ISSUE389|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JULY2020 83
TVsSITTINGBELOWTHEpremium Q90R, Q85R
and Q80R series, Samsung’s Q70R range
aims todeliver QLED magic for alot less
cash than its stablemates.
We’re testing the 55in QE55Q70R here,but
whether you choose this or the 49in, 75in or
82in variants, theyall have the same high-end
panel tech. These are also the cheapest
Samsung QLED TVstouse full arraylocal
dimming (FALD) backlighting, giving them a
huge advantage over sets that use basic
edge-lit backlighting.
Admittedly,FALD comes in asimpler form
here –there are just 50 lighting zones, not
hundreds like on the Q80R range and above
–and the Q70R series also misses out on
Samsung’s Ultra Viewing Angle and Ultra
Black Filter features.
DEPTHWISH
FALD also makes the QE55Q70R thicker than
it would be otherwise,and combining this
with some very widely spaced feet, you’ll have
to make sure your stand is big enough before
buying. There are advantages to the chunky
chassis, however.Sound quality is strong, with
the internal speakers producing impressive
bass and volume; the downward-firing
speaker arrangement means that sound
directionality is below par,but the powerful
output more than makes amends. It’s
markedly superior to your average TV audio.
All four HDMI 2.0b ports are located on
the rear,and once you’ve got asourcedevice
hooked up,you can choose between the
two bundled remotecontrols: atraditional
model, or the more modern Smart Remote.
The latter is perfect forbrowsing the slick
Tizen interface: this includes access to
HDR-enabled apps forNetflix, Amazon,
YouTube and BBC iPlayer,and the Prime
Video app supports HDR10+ dynamic
metadata. Apple users will be very
pleased to see that Airplay
support is present alongside the
Apple TV app,too.Only the lack
of Freeview Playgives cause for
some minor disappointment.
The QE55Q70R’s screen is a
VA-type LCD panel, which means
you can expect deep blacks and
great contrast –oratleast you
can if you sit in the right seat.
As we’ve seen from Hisense’s
much cheaper TVs, one of the
limitations of VA technology is
that viewing angles aren’t
particularly wide,soyou’ll lose
colour fidelity and contrast as you
SAMSUNGQE55Q70R
★★★★★
£800•Fromwww.johnlewis.com
VERDICT
AcapableQLEDTVforsensiblemoney,thouggh
itdoescutsomecornerstoachievethis
moveeoff-centre.ThelackofUltraViewingg
Anglehurtshere,andtheQE55Q70R’s
semi-glossysheenissimplynotaseffective
asthereflection-absorbingfinishof,say,the
QE55Q80R(Shopper380).
It’sgreattoseethatFALDispresentand
correct,evenwiththelowernumberof
independent zones. Samsung adapts forthis
by tailoring the local dimming algorithm to
suit, sacrificing shadow detail and dimming
brighter objects to maintain deep blacks
and reduce blooming or haloing artefacts.
This generally works well in practice,too,and
while the topand bottom letterbox bars aren’t
as black as theyare on the flagship Q90R
range,they’re impressively dark.
Allthat said, we did notice brightness
fluctuation in subtitles, seemingly caused by
the small number of FALD zones. If you
regularly use subtitles, or are afan of foreign
cinema, it might be worth investing in a
higher-end QLED TV,orjust an OLED.
Colour accuracy could be better,too.Itis
possible to massage the picture settings to
produce amore natural-looking picture,but
this is aTVmoreconcerned with visual
impact than out and out accuracy.HITTHE DIRT
The QE55Q70R’s picture processing delivers
high quality upscaling of SD and HD content,
so it’s ashame to see that it doesn’t get a
completely clean bill of health in other areas.There are comprehensive motion controlss,
butenablingthesetendstointroduce
microstutterin50Hzinterlacedbroadcast
content,andthisismostnoticeablefromthe
internalFreeviewtuner.TheTV’sBlackFrame
Interpolation (BFI) feature suffers from similar
issues, too, with motion interpolation
artefacts becoming visible on 50Hz content.
We noted dirty-screen effect on full-field
greyslides and amild blue tint across all four
borders of the screen, but these slides test
picture uniformity to the extreme,and as such
these issues are seldom visible in everydayuse.
Performance is respectable otherwise.
After calibration, peak brightness reaches
700cd/m^2 on a10% window,and 410cd/m^2 on
an all-whitescreen. This means that you can
expect abold, impactful HDR experience.
Gaming puts the QE55Q70R right in its
element. AutoLow-Latency Mode (ALLM)
support means that the TV automatically
switches to the low-latency Game mode when
connected to acompatible games console,
and Variable Refresh Rate(VRR) keeps screen
tearing at bay. We measured inputlag at a
mere 15ms, which is about as low as it gets for
TVs. Game Mode sacrifices alittle bit of the
QE55Q70R’s picture processing oomph, but
it’s worth it forthe lower latency.SAVETHE DAY
The QE55Q70R is yet another fine QLED TV
from Samsung that puts in avery respectable
all-round showing. HDR
performance is good, and while
the images the Q70R produces
aren’t strictly accurate, we suspect
most people won’t care –the
overall impact is thrilling.
Best of all, the QE55Q70R is
hundreds of pounds cheaper now
than it was at launch, and that
was only amatter of months ago.
This helps it see off potential
undercutting by LG’s more
affordable OLED sets, mainly the
B8 and C8 series, and makes
Samsung’s TV even more
appealing if you’re keen to avoid
the risk of OLED burn-in.