The Samsung QN90B is an LCD TV that costs a premium price and offers very good overall picture quality with particularly high brightness, making it suitable for bright rooms. Its gaming performance is excellent, sound quality is solid, and it includes great speakers. On the other hand, while it supports HDR10+, it does not support Dolby Vision.
The Sony A80K is an OLED TV, also at a premium price point. It generally provides better picture quality than the Samsung, especially in dark rooms due to its perfect black levels. It has incredible gaming scores and viewing angles, making it great for sports and group viewing. The color accuracy and motion processing are exceptional. However, this TV may not be as well-suited for very bright rooms because it's not as bright as the Samsung. It supports Dolby Vision but not HDR10+.
If you often watch TV in a bright room or prioritize peak brightness, the Samsung QN90B would be a good choice. For those who value perfect blacks, wide viewing angles, and outstanding motion handling for sports and gaming, the Sony A80K is a better fit, as long as you can manage with lower brightness in well-lit environments. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Samsung QN90B (LCD)
Best in class for bright room
Excellent for news, talk, & other TV
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
8.1/10
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 QN90B (LCD) is very good.
The Sony A80K's OLED display provides perfect blacks due to its per-pixel lighting, resulting in excellent contrast and superb black uniformity, which enhances movie watching in dark environments. On the other hand, the Samsung QN90B, with its mini LED LCD screen, offers very good contrast and local dimming which helps darker scenes but may not reach the absolute blacks of the Sony A80K, which could be more visible in a dark room.
Sports
7.1/10
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 QN90B (LCD) is good.
The Sony A80K's OLED panel provides excellent motion processing and wide viewing angles, which is ideal for fast-paced sports content and group viewing. The Samsung QN90B, although very good in handling reflections and with fast response times essential for sports, doesn't match the Sony's superior motion handling or as wide viewing angles, which can make a difference during dynamic sports games.
Bright Room
9.7/10
7.0/10
7.4/10
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 QN90B (LCD) is best in class for bright room, while the Sony A80K (OLED) is good.
The Samsung QN90B provides excellent SDR and HDR brightness and handles reflections very well, which is ideal for bright rooms. In comparison, the Sony A80K offers good SDR brightness and very good reflection handling, but its HDR brightness is only fair, meaning it might not stand out as much in very bright environments.
The Sony A80K (OLED) and Samsung QN90B (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 QN90B (LCD) are both very good for gaming.
The Samsung QN90B, due to its very good response time and the best input lag, is excellent for gaming, ensuring smooth motion and prompt reaction to input, which is crucial for fast-paced gaming, plus it has four HDMI ports for connecting multiple devices. The Sony A80K also boasts excellent response time and good input lag, making it a strong option for gamers looking for vivid OLED display quality and responsiveness during 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
6.6/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
9.6/10
The Samsung QN90B (LCD) and Sony A80K (OLED) are both very good for cartoons & animation.
News, Talk, & Other TV
9.0/10
8.9/10
9.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Samsung QN90B (LCD) to be excellent for news, talk, & other TV, while the Sony A80K (OLED) is very good.
The Samsung QN90B excels in upscaling lower-resolution content and has outstanding SDR brightness, making it ideal for news and day TV viewing in bright rooms. In contrast, the Sony A80K has very effective upscaling with slightly less intensity in SDR brightness, but offers impressive colors right out of the box, yielding vivid imagery for general TV programs.
Cost
$1,600
$1,698
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Samsung QN90B (LCD) has a price of $1,600 and the Sony A80K (OLED) costs $1,698.
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How the Samsung QN90B (LCD) and the Sony A80K (OLED) compare to other TVs
"The QN90B delivers one of the brightest pictures we’ve ever seen, showcasing HDR content better than just about every LCD/LED TV on the market. If all you’re planning on doing is watching cable TV, broadcast channels, and a fair share of streaming shows or movies, the QN90B is sure to impress. All four of the QN90B’s HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K gaming at 120fps a centerpiece feature of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5."
"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 QN90B (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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About the TV team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and TVs Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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TVs Expert
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