The Samsung QN90A offers impressive performance in bright rooms due to its high brightness and superior handling of reflections, making it a good choice if you often watch TV in well-lit spaces. It also has great picture quality and is capable of deep blacks, though it may fall short in very dark environments compared to OLED options.
Conversely, the Sony A80K excels in dark room viewing with its OLED technology providing perfect blacks and a great viewing angle, ideal for movies and immersive content. It might not be as bright as some LCD TVs, such as the Samsung, which could be a drawback in a sunny room.
Both TVs offer a premium viewing experience. If you watch a variety of content and have a mix of lighting conditions, the Samsung QN90A could be more versatile. If perfect blacks and wide viewing angles are your priority and you mostly watch in dimmer conditions, the Sony A80K might suit you better. Both are similarly priced and offer excellent gaming performance, so if you're a gamer, either choice will serve you well. Give Feedback
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Advantages of the Samsung QN90A (LCD)
Best in class for bright room
Excellent reflections
Advantages of the Sony A80K (OLED)
Excellent for dark room
Excellent for movies & TV
Excellent for sports
Best in class for upscaling
Best in class motion processing
Excellent viewing angle
Key differences
Movies & TV
8.0/10
9.1/10
7.00/10
CONTRAST
10.00/10
7.0/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
10.0/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
No
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony A80K (OLED) is excellent for movies & TV, while the Samsung QN90A (LCD) is very good.
The Samsung QN90A offers very good contrast with efficient local dimming technology and impressive black uniformity, making it a strong choice for watching movies and cinematic content, especially in brighter rooms. However, the Sony A80K, with its OLED screen, provides exceptional contrast, perfect black uniformity and wide viewing angles, which results in a superior dark room viewing experience for cinematic content, though it may not be as bright as the Samsung model.
Sports
7.0/10
9.2/10
8.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.0/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
9.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony A80K (OLED) is excellent for sports, while the Samsung QN90A (LCD) is good.
The Sony A80K excels in watching sports due to its superior motion processing and faster response time, leading to clearer images during fast action, and its OLED panel offers better viewing angles and handles reflections well. On the other hand, the Samsung QN90A, while good at sports viewing, might not match the Sony's performance in these areas, although it also has a very good response time and handles reflections effectively.
Bright Room
9.7/10
7.0/10
6.5/10
VIEWING ANGLE
9.1/10
9.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
9.3/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
6.8/10
9.0/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
8.9/10
The Samsung QN90A (LCD) is best in class for bright room, while the Sony A80K (OLED) is good.
The Samsung QN90A has higher SDR and HDR brightness levels, which makes it more suitable for viewing in bright rooms, and it handles reflections excellently. In contrast, the Sony A80K, while still good in bright conditions with decent SDR brightness and reflection handling, has lower HDR brightness, making it less optimal than the Samsung in very bright environments. Both TVs offer a solid color volume and gamut, but these factors are less critical when considering brightness and reflections.
Cost
$1,470
$1,698
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Samsung QN90A (LCD) has a price of $1,470 and the Sony A80K (OLED) costs $1,698.
The Sony A80K (OLED) and Samsung QN90A (LCD) both have very good picture quality.
Gaming
8.3/10
8.8/10
8.3/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
9.4/10
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.0/10
8.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
70.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
100.0/100
9.3/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
The Sony A80K (OLED) and Samsung QN90A (LCD) are both very good for gaming.
The Samsung QN90A offers excellent input lag performance, making it ideal for gaming where timing is crucial, while its LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate provides a very good response time for smooth motion. The Sony A80K, with its OLED technology, also has a 120Hz refresh rate that ensures a nearly instantaneous response, and it boasts excellent input lag, ensuring responsive gameplay.
Cartoons & Animation
8.8/10
8.5/10
7.8/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
8.1/10
8.2/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.4/10
9.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
9.5/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
8.0/10
6.4/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
9.6/10
The Samsung QN90A (LCD) and Sony A80K (OLED) are both very good for cartoons & animation.
The Samsung QN90A offers vibrant and accurate colors straight out of the box, making it ideal for watching cartoons and animation, while the Sony A80K provides a wide color gamut which is important for rich and varied shades in animated content.
News, Talk, & Other TV
8.9/10
8.9/10
9.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
The Samsung QN90A (LCD) and Sony A80K (OLED) are both very good for news, talk, & other TV.
The Samsung QN90A, with its LCD screen, offers excellent SDR brightness and very good upscaling, making it ideal for watching news and talk shows in bright rooms. The Sony A80K, an OLED TV, also provides very good upscaling and similarly excellent color fidelity out of the box but might not perform as well in a sunny room compared to the Samsung due to its good but not excellent SDR brightness.
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How the Samsung QN90A (LCD) and the Sony A80K (OLED) compare to other TVs
"It’s a high-end TV through and through something that becomes clear the moment you glance at its stunning picture. The A80K’s surgically precise contrast control is likely the first thing you’ll notice about its picture ... every piece of content looks better when this amount of precision is available. Color accuracy is another strong suit; the A80K features fantastic out-of-the-box color accuracy in the Custom picture mode."
Get a great deal on the Samsung QN90A (LCD) or the Sony A80K (OLED)
About Samsung
Samsung, a South Korean electronics manufacturer, holds the title of being the largest global TV vendor in terms of units sold. They offer a diverse lineup of TV products that cater to various budget ranges. A notable achievement in recent years is the development of Quantum Dots, a technology that enhances color reproduction, resulting in richer and more vibrant hues. Samsung TVs are well-regarded for their high manufacturing quality and user-friendly software, making them an excellent choice for consumers seeking an intuitive viewing experience.
About Sony
Sony stands as a highly experienced and widely trusted TV manufacturer, earning a reputation that surpasses all others. A Japanese company, Sony has been making TVs for far longs than it has been making Playstation game consoles. Sony's high-end TVs are often regarded as the ultimate choice for videophiles, representing the epitome of quality, albeit at a premium price point. Renowned for their advanced and precise motion handling, as well as their cutting-edge local dimming algorithms, Sony consistently delivers unparalleled performance in these areas. They include Google TV software with all their TV sets, which grants access to the largest selection of apps available and they also include Bravia Core which is a movie streaming platform specifically for Sony TVs that offers higher picture quality by using more bandwidth.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec TVs team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest TV information and makes it digestible for you.
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