2 days Ago By Varun Godinho
At CES this year, Samsung said that its new 8K flagship, QN900D – which became available in Australia earlier this year – would support 4k at 240Hz. It was a bold statement considering that models from Vizio and TCL offer 240Hz support, but they are all limited to 240Hz at 1080p resolution. These models rely on a concept called Dual Line Gate (DLG) to achieve 240Hz at half the panel’s vertical resolution, meaning 1080p on a 4K panel.
However, Samsung’s QN900D is powered by the upgraded NQ8 AI Gen3 video processor, and supports 240Hz not only at 1080p but also at 4K, making it the first TV capable of 4K at 240Hz. Samsung says that its NQ8 AI Gen3 processor marks “a significant leap” in AI TV technology. This processor’s Neural Processing Unit (NPU) is reported to deliver twice the speed of its predecessor, and its screen is backed by AI-driven picture technology too.
No other 2024 Samsung TVs feature the NQ8 AI Gen3 processor. Rtings in its review last week confirmed that 4K 240Hz works as intended on the QN900D. To handle the bandwidth required for 4K 240Hz over HDMI, the signal must be compressed using visually lossless Display Stream Compression (DSC), according to FlatpanelsHD.
This means that the source device must also support DSC. The first source devices to support 4K 240Hz via DSC over HDMI 2.1a include Nvidia’s RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics cards as well as Apple’s M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.
While 240Hz is usually associated with gaming, it can also provide benefits for user interfaces, video and professional workflows, and help reduce eye strain. In gaming, Nvidia’s RTX 4090 struggles to hit 4K 240Hz in graphically intense games but it is achievable in less demanding games such as Diablo 4. In Australia, the 65-inch Samsung QN900D is priced at A$6,499, the 75-inch at A$8,999 and the 85-inch version at A$11,999.
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