Samsung Electronics is targeting a niche audience of lower-budget buyers with the launch of its first entry-level 8K television in the U.K. and Europe.
The company has just announced the new Samsung QN700A is now available, and it looks like quite a tempting option that benefits from its new MiniLED backlighting technology, with prices starting at just £2,500.
The QN700A is a Neo QLED Mini-LED TV that’s available in 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch options and the most important feature it boasts is its 8K resolution, which means the screen displays four-times the number of pixels as its 4K TVs do. The MiniLED display technology is a big draw too. It’s a more advanced backlighting technology made up of thousands of miniaturised LEDs that are said to be just 1/40th of the size of regular LEDs. This means there are numerous local dimming zones that enable more precise control over the brightness and contrast, which can result in only one thing – a much better picture.
Samsung didn’t specify an exact number of local dimming zones but said there are 1.5-times more on the QN700A than there are on its conventional LCD TVs.
On the downside, the prices Samsung has published make it quite clear than this is an entry-level 8K TV. What that means is the Samsung QN700A is a stripped-down model in many respects when compared to its peers, the Samsung QN800A and QN900A TVs. So buyers will need to compromise on a few things if they really want that 8K screen.
For one thing there’s a less capable processor inside the QN700A. Whereas the higher-end models are powered by the new Samsung Neo Quantum Processor 8K, this one comes with the “Neo Quantum Processor 8K LITE” so it definitely won’t be as capable. Still, Samsung says the chip does a great job of upscaling HD and 4K source material to 8K, while adjusting the brightness and contrast to deliver an optimal picture that suits both the room conditions and the type of content being watched.
Another consideration is that the QN700A will almost certainly have far fewer dimming zones than the 792 zones that are squeezed onto the Samsung QN900A.
On the aesthetic side, the QN700A does away with the stylish “zero bezel” design that appears on the more expensive models.
The TV also lacks some of the most important features that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S console owners might be interested in. The 50Hz panel is an obvious limitation, as is the lack of HDMI 2.1 ports, as it means it won’t be possible to play games in 4K at 120 frames per second.
It’s not all bad though. The Game Bar and Game View features make it possible to quickly switch between 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios and check the input lag, for example. The QN700A also supports AMD FreeSync and variable refresh rates that help to reduce tearing and stuttering, so it may be a good enough option for gamers who aren’t fussed about having the highest possible refresh rate.
On the audio side the Samsung QN700A offers 3D sound with eight dedicated TV speakers arranged throughout the screen for more dynamic, immersive sound that follows the on screen action. Other features include the latest Tizen 6.0 operating system, support for HDR10+ Adaptive, wide viewing angles, screen mirroring for Samsung smartphones and a new multi-tasking feature that splits the TV screen to show both the smartphone display and whatever the TV is playing.
The QN700A also comes with Samsung’s external One Connect Box, which is a feature of its premium 8K and 4K models that helps to keep all of the cables that are hooked up to the TV nice and tidy.
Samsung said the 8K QN700A is launching now across Europe, with prices starting at ccc for the 55-inch version, £3,500 for the 65-inch model and £5,000 for the biggest 75-inch screen.
