What's the ultimate productivity monitor form factor? 32-inch 4K? Nice, but arguably a little constraining when it comes to running lots of app windows side by side. 34-inch ultrawide, then? Maybe, but the pixel density isn't great. The same goes for one of those 49-inch 32:9 aspect beasts. No, what you want is the new Philips 40B1U6903CH, all 40 inches and five thousand pixels of it.
That's five thousand pixels in just the horizontal, of course. This is a 5K2K panel, so that's 5,120 by 2,160 pixels for a grand total of 11 million pixels overall. Phew. To put that into context, this is really a 32-inch 4K monitor with some extra width. The pixel density is exactly the same, but the panel aspect is extended here from 16:9 to 21:9.
The immediate upshot is that where a 16:9 32-incher is most comfortable with two app windows side by side, you can make the jump to three with this Philips while maintaining the same crispy fonts and image detail.
Having tested many of the best 5K and 8K monitors and best business monitors, we can safely say this is a pretty large display. So ergonomics do come into the, well, picture in a manner that arguably doesn't quite apply to a conventional 32-inch 4K monitor.
More on that in a moment. Size and resolution aside, this very much a productivity panel. So there's no high refresh or true HDR sizzle, but there is lots of connectivity. Time to find out more.
Philips 40B1U6903CH: Design & features
(Image credit: Philips )
Sober-suited but well-built
Connectivity includes Thunderbolt 4 and KVM switch
It's big and needs plenty of desk space
Specs
Panel size: 40-inch
Panel type: IPS
Resolution: 5,120 x 2,160
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast: 1,000:1
Pixel response: 4ms
Refresh rate: 75Hz
Colour coverage: 134% sRGB
HDR: HDR
Vesa: 100mm x 100mm
Inputs: DisplayPort 1.4 x1, HDMI 2.0 x1, Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with 90W power delivery x1
Other: KVM switch, Thunderbolt 4 out, 5MP webcam with Windows Hello
The Philips 40B1U6903CH is an out-and-out productivity panel. And that's just fine by us. It's very much all business when it comes to the design and aesthetic. But it's well built and about as ergonomic as a display this big can be.
That includes a headphone hook on the left of the panel and an integrated pop-up 5MP webcam up top. The latter supports Windows Hello facial recognition, which is a nice touch. Then there's the Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C interface which supports 40Gbps, plus up to 90W of power delivery for single-cable connectivity to a laptop.
There's a second Thunderbolt 4 port, too, which enables multi-monitor daisy-chaining. All that combined with the built-in KVM switch - so no need to worry about best KVM Switches deals - will really help with minimising cable clutter. At 40 inches, of course, this is still a beast of a monitor for which you'll require plenty of desk space. For some, the sheer size will simply be too much. But all those features will help you integrate the Philips 40B1U6903CH neatly into your workspace.
The panel also has a gentle 2500R curve, which is generally desirable on an ultrawide monitor this big. It means that you're not viewing the extremities of the panel at too oblique an angle. The only arguable ergonomic snafu is that the audio-out port is located on the side of the panel. That's fine for headphones, but less optimal for long-term usage connected to some desktop speakers.
Philips 40B1U6903CH: Performance
(Image credit: Philips )
Huge size with sharp pixel density
Nice IPS panel but not high fidelity
Limited HDR capability
For pure image quality, this is a fairly middling IPS monitor. While the panel will process an HDR10 signal, there's no true HDR support or local dimming and the brightness tops out at 300 nits. Similarly, the refresh rate tops out at 75Hz and the response is rated at 4ms.
Philips doesn't quote DCI-P3 colour coverage, so it likely isn't anything special. This isn't a monitor pitched at professional content creation like video or image editing. The lack of true HDR support won't matter for most all-round computing tasks, but the mere 300 nits brightness could be more of an issue. It's plenty for most working environments. But if you like a really bright and punchy panel and especially if you use your PC in a location with lots of ambient light, 300 nits could be marginal. Were this a gaming monitor, those shortcomings would be more of an issue. As it is, they're something to be aware of regarding your needs and workflows.
The main benefit here, then, is all those pixels from the 40-inch, 5,120 by 2,160 resolution panel. If what you've been waiting for is a large format ultrawide monitor that doesn't compromise on pixel density, well, this is it. Fonts are just as crisp and sharp as a 32-inch 4K panel and there's just oodles of both working space and image detail.
(Image credit: Philips )
These days, Windows does a much better job of handling a panel like this in terms of the DPI settings. For most users, setting the scaling to 125% is probably a nice compromise between working space and legibility. Texts and icons are a bit teensy weensy when the scaling is set to 100%.
Moreover, this is a fantastic display for getting stuff done. The combination of huge working space with the sharpness and precision of the 5K2K resolution is a bit of a revelation. A "regular" 32-inch 4K monitor feels very limiting by comparison.
This monitor can work well with Macs, too. The catch involves the way MacOS does scaling. Without getting into the weeds over the details, to get the best results, you'll need a Mac with one of the M Pro, Max or Ultra chips. The base M chips can drive this monitor at full native. However, they have more limited support for scaling options while maintaining high-DPI Retina functionality. In really simple terms, this display is one of the best monitors for MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro, but less so with the MacBook Air and Mac mini.
Philips 40B1U6903CH: Final verdict
(Image credit: Philips )
No question, the Philips 40B1U6903CH comes with a few caveats. There's no high refresh, almost no HDR support, not a huge amount of pure backlight power. The IPS panel isn't terribly high fidelity, either, so serious content creation pros will need to look elsewhere. The ergonomics won't suit everyone, either, this is a very large display, and the high resolution is a little problematic with low-end Apple Mac computers.
But if what you want is image precision, in terms of high pixel density, on a much larger scale, this monitor is a revelation. Even a 32-inch 4K monitor feels limited and constraining by comparison.
You also get a really strong feature set with excellent connectivity that includes Thunderbolt 4 and a KVM switch. The integrated webcam with Windows Hello facial recognition is welcome, too. All of which means that for a certain kind of all-purpose precision productivity computing on a really epic scale, this monitor is about as appealing as it gets.
All of which means that the main sticking point will be pricing. You can get a very nice 4K 32-inch productivity panel for less than one third the cost of this monitor. So, it's a huge premium for the ultrawide experience. But then in terms of size and pixel density, this is ultimately an extremely high-end option. And that's always going to cost.
Pair the Philips 40B1U6903CH monitor with the best business computers - tested, reviewed, and rated by us
Laptops come in nearly all shapes and sizes. However, there is an upper realistic limit to screen size. Which is where the best portable monitors fit in.
The new Asus Zenscreen MB249C is an example on the larger side of portable screens. At 24 inches, it's much bigger than any laptop display. But, in theory at least, this portable monitor gives you the option of something bigger on the move. Obviously at 24 inches and 2.8kg, this isn't something you're going to slip into your shoulder bag. But with its integrated kickstand, speakers and USB-C with 60W of power delivery, you could leave your laptop charger behind and pack this screen instead.
The idea isn't so much pulling this screen out at a coffee shop or the airport. Moreover, it gives you a reasonably portable way of achieving a more ergonomic desktop monitor experience at multiple locations.
The Asus Zenscreen MB249C also comes with a C-clamp stand that provides a more permanent desk setup but also sports a quick-release mechanism, plus a frame kit that allows the screen to be hung from the top of office partitions. A little niche, perhaps, but this monitor certainly gives you lots of install options.
If there is a catch it's that it's limited to 1080p resolution and 75Hz refresh. Given the panel size, that's perhaps not a huge surprise. But a higher resolution would have been an interesting way of achieving a premium computing experience on the move. As it is, the pixel density is very low, albeit the panel sports IPS technology, which bodes well for other aspects of image quality.
Asus Zenscreen MB249C: Design & features
(Image credit: Asus)
Lots of installation options
Slim bezels
Not actually all that portable
Specs
Panel size: 24-inch
Panel type: IPS
Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080
Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Contrast: 1,000:1
Pixel response: 5ms
Refresh rate: 75Hz
HDR: No
Vesa: 100mm x 100mm
Inputs: DisplayPort 1.4 x1, HDMI 2.0 x1, Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with 90W power delivery x1
Other: C-clamp with quick release, partition frame
The Asus Zenscreen MB249C's 24-inch panel is both a blessing and a curse. The upside is that you get far more screen real estate than any laptop. The downside is that it's not actually all that portable.
The built-in kickstand does mean that the overall unit, which measures 53.93 by 34.63 by 2.36 centimetres, is fairly slim. The slim bezels on three sides of the panel keep the proportions in check, too. But it's not all that much smaller than a conventional monitor with the clip-in stand removed. At 2.8kg, it's not exactly ultra-light, either, though it is certainly lighter than most conventional monitors of a similar size.
Still, put it this way. It's a pretty narrow use case where you'd be happy to take this monitor with you, but for those that do, this display is reasonably well thought out.
(Image credit: Asus)
The kickstand on the rear doubles as a carry handle and the USB-C input has 60W of power delivery. So, you can leave your laptop charger behind and power it from the MB249C. There's also an HDMI input, so connecting to most device types shouldn't be a problem.
In terms of other more permanent and semi-permanent installation options, included in the box is a C-clamp arm with a pivot arm for fixing the screen to a desk. It adjusts for not only tilt, swivel and rotation into portrait mode, but also up to 144mm of extension.
So, you could have that as your daily setup, and then pull the screen off from the quick-release attachment and use the kickstand on the move. There's also a frame that allows it to be hung from the top of office partition walls and offers 150mm of height adjustment.
Asus Zenscreen MB249C: Performance
(Image credit: Asus)
Low pixel density
No HDR support
Terrible speakers
A few years ago, the specifications and performance of this display would have been unremarkable. Here in 2024, it all feels a little dated.
The Asus Zenscreen MB249C runs what would have been a perfectly adequate 24-inch panel. It's IPS, so the colours are pretty accurate and the viewing angles are good. It's actually reasonably bright, too, and in that regard far exceeds the lowly expectations set by the very modest 250 nit specification.
There's no HDR support at all, however, and the refresh rate tops out at 75Hz. There is adaptive refresh support, but the low refresh rate and mere 5ms response are hardly the stuff of gaming joy. That's tolerable for many productivity applications, of course, but it's also all pretty low spec by today's standards.
(Image credit: Asus)
More of a problem is the poor pixel density. The native resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 on a 24-inch panel makes for pretty big, blocky pixels. That makes for pretty rough looking fonts and icons, and generally not a lot of image detail. It also means that you've got no more usable desktop real estate than most laptops. If anything, you might have less, depending on how you have your scaling set up.
Moreover, this monitor would be so much more appealing with a higher resolution of at least 2,560 by 1,600. You'd have nicer, sharper fonts plus the option of more working space. As it is, the experience feels a little low rent and dated. You'd really have to want the portability aspect an awful lot to put up with it.
As for the built-in speakers, they're absolutely awful, with a harsh and thin tone, plus little volume on offer. Even a budget laptop will have as good or better speakers, and something like a MacBook Air let alone a MacBook Pro is on another level for audio quality. In truth, the speakers would have been better left out, they're borderline useless.
Asus Zenscreen MB249C: Final verdict
(Image credit: Asus)
This is not a terrible monitor. It's well calibrated and offers reasonable image quality from its IPS panel. However, the low pixel density makes for a dated viewing experience, with rough looking fonts. It also means that you're not getting much desktop working space, which surely defeats the whole object of lugging around what isn't a hugely portable device—namely to give you that extra space. The audio quality from the speakers is horrendous, too.
There are some nice features. The C-clamp with pivot arm is a welcome extra. The USB-C with 60W of power delivery also means you won't need to bring your laptop's power supply with you.
But overall, the limited portability and poor pixel density combine to compromise the appeal and utility of the Asus Zenscreen MB249C fairly comprehensively. It's just not a product that will make sense save for a very limited set of niche use cases.
The Samsung QN800D is the entry-level set in the company’s 8K Neo QLED range, offering 8K resolution at a slightly more affordable price than the flagship Samsung QN900D. It’s still a pricey TV, however, with the 65-inch model I tested currently selling for $3,499 / £3,499 / AU$4,799 – a higher price than most premium 4K TVs.
Samsung makes some of the best TVs and consistently flies the 8K flag as other brands move away from the technology. Based on the performance of the QN800D, it may be justified to fly that flag.
The QN800D’s picture quality is nothing short of impressive, mainly due to the exceptional 8K AI upscaling and Real Depth Enhancer Pro features of the TV’s NQ8 AI Gen2 Processor. These add incredible depth and refined detail to any textures, and the picture also has rich contrast and impressive black levels for a mini-LED TV. There is some minor backlight blooming and reflections can occur in harsh lighting conditions, but those are the only drawbacks of an otherwise phenomenal picture.
Gaming features are plentiful with the QN800D, with its four HDMI 2.1 ports kitted out with all the bells and whistles we look for in the best gaming TVs. The QN800D supports 4K up to 165Hz,8K up to 60Hz, VRR including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and comes with Samsung’s useful Gaming Hub. Gaming performance is excellent, feeling smooth and seamless even in the most intense of FPS games, and with the TV’s 8K AI upscaling, graphically beautiful as well.
Sound quality is an area where the QN800D stumbles compared to the rest of its performance. A 4.2.2-channel speaker array provides exceptional tracking of on-screen action and dialogue is crisp and clear, but the QN800D’s lean bass means it can’t compete with some of the best TVs for sound such as the Sony A80L and Panasonic MZ2000. As such, it will be worth pairing the QN800D with one of the best soundbars to compliment its picture quality.
The QN800D uses Samsung’s ‘Infinity One’ design for a sleek, slim appearance with a near bezel-less look that allows the impeccable picture to be the star of the show. It also comes with Samsung’s One Connect Box to house all external source connections, making the QN800D perfect for wall mounting. It does come with a premium metal stand, but be warned, it can be a little fiddly to fit on.
There’s no getting around the fact that the QN800D is a premium-priced TV, with many flagship 4K models, including some of the best OLED TVs, selling for significantly less while still offering many of the same great features. There’s also a lack of 8K media to make full use of the QN800D’s high resolution. But the QN800D’s impressive 8K upscaling breathes extra life into every source it’s given, especially 4K movies with HDR. If you can stretch your budget for it you won’t be let down. I may have been skeptical about 8K TVs before, but the QN800D has made me a believer.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens shows the QN800D's bold colors and highlights. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Prices & release date
Release date: April 2024
65-inch: $3,499 / £3,499 / AU$4,799
75-inch: $4,499 / £4,499 / AU$6,499
85-inch: $5,999 / £6,999 / AU$8.999
The Samsung QN800D is the entry-level 8K Neo QLED model for 2024 and sits below the flagship Samsung QN900D. It is available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch sizes and was released in April 2024.
Since its release, we have seen some offers and reductions on the QN800D in its various sizes. The 65-inch model I tested has seen roughly $200 off, with as much as £500 off in the UK for the 85-inch model, though it still carries a high price tag across the board.
Samsung QN800D review: Specs
Samsung QN800D review: Benchmark results
The Slim One Connect Box handles all external connections to keep things tidy. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Features
NQ8 AI Gen2 Processor with 8K AI Upscaling Pro
4.2.2-channel speaker array
One Connect Box
The Samsung QN800D uses the NQ8 AI Gen2 Processor, which boasts features such as 8K AI Upscaling Pro to upscale 4K images with up to 84% of the resolution of native 8K (according to Samsung). It also has Real Depth Enhancer Pro and Adaptive Picture, both of which use AI technology to analyze the picture and the surrounding environment to enhance images. The QN800D can display native 8K video, but there are no broadcast or home video 8K options outside of YouTube.
Like all Samsung TVs, the QN800D supports the HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG HDR formats, but not Dolby Vision.
For gaming, the QN800D is equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports that support up to 165Hz refresh rate at 4K, 60Hz at 8K, VRR (including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro), ALLM and HGiG. It also features Samsung’s Gaming Hub that locates everything gaming-related in one handy location, including cloud-based gaming apps from Xbox, Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now and more.
The QN800D comes with the One Connect Box Slim, which houses all connections and links to the TV with a One Connect cable. This design keeps cables tidy, especially for wall-mount installations. Along with its four HDMI 2.1 ports, connections include optical digital audio out, an ATSC 3.0 tuner (US-only) and aerial and satellite connections for the UK, and three USB ports including USB-C.
For audio, the QN800D has a built-in 4.2.2 channel speaker array with 70W of power and support for Dolby Atmos. It also supports AI features such as Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier Pro, which analyze the scene and viewing environment to optimize sound. The QN800D supports Q Symphony, which combines the TV’s audio output with compatible Samsung soundbars when connected.
The QN800D uses Samsung’s own Tizen smart TV platform, which appears largely unchanged for 2024 except for a new ‘recommended for you’ section that recommends movies and TV shows based on your past viewing. There is also a new 'Recent' window that lets you easily jump back into a movie or TV show you were recently watching.
Features score: 5 / 5
The Samsung QN800D's 8K upscaling results in some incredible picture detail. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Picture quality
Exceptional picture detail
Effective 8K upscaling
Minor reflections and backlight blooming
With he 65-inch QN800D’s picture presets in their default settings, peak brightness measured 1,045 nits measured on a 10% HDR window in Standard mode, and 1,126 nits in Filmmaker Mode.
Those results don't match up to the flagship Samsung QN900D, which clocked in at 1,979 nits on a 10% window in Filmmaker Mode when we tested it. It also isn’t as bright as the Samsung S95D QD-OLED, which gave a result of 1,868 nits peak brightness in Standard mode. But the QN800D did have excellent full-screen brightness results, measuring 626 and 528 nits in Standard and Filmmaker Mode respectively, and such high full-screen brightness makes it ideal for daytime viewing and sports.
When tested in our lab in varying lighting conditions, including harsh overhead lights, there were some mirror-like reflections on the QN800D’s screen, but they weren’t too distracting, and brighter images weren't an issue at all.
After cycling through picture presets, Filmmaker Mode was the most accurate. Standard will suit people looking for a brighter image, although textures don’t look as natural in that mode as in Filmmaker.
Upscaling on the QN800D is incredibly effective. Starting with broadcast TV viewing, in both standard (SD) and high-definition (HD), images looked crisp and clean. Even SD TV shows didn’t have the common fuzzy texture issue that regular LED TVs suffer from.
Moving onto a 4K stream of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Disney Plus, the characters’ facial features were incredibly detailed, with Real Depth Enhancer Pro adding even greater refinement for a lifelike appearance. The throne room fight scene features lots of red tones and the QN800D displayed them in a bold, vibrant fashion, with lightsabers in particular taking on a shimmering brightness. When I measured the BT.2020 and UHDA-P3 color gamut coverage using Portrait Displays’ Calman software, it gave results of 69% and 94% respectively. Those numbers were lower than expected, but didn’t take away from the QN800D’s impressive color rendition.
Demo footage from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray disc revealed all the QN800D’s strengths. The outstanding level of detail demonstrated itself once again, with forest landscapes and sunsets on sea horizons looking incredibly realistic and animals appearing true to life. The 8K upscaling added an extra layer to these images that I’d seen so many times on 4K sets but importantly didn’t over-sharpen the textures for a fake-looking style.
Close-up studio images with fully black backgrounds demonstrated the QN800D’s superb contrast and black levels, with the bright objects well-balanced against the dark backgrounds. Some backlight blooming was visible, but it was minor. Scenes of a Ferris wheel and city skyscape at night also showcased the QN800D’s excellent local dimming, revealing only the slightest hint of backlight blooming once again.
Moving onto a 4K Blu-ray of The Batman, the QN800D displayed deep blacks and excellent shadow detail. In a scene where Batman walks down a gloomy hallway lit only by bright wall lamps, the QN800D kept the gloomy, grainy tone of the film while maintaining superb backlight control for spectacular contrast with only minor blooming. Once again, detail was impeccable with a close-up shot of Batman showing stubble I hadn’t noticed before on a 4K screen.
Motion handling on the QN800D was effective. Viewing the opening test flight sequence in Top Gun: Maverick, the long, panning shot that follows the Darkstar jet showed minimal judder even with motion controls turned off, although motion smoothing controls can be adjusted if you wish.
I decided to test the QN800D’s intelligence mode settings (its Adaptive Picture) which adjust brightness and color based on lighting conditions. In Optimized mode, I found that textures in Top Gun: Maverick were too sharp, taking away their natural look. An Eye Comfort mode adapts the color temperature based on the scene (cooler for bright, warmer for dark) to reduce eye strain, but unfortunately, this once again made textures too sharp. Thankfully these settings are switched off by default, allowing the more effective AI features to do their work.
Despite some backlight blooming and occasional screen reflections, the QN800D has an impressive picture overall, with outstanding detail, incredible 8K upscaling and spectacular color and contrast.
Picture quality score: 5 / 5
Part of the Samsung QN800D's 4.2.2 channel speaker configuration. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Sound quality
4.2.2 channel speaker configuration
OTS+ (Object Tracking Sound Plus)
AI Adaptive Sound Pro
The QN800D has a 70W, 4.2.2 channel speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos. I found dialog to be clear across all sources, whether it was broadcast TV news or action-filled movie sequences. The TV’s Object Tracking Sound Plus feature is incredibly effective, with the sound closely following the action on screen. During the batmobile chase in The Batman, each screeching tire, explosion or crunch was naturally placed, and in Top Gun: Maverick, jets soaring in all directions were easy to follow.
Bass on the QN800D was solid enough, though it sounded thinner than the surround effects and dialog. Compared with other sets, there were only two sound presets: Standard and Amplify. Amplify provided the most accurate sound profile and was the mode I used for testing. In some instances, Atmos reproduction wasn’t the most effective, with the rain in the batmobile chase scene from The Batman being barely noticeable. In Top Gun: Maverick, however, there was a sense of spaciousness during any flight sequences.
The QN800D’s Adaptive Sound mode was more trebly and surround-focused, sacrificing the already lean bass. Adaptive Voice Pro as expected prioritized speech above all else and although effective in some scenarios, it wasn’t the best for movies.
Sound on the QN800D will be perfectly fine for most and is impressive in some areas, but this TV could benefit from one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars to complement its fantastic picture quality.
Sound quality score: 4 / 5
The Samsung QN800D's stand feels premium but might be tricky to install for some people. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Design
Slim One Connect Box
Infinity slim design
Fiddly stand installation
The QN800D has a premium ‘Infinity One’ design, with a solid, silver, metal frame and a trim bezel that allows the picture to become the main focus without any borders. It also measures a razor-thin 0.7 inches (17.2mm) without its stand.
An external One Connect Box houses all inputs, with a single cable connecting to the QN800D. It's a good design that keeps cables from sources tidy and is especially useful for people looking to wall-mount.
The QN800D also comes with a weighty, black metal stand that feels suitably sturdy and gives the TV a floating appearance when viewed front on. However, it’s worth noting that the stand was very fiddly to install, with me and a colleague needing to hold the stand in place while trying to line up and tighten the screws. Make sure you have another person with you when installing this TV.
Samsung’s SolarCell remote draws power from surrounding light and can also be charged using USB-C, making it significantly more eco-friendly than remotes with disposable batteries. Although on the minimal side, with settings, volume and app shortcut buttons for Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video making up the majority of buttons, it should suit most people.
Design score: 4.5 / 5
Tizen's 2024 version focuses on customization and personalization. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Smart TV & menus
Tizen smart TV platform
Different portals for Gaming, Daily and more
Customization options
The QN800D uses Samsung’s Tizen system as a smart TV platform. Although its overall design remains largely unchanged from 2023, there have been updates for 2024.
The home menu is now split into three categories: For You, which bases recommendations on apps and viewing history; Live, showing live TV; and Apps, which displays your installed apps. Navigation is easy enough across any of these menus, but For You is likely to be the most used.
There are also several ‘portals’ that can be accessed, with each housing a different category. Daily+ aims to be a day-to-day portal, encompassing apps such as Samsung Health, workout tracking and a video calling app. There is also Ambient, for displaying artworks and images, and Gaming Hub for everything gaming.
There are plenty of picture settings to play with for those who like to tweak and experiment and these are all easily accessible, allowing for high levels of customization. A fair amount of sound settings are provided as well, but as stated above, Standard and Amplify are the only sound presets.
Smart TV & menus score: 4 / 5
Gaming features and performance are incredibly strong on the Samsung QN800D. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Gaming
Four HDMI 2.1 ports
Gaming Hub
Low 9.8ms input lag
The QN800D is equipped with all the gaming features you would need, including 4K 165Hz and 8K 60Hz refresh rate, VRR with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and ALLM across all four HDMI 2.1 ports. The Gaming Hub portal houses everything gaming in one handy location, including links to popular live Twitch streams and cloud-based gaming apps including Xbox, Luna, Nvidia GeForce Now and more.
With Battlefield V on Xbox Series X, the gameplay felt incredibly smooth and free of any screen judder or tearing, and switching between targets in a vast landscape on a desert mission was seamless and easy. This is probably due in part to the QN800D’s ultra-low input lag, which I measured at 9.8ms using the Leo Bodnar HDMI 4K input lag tester – a number that rivals many of the best 120Hz TVs.
Graphically, the QN800D is extremely impressive. Using the same phenomenal 8K upscaling it does for movies, every detail in Battlefield V was amplified – the large desert landscapes took on a realistic look and the intricate details of the various weapons were more pronounced. The QN800D added depth to every aspect of the game, and I could adjust its game-related settings on the fly to enhance things even further by calling up the onscreen game menu.
Gaming score: 5 / 5
The Samsung SolarCell remote is a more eco-friendly approach to remote controls. (Image credit: Future)
Samsung QN800D review: Value
Very pricey compared to 4K models
Unique 8K features
Limited 8K content
With the QN800D being an 8K TV (even a mid-range one by 8K standards) it unfortunately carries a high price tag. For the 65-inch model I tested, you’ll pay $3,499 / £3,499 / AU$4,799. To put that in perspective, you can buy the Samsung QN90D (Samsung’s upper mid-range 4K Neo QLED), which has many of the same gaming and smart features as the QN800D, in a 65-inch size for $2,699 / £2,399 / AU$3,995.
The QN800D does offer unique features compared to 4K models, most notably the 8K AI upscaling and the NQ8 Gen2 AI Processor. However, there are no real 8K sources outside of YouTube to make use of the QN800D’s native 8K display But if you can stretch your budget to make use of the 8K upscaling and processing chops the QN800D provides, I’d recommend it. Just keep in mind that you can buy a mid-range 4K OLED TV such as Samsung’s own S90C and one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars for a good deal less.
Value score: 3.5 / 5
The Samsung QN800D shows off its spectacular contrast and image detail. (Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Samsung QN800D?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider...
(Image credit: Future)
How I tested the Samsung QN800D
Tested in lab with varying light conditions
Tested using a variety of SDR and HDR sources
Measurements made using Portrait Displays' Calman software
I tested the Samsung QN800D in our lab, which allows me to view in conditions including harsh overhead lighting, dimmed lighting, and pitch black to test a TV's handling of reflections and the effectiveness of its backlight.
After an initial run-in period with some casual viewing to determine the most accurate picture mode, I then tested the QN800D using standard and high-definition broadcast TV, 4K Blu-ray, and 4K streaming apps such as Disney Plus and Prime Video, using reference scenes from TV shows and movies that I regularly use fo testing.
To test the QN800D's picture, I looked at contrast, color, brightness, backlight control, and motion. I also evaluated its sound quality, checking for object placement, speech clarity, bass levels and virtual surround sound delivery.
For objective testing, I used specialized equipment including a test pattern generator, colorimeter and Portrait Displays' Calman calibration software. I tested the QN800D (like all TVs) for SDR and HDR brightness, grayscale and color accuracy, and color gamut coverage.
For gaming performance, I used an Xbox Series X to test gaming features, graphics and overall quality. I also measured the QN800D's input lag using the Leo Bodnar HDMI 4K Input lag tester.
The new Go 3S is the latest in a line of the world's smallest action cameras by Insta360, with convenient magnetic mounting and useful accessories for hands-free operation and unique POVs. When your phone won't do or can't be risked, the tiny and fully waterproof Go 3S steps up.
It updates the one-year-old Insta360 Go 3 with some key upgrades, chiefly bumping video resolution up from 2.7K to 4K. This makes its handy multi-aspect video recording even more appealing for TikTok and YouTube reels. It's also equipped with Apple Find My, which is a useful addition to a tiny 1.38oz / 39.1g camera.
Higher resolution video is the main improvement here. Otherwise, there's nothing majorly new in the Go 3S and much of the information in our Go 3 review is relevant to the latest iteration. However, the Go 3S is still a worthy upgrade and one of the most creative and best action cameras available.
Insta360 Go 3 specs:
Weight: GO 3S camera: 1.38oz / 39.1g; Action Pod: 3.4oz / 96.3g Dimensions: GO 3S camera: 1.0 x 2.1 x 1.0in / 25.6 x 54.4 x 24.8mm ; Action Pod: 2.5 x 1.9 x 1.2in / 63.5 x 47.6 x 29.5mm
Maximum video resolution: 4K: 3830 x 2160 pixels at 24/25/30fps
Maximum photo resolution: 12MP (4:3); 9MP (16:9)
Connectivity: USB-C 2.0, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 5GHz
Storage: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB
Battery capacity: GO 3S: 310mAh; Action Pod: 1,270mAh
Quoted run time: Go 3S: 38 mins; Action Pod: 140 mins (for 1080p 30fps video
Its waterproofing depth, double the Go 3 at up to 33ft / 10m, increases slow motion frame rates with up to 200fps in 1080p and it comes equipped with a slightly wider lens.
There's also a neat trick – the Go 3S will automatically switch video aspect ratio based on whether it's horizontal or vertical when filming starts. Sporty types might be interested in the Garmin / Apple / Coros stats overlay option for Go 3S videos.
Gesture control has been added to voice command control, so you can position the Go 3S and start recording without needing to be hands-on, or have the Action Pod element to hand – the pod that's pictured below transforms the Go 3S into a Go-Pro-like action cam.
While the Action Pod transforms the Go 3S' handling and makes it a suitable vlogging camera, it isn't fully waterproof like the camera is, or a dedicated action camera like the DJI Osmo Action 4, so you can't use the pairing everywhere.
Insta360 Go 3S inside the Action Pod and attached to the optional Insta360 2-in-1 selfie stick. (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
Naturally, there are some compromises versus bulkier alternatives. Battery life from the tiny 310mAh battery is limited to 38 minutes when shooting Full HD video. That's less than its predecessor's 45 minutes and way less than other action cameras, such as the GoPro Hero 12 Black and Insta360's own X4 360-degree camera.
Overall image quality doesn't compare, either. Although Insta360 says the Go 3S is 'Dolby Vision-Ready' with new HDR technology, there's no HDR video mode like you'd get in a camera such as the DJI Osmo Action 4, meaning you lose out on highlight and shadow detail when lighting is less than perfect. Photos are capped at 12MP in 4:3 or 9MP in 16:9, too.
However, you're buying into the Insta360 Go series for its unrivaled versatility. It's why we rated the Go 3 as the perfect camera for FPV drones and a superb hands-free camera ideal for BTS video and first-person perspectives.
My kids have been super busy getting creative with the Go 3S, attaching it to the soccer goal in the garden, our family dog's collar on walks, and inside the guineapig hutch to see what our cute furballs get up to away from prying eyes (not much, it turns out).
A quick online search further reveals clever ways people have used a Go camera, shooting from angles you couldn't otherwise consider, such as inside a box for unboxing videos.
And when paired with the Action Pod its functionality is improved, as is battery life, boosted to 140 minutes of 1080p video recording. Being able to choose between the standalone camera and pairing it with the Action Pod further increases versatility.
It might not be perfect, but the Go 3S is edging ever closer and is an excellent smartphone alternative for creative filmmakers.
The Insta360 Go 3S camera magnetically attached to a sweater with the magnet pendant inside the clothing. (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
Insta360 Go 3S: price and availability
Launched on June 13, 2024
Bundles from $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$719.99
Can be bought as a standalone without the Action Pod, from $239.99 / £209.99 / AU$429.99
The Insta360 Go 3S can be bought standalone or bundled with the Action Pod. Those that already have the Go 3 but want to upgrade to the Go 3S for its 4K video and new features can save a bit by opting for the standalone option. Like a phone, you can buy the Go 3S in different storage capacities, in this case, 64GB or 128GB versions – the Go 3S has internal memory only.
The Standard Edition Go 3S bundled with the Action Pod costs $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$719.99 for the 64GB version, or $429.99 / £369.99 / AU$769.99 for the 128GB version. The standalone 64GB Go 3S is priced at $239.99 / £209.99 / AU$429.99 and it's $269.99 / £229.99 / AU$479.99 for the 128GB one. Overall, the Go 3S hovers around the Go 3 launch price, give or take $20 / £20 / AU$40 – in the UK it's cheaper than before.
I had the Standard Edition bundle in 'Midnight Black'. In the box comes a magnet pendant (lanyard), pivot stand (tripod mount), easy clip (for hats and animal collars, etc), and an adhesive plate. That's a generous selection of accessories (see gallery, below), but additional accessories, such as the 2-in-1 selfie stick that you can see in some of the pictures, are also available on the Insta360 website.
Price score: 4.5/5
Insta360 Go 3S: design
The Insta360 Go 3S weighs just 1.34oz / 39.1g or 4.78oz / 135.4g with the Action Pod
Convenient magnetic mounting and handy supplied accessories
Increased waterproofing up to 33ft / 10m
The Insta360 Go 3S comprises two elements; the camera and the Action Pod – the latter transforms the Go 3S into a GoPro-style action camera. Without the Action Pod, you have one of the smallest and lightest action cameras available. It has has no real rival.
Both elements are made from rigid plastic. I'd be happy to put them in harm's way – they've taken the occasional knocks from fast-moving balls and clumsy drops, and come out unscathed.
The thumb-sized Go 3S is a twinge heavier and a fraction deeper than the Go 3 but, otherwise, maintains the same dimensions, meaning it'll work with the same accessories. Put the two cameras side by side and you'd be hard-pressed to note any difference: we're talking a few mere millimeters and grams.
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The items in the Insta360 Go 3S box (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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It pairs with the exact same Action Pod to boost battery life and for easy navigation of settings, plus remote control and viewing. Those who already own the Go 3 but want the Go 3S can save a little by opting for the standalone camera over the bundle.
The camera element has just one button that starts and stops recording. It's equipped with a built-in microphone, internal memory (64GB or 128GB), and a magnetic mount along its back. This forms a strong connection with metal surfaces and Insta360 Go accessories, including into the cavity of the Action Pod.
The Action Pod is pretty simple, too. Its control layout includes a USB-C port for charging, lock button to release the docked camera, on/off button, quick menu for shooting modes, and a flip-up touchscreen that reminds me a lot of the Insta360 X4's: it's responsive and large enough to view clearly, and therefore very useable for remote functions instead of the Insta360 Studio app.
It also features a magnetic underside for snapping into place on accessories such as the Pivot Stand, although at almost 3.5oz / 100g the pod is too heavy for placing sideways onto metal surfaces.
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(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
I love the versatility you get with the Go 3S. As a standalone camera, it's the smallest and lightest in the business and super convenient for hands-free videos. Inserted into the Pod, you get easy viewing for vlogs, selfies, and so on. There's a third option, too: remotely controlling and viewing what the camera sees through the Action Pod even when it's disconnected.
There are times you'll want just the Go 3S camera, such as in tight spaces and underwater: it's waterproof up to 33ft / 10m, but the Action Pod is only splash-proof. It may look like an action camera in the Action Pod, but only the camera element can be classed as an action camera.
Design score 4.5/5
Insta360 Go 3S: features and performance
Reliable Bluetooth connection between Go 3S and Action Pod, albeit with limited range
Modest battery life
Effective gesture control and voice command
Both the Go 3S and Action Pod are slick, quick to start up and pair effortlessly. The two elements enjoy a seamless Bluetooth connection when divided, and the Action Pod's real-time view and remote controls are super responsive.
There is a natural limit to the range the Bluetooth connection covers, so the Action Pod won't work for remote view and control in several scenarios. You'll lose connection beyond the range of a few meters, and sooner still with the Go 3S underwater.
You can also remotely control the Go 3S using the Insta360 app, although the dedicated user interface of the Action Pod will have you leaning to that instead of your phone.
(Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
Battery life is a sour note: 38 minutes is respectable for such a tiny camera, but one of the inevitable compromises versus a dedicated action camera. And battery life is less than the Go 3 camera in like-for-like tests recording 1080p video.
To counter this limit, the Go 3S can extend record times by going to sleep for video modes, such as TimeShift and Timelapse. And virtually all the shooting modes are super simple to use and create decent footage with.
You can also boost battery life by docking the camera into the Action Pod, which has a maximum 140-minute life.
Gesture control and voice commands are pretty reliable and it's handy having both options: when you're in noisy environments gesture control is useful. You also get confirmation that filming has started by way of the flashing red light on the front of the Go 3S.
Image stabilization is reasonable, but there are smoother systems out there and the best shots you get with the Go 3S are when it's mounted to a stationary object rather than strapped to a rapidly moving one. You'll get the best results by utilizing the gyroscope.
Features & performance score: 4/5
Insta360 Go 3S: image and video quality
Improved video quality, but still not quite as good as rival dedicated action cams
Wider and versatile lens
HDR is for photos only
Insta360 has addressed the limited video and photo quality of the Go 3 by increasing resolution. We now get 4K video and 12MP stills, versus 2.7K video and 6.6MP stills. If this increased resolution is all that Insta360 upgraded from the Go 3, it would be enough to greatly bolster the Go 3S' appeal, but there's more.
Videos are sharper than before, with Insta360 also pinpointing 50% increased CPU power and better dynamic range thanks to Dolby Vision-Ready HDR technology. You can see the difference from the Go 3 but I think that overall quality still lags behind the best action cams like the Osmo Action 4 and Hero 12 Black, especially when lighting is anything other than optimum.
Still, it's a price worth paying to obtain what are otherwise impossible shots.
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Detail is reasonably crisp in this woodland 12MP photo (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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With the image brightened the degree of JPEG processing to reduce noise taking place becomes clear, smudging detail (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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Dynamic range is pretty limited (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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Still, you can darken images to ensure you capture the most amount of detail in highlights (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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This is an unprocessed DNG raw file. It has a fine grain to it, whereas the next image which is the JPEG version shows aggressive noise reduction and smudged detail. I prefer the raw file (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
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This is the JPEG version of the previous DNG raw image, and it shows aggressive noise reduction and smudged detail. I prefer the raw file (Image credit: Future | Tim Coleman)
Increased resolution is super handy for filmmakers regularly switching between vertical, square, and horizontal formats to shoot Instagram, TikTok and YouTube-ready content. The FreeFrame mode is particularly helpful for this, as you can shoot first and pick the aspect later. Multi-aspect shooting is also better supported by a slightly wider angle lens.
You also get tracking autofocus, with visual confirmation when faces have been detected on the Action Pod's screen proving useful when vlogging. The ultra-wide angle and small image sensor naturally provide great depth of field. There's no official minimum focus distance listed in the product spec sheet, but objects very close to the camera won't be in focus.
For photos, you do get an HDR option which generally gets you the best results. Overall, colors are pleasant and auto exposure works pretty well, plus you can override it with exposure compensation to brighten or darken the image where needed.
Videos are recorded onto internal memory. I had the 128GB version and shot a lot of footage before the card filled up. Thankfully, even the 4K video files only take up a sensible amount of memory.
Image and video quality score: 4/5
Insta360 Go 3S: testing scorecard
Should I buy the Insta360 Go 3S?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Insta360 Go 3S: also consider
How I tested the Insta360 Go 3
Used in mixed weather with and without the Action Pod
Long timelapse and video sequences that tested battery life
Experimenting with the various video and photo modes
I tested the Insta360 Go 3S much like any other action camera: playing with its various video and photo modes to record adventurous and creative content, without babying the hardware.
It's been used extensively to record hyperlapses (TimeShift mode) and slow motion sequences, while the multi-aspect ratio FreeFrame mode has enabled me to pick which format to export videos in using the Insta360 app.
I've also used the various accessories supplied with the camera: the magnetic pendant for underneath clothing, the magnetic clip, and the Pivot Stand. Insta360 also supplied me with the 2-in-1 selfie stick and Monkey Tail accessories for this review.
I don't own an iPhone so was unable to test the Apple Find My feature.
Videos and photos have been viewed and edited using the Insta360 Studio app. I then exported both edited and unedited files for clear viewing on a desktop.
The LG QNED91T, the company's flagship 4K model in its mini-LED ‘QNED’ range, is a TV with mixed performance. It’s stacked with smart and gaming features that will keep many people happy, but the picture and sound quality are inconsistent, succeeding in some areas, but failing in other crucial ones. It’s worth noting that in the US, this TV is called the LG QNED90 and comes with a pair of feet instead of a central pedestal stand.
Priced at $1,799 / £1,699 / AU$2,995 for the 65-inch version I tested, this is roughly in the same category as many other mini-LED sets of this size, meaning the QNED91T has plenty of competition.
Picture quality is the most inconsistent aspect of the QNED91T. It has fantastic picture detail and colors that stand out in brighter scenes, but poor backlight control results in blooming issues that are especially visible in darker scenes. Off-center viewing also results in faded contrast and even more obvious backlight blooming. Unfortunately, this keeps the QNED91T from fulfilling its true potential, falling short of some of the best TVs such as the Samsung QN90C, another mini-LED model.
Audio quality on the QNED91T is again mixed, with meaty bass and clear dialogue having to coexist with average virtual surround sound performance and an uneven sound balance. The TV’s AI Sound Pro mode can improve the balance but sacrifices bass performance in turn. Some may find the QNED91T’s built-in sound adequate, but most would benefit from adding one of the best soundbars.
Design-wise, LG took a simple approach with the QNED91T, favoring functionality over looks. Its bulky weight makes it feel reassuringly solid but adds a more old-school appearance. That’s not necessarily bad, but it’s something for those who place design high up in their list of requirements to bear in mind.
LG’s smart webOS smartTV platform continues to be one of the best. The version on the QNED91T, webOS 24, presents a sleek home menu with plenty of opportunities for customization and organization, and it’s both visually appealing and user-friendly. Not much has changed since last year’s webOS 23. There are new features such as an AI Chatbot and customizable profiles, though the latter feature is currently only available in the US.
The QNED91T is a great performer when it comes to gaming, and has all the gaming bells and whistles you could need. Gameplay is smooth and responsive in any situation. But the QNED91T is sadly held back from greatness by the same picture issues that plague it with movies and, despite valiant effort, won't find itself amongst the best 120Hz TVs.
Although it has some great features, the QNED91T's picture quality issues are hard to overlook. It thrives in some settings, but ultimately there’s too much inconsistency for the QNED91T to rank among the best TVs.
The LG QNED91T has excellent picture detail. (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Prices & release date
Released May 2024
65-inch: $1,799 / £1,699 / AU$2,995
75-inch: $2,399 / £2,499 / AU$3,995
86-inch: $3,299 / £3,799 / AU$5,445
The LG QNED91T (QNED90 2024 series in the US) is LG’s flagship 4K mini-LED model for 2024, with the LG QNED99 8K TV serving as the overall flagship. Available from May 2024, the LG QNED91T comes in three sizes: 65-, 75- and 86-inch. The LG QNED91T’s pricing puts it in competition with mini-LED TVs such as the Sony X95L (its 2023 flagship) and the Hisense U9N (its 2024 flagship).
We’ve already seen price drops as much as 20% on the QNED91T across multiple sites. Whether these discounts are permanent or will disappear remains to be seen.
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Specs
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Benchmark results
The LG QNED91T's connection panel, with four HDMI 2.1 ports (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Features
Built-in with LG’s a8 AI Processor 4K
Mini-LED backlight with LG’s NanoCell layer
Dolby Vision support
Serving as the flagship QNED, which combines a mini-LED backlight with LG’s quantum dot NanoCell technology, the LG QNED91T aims to deliver bold brightness and color while maintaining good contrast – something it does with mixed results.
The QNED91T features LG’s a8 AI Processor, the same found in other 2024 models including the LG B4 and LG QNED87/85, that aims to emulate the performance of last year’s LG C3, particularly in terms of brightness – which it achieves.
The a8 AI Processor enables features for AI Picture Pro, including AI Super Upscaling and Dynamic Tone Mapping, and AI Sound Pro, including Virtual Surround and AI Clear Sound. It’s also responsible for AI Picture Wizard, which helps you create your preferred picture settings. This is done by choosing your favorite images from a group of different types such as bright landscape, sunset, nighttime and more, which Ai Picture Wizard uses to create your personalized setting.
For HDR, the QNED91T supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG formats, but not HDR10+.
The QNED91T is well stocked with gaming features, with four HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 4K 120Hz, VRR including AMD Freesync, and ALLM and HGiG support. It also features LG’s Game Optimizer, which activates the optimum settings for gaming and allows customization of gaming settings on the fly such as black level, genre and more.
Audio is provided by a 2.2 speaker system totaling 40W of power with support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. While it's not the most mind-blowing of speaker configurations, it provides sufficient punch and there are several preset sound modes including AI Sound Pro.
The QNED91T comes with the latest iteration of LG’s smart TV platform, webOS 24. While there haven’t been any major changes, the home page has been redesigned. It still has Quick Cards, which enable you to organize apps into categories such as Music, Sports, Games and more. It also supports all major apps including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus as well as Freeview Play and its apps in the UK such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
New features in webOS 24 include an AI Chatbot assistant and the ability to create up to 10 profiles that store each user’s settings and personalized TV and movie recommendations. LG has also committed to five years’ worth of updates on select TVs, including the QNED91T, meaning the latest iteration of webOS will appear via a firmware update for the next five years.
Feautres score: 4.5 / 5
The LG QNED91T's colors and textures are highlights, though picture quality is inconsistent. (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Picture quality
Excellent detail and bold colors
Backlight blooming issues
Limited viewing angle
The LG QNED91T faces much competition in the mini-LED TV category from the likes of Samsung, Sony, TCL and Hisense, with the latter two providing more budget-friendly options. Sadly, it falls short of some of its major rivals.
Mini-LED TVs tend to excel at brightness and the QNED91T on the surface has a bright picture, particularly when displaying HDR images. When I measured it on a 10% HDR white window, the results were 1,274 nits and 1,132 nits in Standard and Filmmaker Mode respectively. It also yielded 671 and 601 nits respectively in those modes when I measured a 100% full-screen HDR white window. Those are good numbers overall, but they fail to match the likes of the Samsung QN90C, Sony X95L and Hisense U8K.
After some casual viewing with both HD and 4K HDR sources and cycling through the various picture presets, I established that the most accurate picture mode was Filmmaker Mode, although Standard and Cinema are two alternatives that deliver a brighter image.
First starting with broadcast TV, the QNED91T did an effective job of upscaling, but lower-resolution pictures still had a comparatively fuzzy appearance. HD broadcast TV had cleaner textures overall with good contrast and color, and when viewed in Standard mode, a brighter look as well.
Moving onto 4K HDR movies with Filmmaker Mode’s default settings active, the QNED91T demonstrated excellent image detail in faces and clothing when watching Top Gun: Maverick. This impressive detail carried over to demo footage on the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark Blu-ray. Rocky landscapes and forests had refined edges and a good sense of depth. Studio shots of owls and lizards again showed realistic detail, with feathers and scales having a 3D-like quality.
The QNED91T also excelled when it came to color. Viewing the throne room lightsaber sequence in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, streamed through Disney Plus, the vibrant reds carried plenty of vivid punch and never looked overblown. Lightsabers took on a bold, glossy sheen that showcased the QNED91T’s HDR highlights. Turning back to Spears & Munsil, green trees and blue skies popped off the screen.
When measuring the QNED91T’s UHDA-P3 and BT.2020 color gamut coverage using Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software, the QNED91T yielded 96% and 72.2% respectively. Those are both good results so it’s no surprise colors in 4K HDR programs looked good. Color accuracy Delta E values averaged out to 1.1 (we typically look for below 3) in Filmmaker Mode, which is an outstanding result.
When viewing both the opening Darkstar flight sequence in Top Gun: Maverick and the Batmobile chase sequence in The Batman, the QNED91T demonstrated excellent motion handling, even in Filmmaker Mode with all motion settings turned off. Quick panning shots and long left-to-right sequences showed little to no sign of judder or stutter and motion was incredibly smooth.
The Batman is also where the QNED91T started to show weaknesses in the picture department. Black levels were decent in some cases and contrast was rich enough, but when viewing dark scenes such as the first crime scene investigation, backlight blooming was very apparent. Lights in the darkened hallway had a clouding effect that changed the deep, black shadows to a dark gray.
Changing the Local Dimming, set to Low by default, to High in the TV’s Brightness settings reduced some backlight blooming issues. But this also resulted in some black crush, with objects in dark scenes such as the bat symbol on Batman’s chest in The Batman starting to disappear. Even then, some backlight blooming was still present.
An issue that some mini-LED TVs suffer from is poor viewing angles, although models such as the Samsung QN90C and Sony X95L have features to improve this. Unfortunately, viewing angles were an issue with the LG QNED91T. When viewed off-axis, backlight blooming, particularly in dark scenes, became apparent, with large, blocky squares of the backlight shining through at extreme angles. Contrast and color saturation also faded when the TV was viewed from off-center seats.
Finally, although I didn’t expect the LG to beat the Samsung S95D’s OLED Glare Free screen or the anti-reflection features of its more premium mini-LED sets, I expected the QNED91T to handle reflections better than it did. Under harsh lighting conditions in our testing lab, mirror-like reflections were an issue, which made darker scenes very difficult to see. And with the overhead lights dimmed, other light sources in the room were still reflected on the TV’s screen.
Picture quality score: 3.5 / 5
The LG QNED91T suffers from reflections, even when displaying bright HDR images. (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Sound quality
Decent bass levels
Clear dialogue
Average virtual surround sound
With a 40W, 2.2 speaker configuration and Dolby Atmos/DTS support, the QNED91T has perfectly adequate built-in audio, though it lacks the sound prowess of rivals such as the Sony X95L. The QNED91T’s speakers may suit some, but generally one of the best soundbars would be an improvement.
I found Cinema with its warmer profile to be the best sound preset. The QNED91T displayed strong dialogue clarity across most movies and TV shows I watched, from broadcast TV to intense action movie sequences. During the chaotic Batmobile chase in The Batman, speech came through clearly despite loud background noise and a driving score.
Bass was another highlight, aided by the Cinema sound preset’s warm profile and the QNED91T’s deeper design. Even with the QNED91T’s relatively average power, the rumble of the Batmobile from The Batman and jets in Top Gun: Maverick had plenty of heft and weight.
Despite Dolby Atmos support, I found the QNED91t’s effects processing to be average. Some effects were present, such as screeching wheels in the Batmobile chase in the Batman but the pounding rain was missing altogether. And in Top Gun: Maverick, background effects from within the cockpit were lost behind the rumble of the engines.
With AI Sound Pro active, the overall volume and surround sound effects were heightened, but I found dialogue to be on the harsher side and bass reduced. While some may prefer this brightening of the mix, I preferred the Cinema sound preset.
Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Design
The LG QNED91T comes with reassuringly solid stand in the UK. (Image credit: Future)
Solid, central stand (on model tested in UK)
Chunkier than other TVs
Somewhat old-school, basic look
The QNED91T has somewhat of an old-school design, with a deeper-than-average body and matte gray appearance on the back that harks back to older LCD models. It isn’t the deepest TV on the market (look at the Panasonic MZ2000 for that) but it's still surprisingly chunky. The bezel is trim, however, giving the picture nearly the full scale of the screen.
With a central, metal stand (on the 65-inch version I tested in the UK), the QNED91T feels reassuringly solid and sturdy. However, it’s worth noting that this is a weighty TV at around 35 kg with the stand attached. In the US, the QNED90 comes with support feet and while I can’t comment on their appearance, the TV itself weighs in at 69.2 lbs with its feet attached.
Connections are housed in a rear panel and feature four HDMI 2.1 and three USB ports, optical digital audio, and an RF for broadcast and satellite TV. The QNED91 also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities as expected.
Like most LG TVs, the QNED91T comes with LG’s Magic Remote. This has a central wheel and arrows for scrolling and navigation, or its pointer can be used instead. It also has a built-in mic for voice control and quick access options for apps including Netflix and Prime Video.
Design score: 4 / 5
webOS 24 has a tidier home screen menu and is still incredibly user-friendly. (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Smart TV & menus
LG’s webOS 24 smart TV platform
Quick Cards for app organization
Home menu trimmed down from previous generation
The QNED91T features webOS 24, the latest iteration of LG’s smart TV platform. The home menu has been trimmed down and tidied compared to previous versions, with a smaller top banner allowing more space for apps and tailored recommendations. All in all, it’s a welcome redesign.
Carrying over last year’s Quick Cards, which lets apps be organized by category such as Music and Office, there is the introduction of a more refined Sports card and an an Accessibility feature. The Sports card features the useful My Team function that allows you to receive live updates, scores and recommended videos based on your chosen team from sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, American football and more. Accessibility includes the AI Chatbot, which can be used to diagnose and solve technical issues such as ‘The screen is too dark’ or ‘The volume is too low’. I found it effective enough, brightening the screen when asked, but it did seem on the basic side.
LG's webOS 24 continues to be amongst the best smart TV platforms for settings and menus, with the Quick Menu providing an easy way to change important settings such as picture and sound modes without having to navigate away from the screen. There are also plenty of advanced adjustments for those who like to play with picture and sound settings.
Smart TV & menus: 4.5 / 5
Gaming performance on the LG QNED91T is good, but games suffer the same picture quality issues as movies. (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Gaming
Four HDMI 2.1 ports
LG Game Optimizer
Picture still affected by backlight blooming
The QNED91T has a good stock of gaming features across its four HDMI 2.1 ports, including 4K 120Hz, VRR with AMD FreeSync support, ALLM and HGiG. LG’s Game Optimizer also provides the best settings for gaming and allows adjustment on the go using an easy to access and navigate menu.
Playing Battlefield V on Xbox Series X felt smooth and responsive on the QNED91T. When in graphically intense battle sequences or when quickly scoping across landscapes to spot enemies, I saw no signs of tearing, stuttering or judder. Setting the game genre to FPS on the Game Optimizer enhanced this further by smoothing out quick camera cuts.
When I measured the QNED91T’s input lag using the Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI input lag tester, it gave a result of 15ms at 4K 60Hz. Although still an acceptable result, that’s higher than what you typically find on the best gaming TVs.
For graphics, the QNED91T excelled and suffered in the same areas as it did with movies. Colors in brighter sequences were still vibrant and punchy, and textures were clear on every part of the weapon and surrounding environment. But backlight blooming was still an issue, and that meant night missions in Battlefield V took on a gray rather than a black tone, and lamps within a stealth mission had a halo around them that bled into the night sky overhead.
Gaming score: 4 / 5
The LG QNED91T as always comes with LG's Magic Remote. (Image credit: Future)
LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T review: Value
Competitive mini-LED market
Good range of smart features
Inconsistent picture affects value
The QNED91T is priced at $1,799 / £1,699 / AU$2,995 for the 65-inch version I tested, though there are price reductions available (up to 20% off in some cases). At that price, there is plenty of new TV competition in 2024 such as the 65-inch Hisense U8N, which is priced at $1,499 / £1,799 / AU$2,795 (although we’ve seen it as low as $1,099 in the US). And there’s also the Samsung QN90D, though it's priced at a much more premium $2,699 / £2,699 / AU$3,995 for the 65-inch model.
Despite a good list of smart and gaming features, it’s tough to overlook that the QNED91T’s picture is similar to a budget TV due to its backlight blooming and viewing angle issues. It’s also tough to overlook that 2023 TVs such as the Hisense U8K and Sony X95L offer better performance and are available for less.
Value score: 3 / 5
The LG QNED91T's backlight blooming is more visible when the picture is viewed from an angle. (Image credit: Future)
Should you buy the LG QNED90T/91T?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider...
The LG QNED91T with testing equipment, including Portrait Displays' Calman calibration software to record measurements. (Image credit: Future)
How I tested the LG QNED90T/LG QNED91T
Tested using SDR and HDR sources
Tested in a lab with varying lighting conditions
Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman Calibration software
After some initial causal viewing, I determined the LG's Filmmaker Mode picture preset was the most accurate. I used this for my subjective testing and for measurements using specialized equipment.
For subjective testing, I viewed both lower-resolution and high-definition broadcast TV, and HDR sources such as 4K Blu-ray. I used reference scenes from several movies to test for black levels, contrast, color, motion and more. I also used these same reference scenes to test the QNED91T's built-in audio performance.
To test gaming performance, I used an Xbox Series X and used Battlefield V, looking for smoothness of gameplay while analyzing graphics quality. I also used a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag Tester to test the QNED91T's input lag.
For objective testing I used specialized equipment including a test pattern generator, colorimeter and Portrait Displays' Calman calibration software to record the results. I tested SDR and HDR brightness levels, color and grayscale accuracy and color gamut coverage.
The new OLED iPad Pros are experiencing a color reproduction bug when displaying HDR content. The issue is appearing on both the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models and shows blown-out blue colors that appear to have patches of white streaks on them. This appears to be an issue with the image-processing engine.
iPad Pro OLED HDR bug (image: iMORE)
Apple has already acknowledged the issue and is actively working on a fix which is set to arrive with the next version of iPadOS. There is no immediate time frame for when this fix will arrive. Apple’s new iPad Pro models are set to go on...
The BenQ X3100i is the company’s latest top-of-the-line gaming projector and boasts a 4K DLP chip that can switch to 1080p to deliver a highly responsive 240Hz refresh rate. Between that and its bright 4LED light source, this $2,399 (around £1,900 / AU$3,690) projector has plenty to distinguish it among the best 4K projectors.
It all comes packed into a somewhat stylish, albeit plastic cube that is at least trendier than the many office space-esque projectors on the market. With plenty of setup options and optical adjustments, the X3100I is a powerful projection system with an edge over some of its more fashionably built competitors.
The X3100i won’t be the best option for folks who prioritize watching TV and movies, but it does a great job at that task. And given its gaming chops, it’s an easy choice for gamers who also want a home theater projector.
BenQ X3100i 4K projector review: price and release date
Release date: November 2023
MSRP: $2,399 (around £1,900 / AU$3,690)
The BenQ X3100i is available now for $2,399 (around £1,900 / AU$3,690). It’s still a very recent model, so it hasn’t seen major price shifts or deals during sales events.
The BenQ X3100i is large for a portable projector but can be easily moved from room to room (Image credit: Future)
BenQ X3100i 4K projector review: Specs
Manual controls let you dial in focus, zoom, and vertical lens shift (Image credit: Future)
BenQ X3100i 4K projector review: design and features
Good, but not stunning looks
Flexible optical adjustments
Potent speakers
The BenQ X3100i is a modestly sized cube of a projector, with almost square dimensions. BenQ adds a touch of style by using an interesting pattern of cutouts for venting plus a dark finish on the front that’s accented in orange. That said, it’s virtually identical to the earlier BenQ X3000i and X1300i. It’s hard to ignore that the projector’s chassis is made from plastic — similar to any office projector — but the X3100i’s design flourishes give it a bit more visual appeal than models from Epson or Optoma.
For some projectors, a more stylish design has meant fewer optical controls, but BenQ hasn’t omitted them. It has a physical dial to vertically shift the lens, plus optical zoom and focus control rings. Digital adjustments are becoming commonplace on projectors, but these sacrifice actual picture resolution, which is why the BenQ X3100i’s optical adjustments are a great addition. It does have digital keystone adjustments, but since these add latency, hardcore gamers had best avoid them.
BenQ’s setup features don’t stop there. The projector has two adjustable feet up front to help angle it just right. Cleverly, it includes attachable feet and a rubber bumper should you want to set the projector upside down someplace like a high shelf. Since there’s a vertical offset to the lens, high placements require the X3100i to be upside-down, and these design features let you do that without having to opt for ceiling mounting.
BenQ includes a fairly basic remote for easy navigation of the projector's menus and the menus of an attached streaming stick. The side panel controls are handy if you can’t find your remote and want to make adjustments in a pinch, but they’re cheap-feeling and not very responsive.
The included streaming stick is a basic Android TV dongle that tucks into a compartment inside the projector with a built-in HDMI port and a micro USB power connector. Annoyingly, It doesn’t come pre-installed, forcing you to unscrew the projector’s top cover to insert it.
The battery compartment of the included remote control is also difficult to get into. BenQ stretched the cover across almost the remote’s whole length, and it's tricky to grasp it.
In addition to the internal HDMI port, the BenQ X3100i includes two more HDMI ports on the rear, including one that supports eARC. There are also 3.5mm analog and optical digital audio outputs, so your connection options are well covered. The projector’s built-in speakers are surprisingly potent and they provided impactful sound before maxing out in my 200-square-foot room.
Design and features score: 3.5/5
The BenQ's focus is on gaming performance, but it also does a great job displaying movies (Image credit: Future)
BenQ X3100i 4K projector review: picture and sound quality
Bright 4K picture
Flexible and responsive gaming options
Somewhat finicky HDR
The BenQ X3100i’s compact size hides mighty capabilities. A 4LED light source pipes out a rated 3,300 ANSI Lumens, working with a single DLP chip to produce a bright, crisp, and colorful 4K image. Movies and TV look awesome with this projector, especially when viewed on a 100-inch or larger screen.
If you want to make the most of it, you’ll want to pair the BenQ X3100i with a different streaming stick such as the Roku Streaming Stick Plus or Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. The included one didn’t seem to deliver HDR, and a third-party option was also inconsistent when displaying movies and shows with HDR, taking a lot of fussing around to get the projector’s settings right.
All the same, the BenQ X3100i is up to the task of providing a killer image. It may not deliver the same rich color as triple-laser projectors like the Hisense PX2 Pro, which shoots for full coverage of the huge Rec. 2020 color space, but its color is still impressive. (BenQ's specifications cite 100% UHDA-P3 color space coverage.)
Gaming performance is a key aspect of the BenQ X3100i, which can run 4K at 60Hz or 1080p at 240Hz. With that option, if I wanted luscious visuals, I could select 4K, and then if getting sweaty in Overwatch 2, flip over to 240Hz mode. The projector’s DLP chip is incredibly responsive. Whipping around the battlefield and snapping at different targets was a breeze, and it was made all the better by the fact that targets can be downright huge with a large projected image.
Regardless of what picture mode I used (save the unsightly Bright setting), the BenQ maintained a relatively consistent noise level, with fans whirring quietly and never ramping up madly to disrupt my experience.
Picture quality score: 4/5
BenQ X3100i 4K projector review: value
$2,399 is premium territory
Respectable capabilities for the price
The BenQ X3100i may not be a class leader in any category, but it’s a flexible option that finds ways to give you more for your money and is a respectable projector for home theaters and gaming dens alike. Its $2,399 price tag may put it at odds with other projectors that can game or entertain equally well, but few can do both at the level BenQ achieves here.
Value score: 4.5/5
The hidden compartment that holds the included Android TV streaming dongle (Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the BenQ X3100i 4K projector?
The X3100i's Android TV smart interface provides popular streaming apps including Netflix (Image credit: Future)
Buy it if...
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider...
Hisense PX2 Pro Ultra short throw projectors like the Hisense PX2 Pro are a great option if you want a big image from a setup that takes up minimal space. It's not the same gaming powerhouse as the BenQ X3100i, but it does look great with both games and movies. Here's our full Hisense PX2 Pro review.
(Image credit: Future)
How I tested the BenQ X3100i 4K projector
Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
Viewed with a variety of media and formats
I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade
I tested the BenQ X3100i at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it challenged by ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, and ambient noise that the projector and its speaker system had to overcome. The projector was tested both on a bare, white wall and with an Akia Screens CineWhite screen and was presented with streamed HDR and non-HDR content, as well as PC gameplay.
My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models that I and my colleagues at TechRadar have tested.
I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.
With a bigger screen, you can get more done. That's the basic theory behind Philips' latest ultrawide productivity panel, the Philips 40B1U5600. It's a 40-inch beast with a 21:9 aspect ratio.
Aiming to be one of the best business monitors with a large panel and plenty of screen real estate, it adds a range of features that help you get work done. For starters, there's a KVM switch allowing you to share this monitor across two computers. Then there's USB-C connectivity with power delivery, so you can drive the display, charge your laptop and connect peripherals, all with a single cable.
For image quality, the good news is that you get an IPS panel that supports HDR and runs at 120Hz. That relatively high refresh is normally the preserve of gaming monitors. But it has a benefit for general computing in terms of day-to-day smoothness and responsiveness.
Similar thinking applies to HDR support. It's not directly relevant for most mainstream workflows, but it's nice to have. If all that sounds impressive, there is a catch. The Philips 40B1U5600 only offers a native resolution of 3440 by 1440. That's pretty low for such a large display.
Likewise, the HDR support is fairly limited and the USB-C charging power tops out at just 15W. That latter figure is arguably the most problematic of all, as it's not enough to stop even the best business laptops from discharging when under moderate to heavy load.
Philips 40B1U5600: Design & features
(Image credit: Philips)
Strong feature set
KVM switch
Mostly good connectivity
USB-C limited to 15W power delivery
Specs
Panel size: 40-inch
Panel type: IPS
Resolution: 3440 x 1440
Brightness: 500 cd/m2
Contrast: 1,200:1
Pixel response: 4ms
Colour coverage: 121% sRGB
HDR: DisplayHDR 400
Refresh rate: 120Hz
Vesa: 100mm x 100mm
Inputs: DisplayPort 1.4 x1, HDMI 2.0 x1, USB-C with 100W power delivery x1
As a productivity-oriented monitor, it's no surprise to find the Philips 40B1U5600 is pretty sober suited. The all-black plastics and unadorned, straight-edged design is fairly anonymous. That said, the large 40-inch panel size and ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio do make for plenty of desktop appeal. This isn't your average office monitor.
It's also pretty ergonomic for such a large display, thanks to a stand that adjusts for height, tilt and swivel and a plug-out arm for hanging headphones. Speaking of ergonomics, most ultrawide displays of this large scale feature a curved rather than flat screen.
Consequently, it's notable that the edges of the display do feel like they're at quite an oblique angle when viewing the monitor from a normal working distance. In the end curved versus flat is a personal preference. But if curved makes sense at all, it makes sense on this size and format of display and a gentle curve would probably be preferable here.
Whatever, you also get a KVM switch allowing this monitor to share a single keyboard and mouse across two computers. Even better, there's USB-C connectivity with power delivery. That means you can drive the display, charge your laptop and connect peripherals, all with a single cable.
Philips has specified the power delivery at 100W, which should be enough to keep even pretty high performance desktop replacement laptops fully charged under fairly heavy load. All of which means this monitor is very well specified in terms of connectivity and ergonomics.
Philips 40B1U5600: Performance
(Image credit: Philips)
Nice IPS panel
Low pixel density
Limited colour space and HDR support
The Philips 40B1U5600's IPS panel is a decent performer. It's rated at up to 500 nits, which is plenty of punch for all by the brightest indoor ambient light conditions.
There is HDR support, but it's the entry-level HDR400 variety, which means no local dimming and limited dynamic range. This isn't a true HDR monitor, but it does support an HDR signal and will show the colours correctly.
It's just a pity that the colour balance of SDR content in HDR mode is a little off. In practice, that means you'll have to toggle between HDR and SDR modes depending on content type to ensure the best image quality results. That's a bit of a pain, but probably only a problem if you need to view HDR content regularly.
Similarly, the OSD menu offers a pretty limited range of colour spaces, with just sRGB beyond the default user mode. So, don’t go in expecting one of the best monitors for photo editing or the best video editing monitor. It’s not aimed at those users, and as such, it's not the end of the world that there's no Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 mode. And the IPS panel is pretty well calibrated and offers pleasing, well saturated colours and decent contrast for this panel type.
The 120Hz refresh support is also a nice extra. It's not strictly necessary for most workflows. But it makes for an added sense of smoothness and responsiveness for day-to-day computing. Put simply, once you've tried 120Hz or higher, you won't want to go back to the old school 60Hz experience. 120Hz is just better.
What's more, you get user-configurable overdrive, so you can tweak the response to your preference. This is a fairly quick display and even if it's not actually designed for gaming it isn't actually half bad as a gaming panel.
Where it isn't so good is pixel density. The 3440 by 1440 pixel native resolution is pretty low for a 40-inch ultrawide panel and makes for low pixel density. As a result, images aren't as sharp as higher resolution monitors and font rendering isn't as sharp.
In Windows, font rendering is tolerable on this display and as an overall productivity device, the Philips 40B1U5600 is pretty appealing. However, in MacOS using, say, an Apple MacBook, text is very soft due to the low pixel density.
Philips 40B1U5600: Final verdict
(Image credit: Philips)
As a big screen for getting stuff done, the Philips 40B1U5600 has lots to recommend it. The connectivity, including a KVM switch and USB-C with 100W of power delivery is great. The core image quality of the 40-inch ultrawide IPS panel is pretty nice, too.
The basic HDR support plus 120Hz refresh are likewise welcome extras and ensure this monitor is pretty versatile and very pleasant to use day-to-day. It'll even make a decent fist of playing games.
Despite all that, there is one pretty obvious limitation and it's pixel density. 3440 by 1440 is quite a low resolution for this large a monitor and both overall sharpness and font rendering do suffer. For Windows users, this remains a pretty usable monitor. But this is in no way one of the best monitors for MacBook Pro laptops and Macs, and we'd advise Apple users to steer clear since macOS isn't terribly well-optimised in terms of font rendering for pixel density this low.
Pair the Philips 40B1U5600 monitor with the best business computers - tested, reviewed, and rated by us
The 32-inch Amazon Fire TV 2-series is the entry level series in Amazon Fire TV range, below the Amazon Fire TV 4-series and Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED. It comes with a 720p panel and is priced at $199 / £249 / around AU$305. It is also available in a 40-inch size with a 1080p Full HD panel.
The Amazon 2-series has plenty to live up to following the Amazon Omni QLED, one of the best TVs of 2023, and our budget TV of the year at the TechRadar Choice Awards. Unfortunately, the Amazon 2-series doesn’t quite have the same wow factor as its more premium counterpart and faces tough competition in the best 32-inch TV category, although it does provide a very budget-friendly option for those needing a small screen.
The picture quality on the Amazon 32-inch 2-series is a mixed bag. Starting with lower-resolution and HD broadcast TV, textures were detailed enough and the Amazon 2-series did a good job of upscaling. For daytime TV programming, the picture was decent.
Moving onto 4K HDR sources, the first movie I watched was Star Wars: The Last Jedi on a Disney Plus stream to test color and overall HDR performance (the Amazon 2-series has HDR10 compatibility). During the throne room fight scene, With its Film Dark picture mode active, the Amazon 2-series did a good job of displaying the vibrant reds without making them look too overblown. Lightsabers also showed plenty of the expected shine. Testing the Amazon 2-series’ color gamut coverage, DCI-P3 (the color space used to master 4K movies and digital cinema releases) was 74.3% and BT.2020 was 54.1%. Although these results are expected for a budget TV, they aren’t as good as what we measured on the LG 32LQ6300, arguably the best 32-inch TV available.
The Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-series has an inconsistent picture, but colors can be good as shown by Star Wars: The Last Jedi. (Image credit: Future)
Using The Batman on standard Blu-ray to test black levels and shadows, the TV’s regular LED panel showed its limitations as any black areas on the screen took on a gray tone and there were instances of backlight clouding. Contrast was mixed, with a good balance between blacks and highlights in the subway fight scene, but less impressive performance in other scenes.
Measuring the grayscale of the Amazon 2-series, it gave a result of 3.5 (we typically look for a result below 3). This isn’t the worst result we’ve seen (it’s the same as the LG 32LQ6300) but it explains some of the 2-series’ black level and skin tone accuracy limitations. Measuring the Amazon 2-series’ peak brightness on a 10% window yielded a result of 260 nits and 237 nits in Standard and Film Dark mode, respectively, which are similar numbers to other 32-inch TVs we’ve tested.
Moving onto Top Gun: Maverick, the Amazon 2-series did a credible job of handling fast motion and panning shots, although there was some blur and judder present and there weren’t any motion adjustments in the TV's picture settings menu to compensate for it. In bright daylight sequences, the characters' skin tones looked oversaturated and unnatural. Changing the picture mode to Natural helped by preventing textures from appearing too sharp, but also sacrificed picture clarity and color accuracy.
The Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-series uses Fire TV, a smart TV platform with pros and cons. (Image credit: Future)
The Amazon 2-series fared better than expected in terms of audio quality. There isn’t much to distinguish between the various sound modes such as Standard and Music, though Entertainment proved the best option. With this active, dialogue was clear and the sound surprisingly well-balanced for a budget set. Watching The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick, the 2-series did an adequate job conveying the bassy rumble from the engines of the Batmobile and fighter jets, respectively – much more so than the tinny speakers of the Hisense 32A5K. If you’re using this as a main TV, I’d suggest you invest in one of the best soundbars, but as a secondary TV its sound should suffice.
The 2-series uses Amazon Fire TV as its smart TV platform. This offers access to plenty of apps and customization features, but also displays arguably too many recommendations on its home menu. Navigation also felt occasionally slow and clunky on the 2-series, with long pauses and stutters while loading different pages and apps. There are settings to adjust both picture and audio, but as stated above some important ones are missing such as motion settings.
The 2-series resembles other 32-inch budget TVs, with a functional design that's not uninspired - especially compared to the likes of the Hisense A5K. During setup, installing the feet showed its cheaper design, again even compared to the similarly priced LG LQ6300. The 2-series does, however, come with the Amazon Fire TV Alexa remote – a welcome accessory.
The Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-series (pictured with Battlefield V on screen) has average gaming performance that handles motion adequately. (Image credit: Future)
Gaming performance on the Amazon 2-series should be acceptable to bedroom gamers tight on space. There are no real gaming features ( expected at this price) but playing Battlefield V on Xbox Series X was smooth enough, though with occasional choppy frame rates. Switching between targets and scanning the environment was also fairly well handled.
You see a lot of similarly priced sets with similar features in the 32-inch TV category, and with its 720p as opposed to 1080p resolution, the 2-series lies at a disadvantage. Better options exist at its $199 / £249 price, with the LG 32LQ6300 regularly priced in the UK at £199. However, we have seen the 2-series as low as $119 in the US, and for that low price it is tough to argue against.
The Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-series comes with the Amazon Alexa remote. (Image credit: Future)
Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2 series review: Prices & release date
Release date: 2023
Prices from $199 /£249 / around $305 for the 32-inch
Prices from $249 / £299 / around $350 for the 40-inch
The cheapest and smallest entry in Amazon’s 2023 Fire TV lineup, the Amazon 2-series is priced around $199 / £249 / around $305 for the 32-inch and $249 / £299 / around $350 for the 40-inch. Both models are regularly on sale, with the 32-inch TV we tested dropping as low as $119 in the US and £149 in the UK.
Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2 series review: Specs
Should you buy the Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-series?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider...
(Image credit: Future)
How I tested the Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-series
Tested in lab room with different lighting conditions
Tested through a variety of sources - both SDR and HDR
Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman calibration software
I tested the various picture and sound modes of the Amazon 2-series using a mixture of broadcast, lower-resolution TV, and HDR sources, streaming through apps such as Disney Plus and Blu-ray. I also used a Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player to play standard Blu-rays.
When it comes to how we test TVs at TechRadar, following subjective testing looking at picture quality, gaming, audio and more, we move on to objective tests using a colorimeter and test pattern generator (for our tests I use the Murideo Six 8K Metal), with the results recorded by Portrait Displays' Calman claibration software.
To test for brightness, we measure across a variety of different-sized white window patterns in both SDR and HDR using Standard and the most accurate picture mode (in this case Film Dark) to get an indication of peak brightness and how well the TV will cope with reflections. We then record the Delta-E values (which demonstrates the margin of error between the test pattern and what is displayed) for color accuracy, grayscale and gamma using Calman. Lastly, we measure DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color space coverage, along with input lag in Game mode.
The Panasonic MZ980 is the brand's mid-range OLED TV offering from 2023. Although it stands out as a great all-rounder, it’s a bit unfortunate – and actually ultimately unfair, as we’ll see – that the most headline-grabbing thing about the MZ980 is stuff it doesn’t have. Namely the brightness-enhancing Micro Lens Array and proprietary heat sink hardware that you get with the brand’s step up MZ1500 and MZ2000 models.
The MZ980 does still get a premium OLED panel, though, as well as the latest version of Panasonic’s Hollywood-influenced HCX Pro AI picture processor. Plus, of course, it’s significantly cheaper than its more highly specified siblings, coming in at just £1,399 for the 55-inch sized model at the time of writing.
Making this price look all the more tempting is the simple fact that the MZ980 is a brilliant performer, holding its own against the best OLED TVs. Its picture quality benefits from all of OLED’s traditional benefits – spectacular local contrast, beautifully inky black colours, rich but subtle colours and wide viewing angles – while the excellent video processor adds a truly cinematic finish to proceedings.
The MZ980 sounds good too, despite lacking the forward-facing speakers carried by Panasonic’s step-up models, and while its smart system might not be the most sophisticated in the world, it’s easy to use and these days carries all of the most important streaming services.
Panasonic’s step up OLED TVs are even better, of course – but unless you have a particularly bright room to cope with, the MZ980’s value proposition is hard to resist.
Panasonic MZ980 Review: Price and release date
(Image credit: Future)
Release date: Late 2023
Price: starting at £1,399 for the 55-inch model
Having launched a few months back at an already then tempting £1,799, the 55MZ980 is now widely available for just £1,399. Panasonic does not currently sell its TVs in the US or Australia.
The MZ980s are, unusually for a mid-range OLED series, only available in relatively small screen sizes. The 55-inch model we’re looking at here is actually the biggest in the range, being joined only by 48- and 42-inch models.
As we’ll see, though, you shouldn’t let this fool you into thinking that the MZ980 is only good enough to be considered as a ‘second TV’. This is still a very serious TV – just one aimed at people who don’t have cavernous living rooms.
Panasonic MZ980 review: Features
(Image credit: Future)
4K OLED TV
HCX Pro AI processor
Supports all four key HDR formats
So we can get it out of the way and put behind us, let’s start with things the MZ980 does not have. Either the combination of a new high-end Micro Lens Array panel with advanced proprietary heat sink hardware that Panasonic’s MZ2000 flagship OLEDs get, or the same heat sink hardware (minus the MLA technology) that the brand’s MZ1500s get.
It does still use a mid-grade OLED panel rather than an ‘entry level’ one, but even before we got our measuring gear out we know it wouldn’t be as bright as those step up models.
Tests confirm that while the MZ2000 hits brightness peaks on a 10% white HDR test window of around 1650 nits in Dynamic mode and 1432 nits in its more stable Cinema mode, and the MZ1500 hits around 950 nits in its Cinema mode, the 55MZ980’s Cinema mode peaks at just over 700 nits. That’s basically a 50% brightness drop versus the MZ2000, and a still significant 250 nits versus the MZ1500. You will certainly feel this with HDR content, especially if your TV is typically used in a bright room.
It’s worth noting, too, that the MZ980 measures slightly less bright than LG’s rival C3 models – though I should stress right away that while brightness certainly matters in the HDR world, it absolutely is not the only thing that makes a great HDR picture. Especially when a TV’s picture processing knows how to get the maximum performance from the hardware available to it – something Panasonic has been a master of with self-emissive displays like OLED since its plasma days.
With this in mind, the big positive news about the MZ980 is that it retains the top-line HCX Pro AI processor also used by its step-up MZ1500 and MZ2000 siblings. Powered and endlessly refined by Panasonic’s engineers with years of experience dealing with both Hollywood creatives and self-emissive panel technologies, always with a strong focus on recreating creative intent, HCX engines can usually be relied on to achieve subtleties, balances and details precious few other TVs can. Especially when it comes to handling the sort of ‘near dark’ image content that’s typically one of the most difficult things for OLED TVs to manage.
While the MZ980 continues Panasonic’s obsession with accuracy, though, especially with its Filmmaker Mode, and True Cinema presets, it’s also open minded enough to provide an unusually wide-ranging roster of other picture presets that put more of an emphasis on pushing the panel to its colour and brightness limits.
The same spirit of trying to cater for everyone extends, happily, to the MZ980’s HDR format support. While many brands, including, most notably, Sony, LG and Samsung, only support three of the ‘big four’ HDR formats on even their flagship TVs, the MZ980 will play all four: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. So the 55MZ980 will always be able to take in the best version of whatever HDR content you feed it.
Gamers, meanwhile, will be pleased to learn that the MZ980 supports 4K/120Hz gaming and variable refresh rates over two of its four HDMI ports, including the AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync VRR formats. We’ll cover the TV’s gaming abilities in more detail later.
Besides the four HDMIs, the MZ980’s connections include three USBs (two side, one bottom, one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0), an Ethernet port, an analogue video inout, an optical digital audio output, and a headphone jack that unusually does double duty as a potential line out for attaching an optional external subwoofer.
Smart features are provided by the eighth generation of Panasonic’s own My Home Screen operating system. Again we’ll cover this in more detail in a dedicated section later, so all I’ll add here is that this is actually the final outing for My Home Screen before it’s replaced on Panasonic’s future high-end TVs by a fully integrated version of Amazon’s Fire TV interface.
As mentioned in passing earlier, the MZ980 doesn’t have a forward facing, truly multi-channel sound system like its step up OLED siblings do. Its 2 x 15W set up, though, still has enough power to potentially deliver some reasonably cinematic thrills, especially as it’s backed up by Theater Surround Pro processing designed to create a more immersive sound with the Dolby Atmos soundtracks the TV supports than you might expect to hear from a mere stereo speaker set up.
Features score: 4 / 5
Panasonic MZ980 Review: Picture quality
(Image credit: Future)
Exceptional light and colour subtlety
Outstanding picture processing
Brilliant contrast disguises limited brightness
While the MZ980 might not deliver the razzle dazzle of the latest high-end OLED TVs, its pictures are so refined and immersive that it’s hard to believe they’re coming out of a 55-inch TV that only costs £1,399.
This finesse is at its peerless best when it comes to the MZ980’s handling of dark scenes. The screen’s ability to distinguish between incredibly small differences in light in even the darkest corners of the darkest pictures is mesmerising, giving such imagery a unique sense of depth and detail that feels as if it’s jumped straight off a professional mastering monitor. Especially as this extreme subtlety is delivered without a hint of the sort of instabilities, blocking or fizzing noise that can crop up with other OLED screens with near-black content. Dark scenes on the 55MZ980 are as clean and pure as bright ones, in fact.
Since this is an OLED screen there’s no need to worry about backlight clouding or blooming of the sort you would expect to see with LCD TVs. Nor is there any residual greyness hanging over dark scenes, completing the sense of insight and immersion that started with the immaculate near-dark detailing.
While it’s the MZ980’s handling of dark scenes and picture areas that makes the strongest immediate impression, its handling of light is in truth just as effective. From the subtle dark scene shading through to the brightest HDR peaks, the MZ980 delivers levels of light control (right down to individual pixel level, don’t forget, given this is an OLED screen) that appear flawless across every shade. As a result, the picture always feels completely authentic and natural, perfectly balanced and full of depth, while different objects in the image always look impeccably three dimensional, realistic and contextualised.
Again you actually feel like you’re getting a gorgeously full sense of the subtleties of the professional masterer’s art. Despite this TV costing just £1,399 versus the many tens of thousands of pounds a professional mastering display costs.
While the processing and light control is at its most effective with the 55MZ980’s most ‘accurate’ picture settings, its profound understanding of the screen’s hardware strengths and limitations also means that it typically ensures that even the more ‘dramatic’ picture presets never stray into distractingly excessive territory.
The set’s tone mapping is astute enough, meanwhile, to pretty much exclude clipping (loss of subtle details) from the brightest parts of the picture, continuing the sense of ‘sweating the small stuff’ that’s the MZ980’s trade mark.
Colours, meanwhile, look surprisingly vibrant for a TV of relatively limited brightness - aided and abetted by a combination of the immaculate light control, exceptional colour mapping and outstanding contributions, again, from the HCX Pro AI picture processor. It helps, too, that colours are able to appear against a foundation of such deep and natural black colours.
Obviously some picture presets push more vibrant colours than others, as you’d expect with any TV, but the True Cinema and Filmmaker Modes achieve outstanding accuracy and refinement, while even the punchier settings retain more colour balance and control than similar modes on most rival models.
Not surprisingly with a TV that puts so much store in precision, native 4K images on the 55MZ980 look gorgeously detailed and textured. The HCX Pro AI processor also manages to retain a startling amount of this detail and texture, too, when upscaling HD sources. Motion when watching 24p movies can look a touch juddery with no motion processing active (as it can on most OLED TVs, actually), but the lowest setting of Panasonic’s Intelligent Frame Creation motion compensation system is now clever enough to slightly massage the judder effect without making the image look uncinematically smooth or adding too many distracting processing side effects.
The only major elephant in the room with the MZ980’s pictures is their brightness - or lack thereof. There’s no denying that its images don’t look nearly as light and bold as those of the latest generation of MLA-equipped OLED TVs. Nor are they quite as consistently punchy as LG’s similarly priced and specified C3 OLED range, especially where a scene or shot fills the whole screen with brightness.
While this does mean you need to treat the 55MZ980 with respect by lowering light levels in your room when you want to enjoy a serious movie night, though, the MZ980’s infinite subtlety and richly cinematic qualities make it worthy of as much respect as you can muster.
Picture quality: 4.5 / 5
Panasonic MZ980 review: Sound quality
(Image credit: Future)
Good volume and projection
Solid, clean bass handling
Male voices occasionally sound muffled
The bad news about the MZ980’s sound is that it doesn’t deliver either the scale of sound staging you get with Panasonic’s step up models, or as much forward ‘thrust’. This lack of directness might also explain why male voices can sometimes sound a little muffled and contained.
Just because the MZ980 doesn’t sound as big and detailed as its more expensive siblings, though, doesn’t mean it’s not actually a very decent audio performer for its money. Its speakers are powerful enough to get surprisingly loud without succumbing to distortion, for starters, and despite the limited number of speakers on offer a decently wide sound stage is created into which effects are placed with excellent clarity. There’s even a slight sense of height to some effects when playing Dolby Atmos soundtracks.
The speakers are sensitive enough to pick up even the faintest of audio elements in a film mix too, ensuring that soundtracks always sound busy and involving.
Bass doesn’t reach the sort of depths required to unlock the full weight of a potent action scene (so you may want to consider adding a subwoofer via the switchable headphone output at some point), but it does at least delve deep enough to stop loud scenes from sounding harsh or thin. It does so, too, without the low frequencies becoming overwhelming, or causing the speakers to crackle or buzz.
Sound quality score: 4 / 5
Panasonic MZ980 review: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Slim frame around the screen
Centrally mounted desktop 'foot'
A bit chunky round the back
Viewed straight on, the MZ980 is an attractive addition to your living room. Its screen and frame exist on the same single plane, the frame is on-trend narrow, and although it’s a bit more plasticky than the stands of Panasonic’s more expensive OLED TVs, its centrally mounted plate-style foot looks premium and robust.
Having its desktop mount placed in the centre of the TV rather than using feet tucked under each bottom corner also means that the 55MZ980 can be placed on even quite narrow bits of furniture.
The MZ980 is not such a great wall mounting option, though, thanks to the way that two to three inches in from the screen’s outer edges the rear panel suddenly juts out a country mile by OLED standards.
Design score: 4 / 5
Panasonic MZ980 review: Smart features and menus
(Image credit: Future)
Uses the My Home Screen 8.0 smart interface
Long but comprehensive set up menus
Covers all the main streaming services
With Panasonic announcing recently that it’s moving to Amazon’s Fire TV platform for the smart interfaces of its future premium TVs, the 55MZ980 represents the swan song for Panasonic’s long-running proprietary My Home Screen smart TV interface. And while the platform has certainly had its struggles along the way, this eighth and final generation sees it bowing out on good form for the most part.
It now incorporates all of the key streaming and catch up apps the vast majority of UK and European TV buyers would want, and while its interface looks a little basic at first glance, it’s actually really simple to navigate and, best of all, exceptionally easy to customise. There’s voice control support too (Alexa is built in, while Google Assistant works if you have an external Google listening device).
My Home Screen isn’t as sophisticated as some rival smart platforms when it comes to intelligently recommending content you might like, and it can occasionally become a touch sluggish. For the most part, though, I quite like it and might even miss it a bit when it’s gone.
The 55MZ980’s set up menus contain a vast number of adjustment and tweak options for you to pick your way through. There are, of course pros and cons to this. On the negative side the menus are long, text heavy, full of sub-menus and a bit jargon-heavy in places. On the plus side, if you’re the sort of person who enjoys a good tinker the flexibility the 55MZ980 gives you for adjusting any and all aspects of its picture quality is outstanding.
Smart features and menus score: 4 / 5
Panasonic MZ980 review: Gaming
(Image credit: Future)
4K / 120Hz support
Support for multiple VRR systems
Dolby Vision gaming mode
Aside from only two of its four HDMIs delivering the full roster of gaming support, the 55MZ980 is impressively equipped for cutting edge gaming experiences.
Those two high bit-rate HDMIs support 4K resolution graphics at 120Hz frame rates and variable refresh rates, for starters. In fact, the VRR support actually covers both the AMD Freesync and Nvidia G-Sync systems as well as the core HDMI-based format.
The 55MZ980’s Dolby Vision support extends to a proper gaming mode, too, meaning you can game in Dolby Vision HDR from Xboxes and compatible PC cards without having to put up with high levels of input lag. In fact, lag drops to a very respectable 14.5ms with 60Hz sources.
Gamers can call up a dedicated Game Control Board interface containing key signal information and gaming adjustment options, including two different audio profile options optimised for RPG and FPS game types.
There’s even a True Game picture preset alongside the standard Game one, which offers a properly calibrated gaming image for any picture quality enthusiasts who want that.
All of these thoughtful features contribute to a hugely enjoyable gaming experience that looks crisp, ultra-detailed and exceptionally refined. It’s true that HDR graphics don’t look as aggressively bright as they do on some more expensive OLEDs and premium LCD TVs, but as with the 55MZ980’s video performance, the subtleties Panasonic’s screen delivers provide ample compensation.
Gaming score: 4.5 / 5
Panasonic MZ980 review: Value
Great price for what it offers
£200 cheaper than Panasonic's step-up model
Slightly more expensive than the LG C3
Now that it’s available for a few hundred pounds less than it was at launch, the 55MZ980 is exceptional value. Just £1,399 really doesn’t feel like a lot to ask for a TV that offers as many features and as much top-notch performance - for both gamers and video fans - as the 55MZ980 does.
There is some pretty tough competition around, though. In particular, LG’s excellent OLED55C3 mid-range OLED model can currently be had for just £1,299, offering four full gaming HDMIs and slightly more brightness. Though it doesn’t provide quite the same picture subtlety as the Panasonic.
Stepping up to Panasonic’s 55MZ1500, with the useful step up in brightness created by its built-in heat sink, will cost you an extra £200. Whether that sounds like a better deal or not will obviously depend on how near the top of your budget you already are with the 55MZ980’s £1,399 asking price.
Value score: 4 / 5
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Panasonic MZ980 review: Also consider
How we tested the Panasonic MZ980
Tested over 10 days
Tested with 4K/HD Blu-ray, streaming and Freeview HD broadcasts
Reviewed in both dark and light dedicated test room conditions, and a regular (corner position) living room set up
Given that the 55MZ980 doesn’t carry either a built-in hardware heat sink or new Micro Lens Array technology like some of the best tvs, we started our testing by measuring its brightness using Spears & Munsil HDR window test screens and a professional light meter to try and get a feel for where it lies in the great (and now more complicated) OLED scheme of things.
With its slightly lower than typical brightness in mind, we then went on to spend time watching both HDR and SDR content on it in a wider range of light and room conditions than we normally would to see how well or otherwise it coped with different environments. Ultimately we ended up spending longer with it in a largely blacked out room than we did in brighter settings, since it was in darker surroundings where the TV most excelled, allowing us to fully appreciate its strengths. The set was tested with a selection of our favourite test 4K Blu-rays - especially Babylon, Pan, It Chapter One, Blade Runner 2049, and the Spears & Munsil test signal disc - to see how it handled key picture attributes such as contrast, colour, sharpness, fine detailing, motion and upscaling of sub-4K sources.
We fed it a variety of resolutions from various streaming and digital broadcast sources too, using both the built-in streaming apps and a Sky Q receiver, to see how well its HCX Pro AI processor dealt with the joys of compression artefacts, while gaming was tested using both a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, with a Leo Bodnar input lag testing device being used to measure input lag.
