Review – Samsung 2023 8C 4K Curved Smart QLED TV

The popularity of QLED TVs is becoming more apparent as Samsung takes on the Smart QLED TV market with their newest QLED 4K TV lineup for 2023. Today, we are taking a closer look at the 2023 Samsung Q8C 4K Curved Smart QLED TV. This TV features Samsung’s advanced Quantum Dot technology, a true 10-bit display panel, support for multiple HDR platforms, and excellent picture quality.

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Samsung Q8C 4K Curved Smart QLED TV 2023 Edition

Smart QLED TV

Read Our Review of the Samsung 2017 Q8C Curved TV

Design

Samsun seems to be sticking with their boundless 360 design. For the 2023 Q8C, the TV has retained its 2017 design. Not much of a difference can be seen.

design

The only noticeable difference in the design of the 2018 Q8C, when compared to 2017 version, is that the screen display of the 2018 Q8C is slightly bigger than the 2017 version. Though barely distinguishable unless compared side to side.

remote

The back of this TV is nearly identical to the 2017 version. It features the same cable management system, which offers a clean look and guiding all of the cables either through the legs or through the bottom of the TV. Its inputs are all located at the back of the TV. Though we find it difficult to access the ports when this TV is wall mounted.

monitor

The stand of this TV is also identical to the 2017 Q8C. It feels solid and supports the TV quite well. Compared to other TVs that have a centre stand, it will wobble a bit if knocked or moved by force but this isn’t an issue or something that will happen in a normal scenario.

Picture Quality

picture quality

In terms of picture quality, the Samsung 2018 Q8C 4K Curved Smart TV offers a good picture quality. In a dark environment, the high contrast ratio makes for a rich looking dark scene. Causing the blacks to look very deep and decently uniform. In a bright environment, this TV handles the reflection superbly. Although the peak brightness for SDR could be better.

This TV’s grey colour uniformity is very decent and it has no issues related to dirty screen effects. So sports fans can watch their favourite sports without even noticing it. On the other hand, the Samsung 2018 Q8C suffers from a poor viewing angle, which has been the same issue with the 2017 Q8C version. Making the Q8C to be not on the list of the best TV to invite all your friends to watch the big games. When viewed off centre, the colour saturates and the contrast shows inconsistency.

Lastly, movies, as well as those with HDR contents, will look very good on this TV. Its wide colour gamut is very impressive, resulting in a rich and saturated colour. Furthermore, this TV has a decent HDR peak brightness, resulting in highlights to really pop and shine.

Another drawback of this TV, other than its poor viewing angle, is the poor local dimming. As it is right now, it’s not very effective at diminishing blooming. It also does not help to make highlights and its overall picture quality to become even more punchy than what they already are.

Gaming

Console Gaming

The Samsung 2018 Q8C Curved 4K TV tends to be an excellent TV for gamers. The input lag of this TV is very low, giving you a responsive experience regardless of the input signal. With its high response time of 10 ms average, it is capable of handling fast motion very well. This TV also supports motion interpolation with low input lag in game mode. Giving any gamers a smooth gaming experience.

HDR Gaming

This TV is also an excellent option for HDR gaming since it supports different HDR format. The Samsung Q8 Can also interpolate games while keeping a low input lag, which is great for smooth play.

PC Monitor

The Samsung 2018 Q8C is also great as a PC monitor. Its picture quality performance makes it one of the best choices for PC-TV monitor.

With support for chroma 4:4:4, this TV produces clear text across all backgrounds. The only issue we have, as we have mentioned above, is its poor viewing angles. When viewing at the sides of the screen, colours lose accuracy and becomes saturated.

But overall, we still prefer the Samsung UltraWide Gaming Monitor

Samsung Ultra Wide Gaming Monitor Amazon UK Quantum Dot
Samsung LC49RG90SSUXEN 49" Curved LED Gaming Monitor - Dual WQHD 5120 x 1440, 120Hz, HDMI, Displayport, USB
  • 49 inch dual QHD curved gaming monitor, the equivalent of dual 27 inch QHD displays side-by-side
  • 120Hz refresh rate with AMD Free Sync 2 technology for crisp HDR content display, reduced input latency, low frame rate compensation
  • HDR1000 Supports a peak brightness rating of 1,000 nits for true high Dynamic Range
  • Super ultra wide 32: 9 (5120x1440) aspect ratio helps the CRG9 curve around your field of view for immersive gaming action
  • Connect multiple input sources with HDMI, 2 DisplayPort and USB 3.0 connections

Audio

The Samsung 2018 Q8C QLED 4K Smart LED HDR TV has an average sound quality. When watching movies or listening to videos, this TV gets decently loud. However, we find that the built-in speakers, despite having an output power of 40W, may not be loud enough for all cases. It still produces a decent amount of bass and a well-balanced sound though.

LG Samsung 100W 2CH Soundbar Bluetooth Amazon
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Samsung S60B All In One Lifestyle Soundbar Speaker (2022) - 5.0ch All In One Soundbar With 7 Speakers, Adaptive Sound, Alexa Built-In, Wireless Bluetooth Connection And Dolby Atmos 3D Object Tracking
  • Experience Truly Immersive Doby Atmos 3D Surround - Hear objects as if they were in the room with Dolby Atmos 3D surround sound on your S60B Soundbar Speaker. All without the need for wires as our soundbar provides wireless Dolby Atmos.
  • A 5.0ch All In One Lifestyle Soundbar Speaker That Fills A Space With Sound - Thanks to our built in AVA, Centre speaker and also side speakers, the S60B can fill your space with sound. The centre speaker enhances dialogue, so you never miss a word.
  • Sound That Suits You - The S60B comes with Adaptive Sound and Night & Voice enhancement modes built-in, this means that the sound will automatically adjust to suit your content of choice. For the perfect audio every time.
  • Control And Connect With Ease - Not only does the S60B come with Amazon Alexa built-in, it is also made for seamless connection thanks to Bluetooth, Airplay 2, HDMI and Wi-Fi connection all there for limitless pairing possibilities.
  • The Ultimate Home Cinema Experience With Q-Symphony - Put the power of a cinema in your living room when you pair a Samsung TV and Samsung Soundbar. Smart AI works to utilize the channels from both devices for an immersive sound experience.

For this TV, we still highly recommend using a good dedicated speaker setup, since this TV lacks some punch in the bass range and in all other aspects of the audio system.

Samsung 2023 Q8C vs Samsung 2019 Q8C: The Difference

The main difference between the 2023 Q8C QLED Curved TV and the 2019 Q8C is the support for HDR10+. The latter doesn’t support HDR10+. Furthermore, the 2023 edition has more powerful speakers and a wider screen display. Other than that, the differences are trivial such as the power output of the USB ports and the 2023 edition comes with Tizen 4.0 out of the box.

Our Verdict

Pros

  • Advanced Quantum Dot Technology
  • Beautiful Design
  • Lovable Smart System
  • Excellent Picture Quality

Cons

  • Curved — Divisive
  • Black Uniformity — Edge LED
  • Price
  • Limited Viewing Angle

Overall, the Samsung Q8C Quantum Dot Curved 4K HDR offers a versatile set of features and good overall picture quality. Unlike the 2017 edition, this TV now supports the latest in HDR technology, HDR10+. Making this TV a good choice for most situations. Despite offering an excellent performance overall, this TV still shares a few issues and flaws. Like the 2017 Q8C, the 2018 Q8C also suffers from a limited viewing angle, which makes it less suitable for wider living rooms and bigger audiences.

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