I’ve seen - including Sony’s Z9D (ZD9 in Europe) sets (reviewed here)…

…Also key to the phenomenal absence of backlight clouding in the QN65Q9FN’s portrayal of dark HDR scenes is its flawless portrayal of the black bars above and below wide aspect ratio films. Moving bars and blobs of backlight clouding in these black bars are among the most distracting things LCD TVs can show when handling HDR content. But the black bars remain essentially OLED like in their continual blackness on the QN65Q9FN.

The net result of all this stellar backlight control is a picture that’s fantastically immersive, with minimal opportunity for the TV’s lighting technology to distract you from what you’re watching. Which is, for me, pretty much the holy grail of LCD black level performance….Making this stellar black level performance all the more remarkable is the fact that Samsung’s latest TV can serve up brightness peaks measured (on a 10% white HDR window) of 2413 nits in dynamic mode, or around 1940 nits in Standard mode. These are huge numbers for today’s TV world, and set alongside the outstanding backlight management they result in the most emphatic, gorgeous and immersive HDR experience the TV world has seen to date.

Although not all of its game-related features are up and running yet, the QN65Q9FN is the most serious gaming TV ever released.

For starters, the time the screen takes to deliver its images is outstanding. Using the standard Game mode I measured input lag at only around 15ms on average - a superb result. In fact, I recorded some measurements below 10ms, though others sneaked up to beyond 20ms.

Samsung has also thoughtfully included a new Game Motion Plus option, which enables you to benefit from some of Samsung’s motion processing for a more fluid gaming experience at the cost of a small increase in input lag.

With this setting on, input lag rises to 34ms on average; still a decent result for such a fluid looking image. Hopefully other brands will start to offer similar options for retaining at least a little image processing when gaming without totally destroying input lag.

Don’t bother with the LED Motion gaming option, though, as the black frame insertion system this introduces causes unbearable amounts of flickering.

Samsung has also introduced a new Auto Game Mode feature. Choosing this delivers two key benefits: automatic switching into its Game picture mode when the TV detects that you’re playing a game, and a variable refresh rate feature which Samsung has now confirmed is the same as the ‘Freesync’ feature Microsoft recently announced is coming to the Xbox One X.

The Game Mode switching can even spot when you’re gaming on a console and when you’re using the console to watch a video source, automatically turning the Game picture settings on and off accordingly. This didn’t work very consistently with my review sample, but Samsung assures me it should work fine.

The variable refresh rate feature depends on enhanced communication with the games consoles - something Microsoft has promised to bring to its latest Xbox models, as reported here. Once this feature has been rolled out, the QN65Q9FN will be able to continually adjust its frame rate to match the potentially fluctuating frame rates being output by a game. This will both prevent the common phenomenon of screen tearing and, according to Samsung, reduce input lag to as little as 6.8ms.

By Dark PhaZe Go To PostAll that TV needs is HDMI 2.1

QLED da GAWD

…pricing?

In fact, crucially, the Q9FN prices are on a par with LG’s new C8 OLED TVs in the US (both the 65Q9FN and OLED65C8 will cost $3,800), and actually undercut the C8 OLED in the UK by a good few hundred pounds.