Best 8K TV: The best ultra-high definition TVs

Samsung continues to be 8K’s biggest fan and in the QN900C it has produced another spectacular TV. At £6799 / $6299 at the time of review, it remains an expensive just like its QN900B predecessor. This even more especially felt as there is still a dearth of native 8K content to enjoy on an 8K TV.

So the main selling point about the QN900C is that it’ll make 4K and lesser quality video content better through upscaling, and on this TV, pictures enjoy more density, smoother edges, and a better sense of three dimensionality. Given how much information the TV is having to make up to upscale to 8K resolution, our reviewer found it to be a stunningly impressive performance.

And it’s no slouch with HDR content either. We measured peak brightness at over 2000 nits, delivering richer and more vibrant images than the QN95C 4K TV can muster. It also produces images that are sharper and denser than its 4K counterpart, able to produce a higher level of brightness with black levels that approach the depth and consistency of OLED. We found there were still some backlight issues especially with bright objects set against dark backgrounds, but overall the QN900C does its best to minimise blooming.

Gaming on this screen is excellent, especially for those who want a premium performance from the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We observed gaming latency to be 10.5ms, which is fast in light of the 8K resolution you’re playing at. There’s VRR technology in HDMI VRR and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro to help PC gamers, while all four of its HDMI inputs support 4K 120Hz gaming.

The lack of Dolby Vision whether for films or gaming is disappointing, but we don’t imagine Samsung will be changing its tack anytime soon, and our reviewer did find that with HDR10 content, the Samsung’s tone mapping was good enough to negate the need for Dolby Vision.

The sound system is better than the usual flatscreen TV: clean, clear and well balanced with effects and dialogue matching their placement on screen. A bit more bass would have been nice, and the soundstage isn’t enough to meet the demands of a high quality Hollywood film, but we did enjoy listening to this Dolby Atmos compatible system.

Reviewer: John Archer
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN900C

The QN800C is the step down the flagship QN900C in Samsung’s 2023 8K line-up, that offers a similar proposition in terms of picture and sound, but at the less expensive price of £3799 / $4499.

Brightness isn’t as high as its QN900C stablemate, but in our measurements it managed to hit above 1000 nits. What’s impressive about this LCD TV is the strength of its black levels. Blooming is minimal, with blacks strong and full of depth. With its high peak output, the QN800C can offer some excellent contrast.

We do have some quibbles with its picture performance. The Movie mode is arguably too bright, with clipping (loss of detail in the brightest parts), visible in the films we test with. Skin tones can look too orange at times, and there’s also the issue with aggressive dimming of small bright objects that takes away the impact of the black levels and brightness that the QN800C can achieve. It is a little softer in terms of than we recall on previous 8K sets.

Nevertheless, 4K content can look excellent on this TV, with a wide range of colours, and impressive levels of detail and clarity available. Upscaling is very strong given the QN800C is having to guess at what information is there, with HD content looking sharp and detailed, while lower quality SD content looks decent, though we wouldn’t advise watching too much content at that resolution on your brand new 8K TV.

In terms of gaming little has changed compared to previous models. Four of its HDMI inputs can to handle 4K/120Hz, ALLM and HDMI VRR for game consoles, as there is AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for PC gamers. PC gamers also get the Ultra Wide GameView that elongates the image to 21:9 or 32:9 ratios, with cloud gaming supported in Xbox Game Pass is supported. We measured input lag at fast 9.8ms, which is quick for an 8K screen.

The Samsung Tizen interface feels quicker and more responsive than it does on the 4K models, though it still suffers from the way it is organised. We feel it could be neater and tidier, rather than the disparate way it functions at the moment.

We don’t expect much from a TV’s speakers, but the QE75QN900C puts in a good shift with audio. The soundstage is big and spacious, there’s good levels of detail and sharpness, and it handles dialogue clearly too. Dolby Atmos sound from the Samsung’s internal apps sounds better than it does from off-board sources, and in general, bass isn’t particularly strong. We also feel the volume could be better. It tends to tap out at around level 60 or so.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: Samsung QE75QN800C

If you love the picture quality delivered from an OLED and have deep pockets, then the OLED77Z2 should be on your wishlist.

It does accrue a high starting price of $9999 / £11,999 that doesn’t make it the best value TV, especially with the QN900C and Sony’s 85-inch Z9K both being less expensive. Nonetheless, you get the typical high quality construction from LG with the Z2 exuding a minimalist vibe and minimalist bezel that ensures the screen is the main focus.

And at this size it is an epic viewing experience, the scale of the content we watched on the OLED amped up by its 77-inch size. Picture quality, however, didn’t feel a big step from LG’s 4K OLEDs; brightness is around the same performance as the LG C2 OLED while sharpness and detail levels appeared better with the 65-inch G2 model.

The Z2’s performance with Dolby Vision content is rich and quite beautiful at times, while its motion processing has improved to be more natural and with few noticeable artefacts and detail levels are high, especially with good quality 4K content, but it lacks the degree of sharpness and clarity of Samsung’s 8K LCD TVs.

The smart experience is much the same as what you’ll find on the rest of LG’s webOS tellies, with a wide range of apps to enjoy, lots of connectivity options and a new Gaming Shelf that promotes cloud gaming apps such as Nvidia GeForce NOW. A less welcome change is the decision to lock some apps such as YouTube behind sign-up for an LG account.

On the gaming front you’re not short of options with cloud gaming apps, Dolby Vision gaming (with Xbox Series consoles) as well as 4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz, VRR and ALLM supported across all HDMI inputs. We measured input lag at 13.5ms, which is not as fast as the QE75QN900C but with VRR support that will drop down to even lower figures.

The audio performance is better than either the G2 or C2: clearer, sharper and able to conjure up a better stereo image. Bass is more punchy than weight, but this is a decent enough sound system for flatscreen TV. You will want to upgrade to a external sound system can do the scale of the images on screen justice.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full Review: LG OLED77Z2