With 2019 closing out and Christmas almost upon us, you might be searching for a nice 4K TV to put under the tree. We’ve already reviewed the Samsung Q90R, which is an amazing TV but might be a bit pricey for some wallets out there. After all, you do want to have some money left over for a soundbar to go with that TV. For this review, we have the 2019 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV.
The 2019 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is one of the company’s entry-level models into their higher-range of TVs. While you can get some even cheaper Samsung models, the Q-Series is the cream of the crop and, given the current sale price, it is well worth it. So read on for the full review of the 2019 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV.
Specifications
The 2019 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV has the following features and specifications:
- Video
- Screen Size: 64.5″ Measured Diagonally
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160
- Motion Rate: 240 (*49″:120)
- Color: 100% Color Volume with Quantum Dot
- HDR (High-Dynamic Range): Quantum HDR 8X
- Picture Engine: Quantum Processor 4K
- Quantum Dot Color: Yes
- Upscaling: 4K AI
- Audio
- Dolby: Dolby Sound
- Sound Output (RMS): 40W
- Speaker Type: 2.1CH
- Multiroom Link: Yes
- Bluetooth Headset Support: Yes
- Wireless Connectivity
- Wi-Fi: Yes
- Wi-Fi Direct: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
- Features
- Smart Hub: Yes (incl. Sports, Music and TV Plus)
- Processor: Quad-Core
- Apps Platform: Smart TV with Bixby Voice, Apps, and Full Web Browser
- Voice Interaction: Bixby, Google Assistant, Alexa
- AI Technology: Yes
- Auto Channel Search: Yes
- Auto Motion Plus: Yes
- Dimming Technology: Ultra UHD Dimming
- V-Chip: Allows parents to block inappropriate movies and programs based upon their FCC rating.
- Electronic Program Guide (Channel Guide): Yes
- Game Mode: Yes (Auto Game mode, Game Motion Plus, Freesync)
- Ambient Mode: Yes
- Auto Power Off: Yes (Function that automatically powers down television to save energy if no signal is present.)
- Closed Captioning: Yes
- Anynet+ HDMI-CEC: Yes (HDMI version that supports TV and compatible HDMI component commands via single remote controller.)
- Eco Sensor: Yes (Technology that intelligently adapts the screen’s brightness to the intensity of the light in the room.)
- Bluetooth: Yes with headset support
- InstaPort S (HDMI Quick Switch): Yes
- Mobile to TV – Mirroring, DLNA: Yes
- TV to Mobile (Mirroring): Yes
- I/O
- 4 HDMI ports
- 2 USB ports
- Ethernet port
- RF In (Terrestrial/Cable Input)
- RF In (Satellite Input)
- RS232C
- Digital Audio Out (Optical)
- Audio Return Channel Support (via HDMI port) ARC
- Dimensions
- Product Size (W x H x D) Without Stand in inches: 57.1″ x 32.7″ x 2.4″
- Product Size (W x H x D) With Stand in inches: 57.1″ x 35.8″ x 11.3″
- Stand Size (W x H xD) in inches: 2.2″ x 7.9″ x 11.3″
- Shipping Size: 63.3″ x 38″ x 7.7″
- Weight without stand: 53.6 lbs
- Weight with stand: 54.9 lbs
- Shipping weight in box: 74.1 lb
- Power
- Power Supply: AC110-120V 50/60Hz
- Typical Power Consumption: 95W
- Maximum Power Consumption: 225W
- Standby Power Consumption: Under 0.4W
- Other Features
- Mini Wall Mount Compatible
- Vesa Wall Mount Compatible (400×400)
- Quantum Dot Color
- Flat Glass Display
- 4K UHD resolution
- Ultra Viewing Angles
- Samsung remote TM1950C
- Samsung Model Number: QN65Q70RAF
What’s In The Box
- 2019 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV
- Power cable
- Manuals, documentation, warranty
- Hardware and stand
- Samsung remote TM1950C and batteries
Design
The 2019 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is the latest Samsung TV I’ve had the pleasure to review. In the past, I’ve reviewed the 2017 Samsung Q8C, the 2018 Samsung Q8F, the 2018 Samsung Q7CN, and the 2019 Samsung Q90R. This latest review isn’t going to be far off from the others, especially the Q90R, as the Q70R is its little brother.
The 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV still has those nice slim bezels all the way around the entire TV, which makes it look nice and sleek. The build quality is solid, not as good as the flagship Q90R, but that’s to be expected. The back is made of plastic material, of which I’m not a huge fan, but it does save costs.
Even with the slightly less premium build, the lines of this TV really look sharp. At first glance, most people wouldn’t notice much of a difference between the flagship and the Q70R, and that’s a great thing.
The most obvious distinguishing feature is the stand. I was a big fan of the Q90R stand as it was substantial and sturdy. To be fair, the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV does weigh less than the Q90R so it makes sense Samsung used the stand they used here. The stand is composed of two legs that slide into the bottom of the TV. They do a good job and I was never afraid the TV would fall. I was just spoiled by the Q90R stand.
There is a VESA mount on the back and it supports Samsung’s gapless wall mounting system. We used the stand during our testing which worked out really well. We never wall mount our review units as they go back to Samsung once we’re done with them.
All of the ports for the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV are located on the back. Unlike its big brother, the Q70R does not come with the One Connect system, which I loved. The good news is, there are channels along the back of the TV so you can sort of control your cable mess on the back. The ports you get on the back are:
- 4 HDMI ports
- 2 USB ports
- Ethernet port
- RF In (Terrestrial/Cable Input)
- RF In (Satellite Input)
- RS232C
- Digital Audio Out (Optical)
- Audio Return Channel Support (via HDMI port) ARC
- Power connection
Samsung does include physical controls under the Samsung logo under the bottom bezel. You can power the TV on and off or control channels and volume from here if you wish, or if you lose the remote.
Display
The 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is sporting Samsung’s QLED display technology with Ultra-UHD Dimming. The same ultra-wide viewing angles are not present here as they are on the Q90R but that is to be expected on the less expensive model. This does not mean the viewing angles are bad, as a matter of fact, the viewing angles on the Q70R are fantastic. While some things do wash out at very extreme viewing angles, most people aren’t sitting that far off to the left or right that it would matter. So viewing angles are more than acceptable here.
As with all of their other TVs, the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is pretty slim. QLED TVs don’t get to the extreme physical thinness of their OLED counterparts, but come on, these TVs are worlds thinner than ever before so there isn’t much to complain about on this front. Reflection on the panel isn’t bad but is noticeably higher than on the Q90R. The Q90R had an anti-reflective filter, and I noticed the lighting in front of the Q70R reflected more than the Q90R. Again, it’s not terrible and I’m really the only one who noticed this as my wife and kids cared very little about it.
As we’ve mentioned in our past TV reviews, we do not have our review units professionally calibrated nor do we do any calibration ourselves. Calibrating TVs can cost a decent amount of money and most manufacturers have successfully formulated presets that work for most users. HDR also makes calibration a bit trickier than in the past so we use these TVs as-is out of the box with the presets that it is shipped with. Our reviews are not meant for those TV users who are passionate about their viewing experience to the point of purchasing meters and calibration software. The majority of users unpack their TV and run through the presets quickly and move on to watching content. So beyond a few settings and presets, we did not use any pro tools for evaluating this TV.
So back to what matters, our 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV display evaluation. I have to tell you, evaluating a TV that is a few models down from the previous model you reviewed is difficult. As you’ve probably already noticed, I’ve been comparing the Q70R to the Q90R a lot throughout this review. That’s really not fair as the feature set and technologies used are very different.
The Q70R picture is every bit of amazing, given its price point and its available technologies. As with Samsung’s other Q-series TVs, the peak brightness is fantastic here. Even with the lights out, I prefer brightness to be at its max, so I turn off auto-brightness. Auto-brightness works really well if that’s what you wish to use.
We consumed 4K HDR content from Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Vudu while evaluating the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV and it was fantastic. The level of detail, contrast, and color are really amazing. It never ceases to amaze me just how great Samsung’s TV technology has gotten. We’ve made mention of Samsung’s contrast improvements over the years and it just gets better. While a comparable OLED does get deeper blacks, they often make the blacks so intense they remove subtle details in the shadows. With Samsung’s QLED tech, the black levels are great but they also preserve the details in the areas that aren’t truly black. This is very helpful when gaming and being able to see movement and action within darker areas of the game. OLED technology can deliver very inky blacks, but that same technology can sometimes remove some context of a scene or situation which might be important to the overall story.
Colors on this panel are punchy, vibrant, and rich. The presets allow you to tweak the experience, and these mostly play with the panel’s colors and brightness. Movie mode seems to be a favorite of many, but I have found that the brightness is pulled down too much for my liking in movie mode. I tend to stay in standard mode which gives me the brightness I am looking for while maintaining those vibrant colors and good contrast. The included presets can be tweaked and you can adjust things to your liking if you want to dive into the color and brightness sliders. I think most people will pick a preset and run with it.
As we mentioned, we tested the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV using services like Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, and others. We consumed 4K, 4K HDR, 1080p, 720p, and even 480p content on this TV. The 4K AI upscaling works really well with 1080p content and fairly well with 720p content. 480p is still not great but hey, it’s 480p. We’re working on a separate article for the future explaining AI upscaling, in an easy to understand way, so stay tuned. We also played 4K games using the Xbox One X, and every piece of content we consumed on this TV was amazing.
Overall, the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is really an amazing entry into the world of Samsung 4K QLED TVs. The display on this TV is really just another work of art and tech from Samsung.
Setup
Setting up the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is super simple. You can watch our unboxing video for an overview of physical setup as well as TV setup. The stand included is basically just two legs that slide into the bottom of the TV. Just be sure to insert them on the correct sides. They are labeled to correspond to the correct side, so it’s pretty easy to get it right.
The Q70R does not have the One Connect system like the Q90R which means you’ll need to connect all of your cables to the back of the TV. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but that One Connect box really makes things look nice and clean. Too bad it’s not part of the whole series. Like the Q90R, once you have everything connected to the back of the TV, the software will auto-detect what you have connected and name appropriately.
As for the interface setup, you can navigate through the UI setup with the included remote or use your smartphone. We set up the TV with a Samsung Galaxy S10+ which literally takes 5 minutes or less. Just follow the onscreen instructions and you’ll be ready to go. You may have to log in to some apps after you get them downloaded, but that’s easy to do.
Of course, you can opt not to use the smart features of the TV and simply just plug your devices in, using it as a regular TV. That’s even easier for those who want to use the UI on the Xbox One or Roku sticks. For those who want to use the Samsung Smart TV features, these are the simple steps.
- Turn on your TV. Your smartphone and TV will connect automatically, taking you to the next step to set-up your new QLED TV.
- Your smartphone will share Wi-Fi network information with your TV.
- If your smartphone is linked to a Samsung account, it will automatically be shared with your TV. No separate login required.
- Choose the apps on your smartphone that you also want on your TV. They’ll be copied into your TV’s Smart Hub and you’ll automatically be logged in.
Overall, the setup is super simple. It is a two-person job to physically set up the TV (and two-people is recommended to be safe but also to not damage the TV) but the software setup is super simple.
Software
Nothing is different on the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV over the previously reviewed Q90R so we’re going to rehash our thoughts from that review.
Samsung’s QLED SmartTVs are running the company’s own Tizen OS and the Samsung Smart Hub. I really love this interface so much that it’s the only interface I use now for my apps. I used to use my Xbox One for accessing all of my apps, but the interface on the Samsung Q90R QLED 4K TV is just perfect! These are just a few of the offerings:
- Apple TV+
- Disney+
- YouTube TV
- Netflix
- Plex
- Amazon Prime Video
- YouTube
- Vudu
- YouTube Kids
- Amazon Prime Music
- Google Play Movies
- Google Play Music
- Spotify
- Pandora
Samsung’s OneRemote is also really smart as it can control the Xbox One X, soundbar, Blu-Ray player and other select peripherals. This eliminates the need for multiple remotes and makes everything very simple and streamlined.
Of course, the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV features Bixby again, which can actually be pretty helpful. You can ask Bixby to show you movies with Adam Sandler and it will pull up results from all compatible installed apps. Netflix, however, is not one of them. So, there are some limitations, mainly because app makers have to opt to work with Bixby.
The Q70R supports SmartHub which connects all of your SmartThings products together in one app. Soundbars, TVs, robot vacs, lightbulbs, and any smart home items that are compatible can be controlled within the SmartThings app and even on your TV. It’s a pretty neat ecosystem if you’re invested in multiple Samsung devices. The 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV also has Ambient Mode like its bigger brother. Ambient Mode is fun and allows you to use the TV panel like an info center or picture frame. It’s really the most effective when your TV is wall mounted.
Overall, the software experience on the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is simply amazing. The interface is clean and fluid and everything works nicely. I do feel the UI responsiveness was a bit slower than the Q90R. I felt like apps were slightly slower to load on this TV. Not to the point of frustration, but just ever so slightly slower. The OneRemote is fantastic and even has shortcut buttons for Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu. It’s still the best software experience I’ve had on a TV.
Sound Quality
I’ve had nothing but praise for the past few Samsung TV speakers I’ve reviewed, and that is no different here. I’m more than pleased with the sound coming from the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV. These speakers are far superior to many others out on the market.
That being said, they’re not immersive and broad but they are more so than basic TV speakers if that makes sense. I think these speakers are going to make most people happy though. I think people will enjoy them until they can afford to add a good soundbar to the setup, something like the Samsung Q90R Soundbar which will add a lot to your entertainment experience.
Overall, the sound quality coming from the built-in speakers is excellent for TV speakers. At some point, if you want to take advantage of Dolby Atmos and need a more immersive experience, then I’d suggest a soundbar.
Performance
I’ve always been impressed with the performance of all of the Samsung TVs I’ve reviewed. The 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV falls in line with that performance quality. The only real issue I saw was in the app launching or calling up the app bar. Every so often there was a pause or stutter when calling things up. Not overly horrible and I probably would not have noticed it if I hadn’t already used the more expensive and better Q90R. I don’t think most users will even care or notice this small stutter.
You can connect to the TV via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. We opted to connect using the wired Ethernet option as this will give you the fastest speeds and performance from your ISP (and it didn’t hurt that the TV is basically right next to my router).
We did test the Wi-Fi capability, and performance on wireless was good. Watching 4K content through streaming apps was also just fine. This is, of course, going to depend on your internet connection. We have Gigabit speeds so we’re fortunate to mostly have pretty good service.
Gaming is also spectacular on this TV, especially 4K gaming. Xbox titles like Forza Horizon 4, The Divison 2, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and Star Wars Battlefront II look absolutely stunning on this TV. The Samsung Q90R QLED 4K TV also supports FreeSync if you plan on connecting your gaming PC. We did not test that feature as I mostly do console gaming and very little, if any, PC gaming.
Price/Value
The 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is priced at US$2199.99 which is a fair price for what you get. Fortunately, you can pick these up right now on Samsung’s website for US$1,199.99 which is an outstanding deal! The 49″ version is currently sale priced at US$799.99 and the 55″ is US$999.99 with the 85″ clocking in at US$2,999.99.
Before I started reviewing 4K TVs I used to think it wasn’t worth it. I was fine with my 1080p Walmart model that cost just under US$600. And that’s actually fine if you are too, buy what you like and be happy, that’s what matters. But I have to say, I made my judgments on these more expensive sets without ever having used them. Now that I am afforded the opportunity to actually use these high-end TVs, I now see the value they do hold for the users that can afford them.
The picture quality here is amazing, the contrast is excellent, the color is vibrant and punchy, the brightness is spot on, the viewing angles are amazing, the design is beautiful, the build quality is excellent, and the value is most certainly there, especially at its current discounted price.
Overall, this is a huge purchase for anyone. Not everyone is looking to spend this much on a TV. For those who think US$2,199 is crazy for a TV, well, this isn’t for you. But for those who are willing to invest in their entertainment experience, the 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV holds an excellent amount of value.
Wrap Up
The 65″ Samsung Q70R QLED 4K TV is the company’s entry into their Q-series of TVs and it’s fantastic for an entry-level TV. Of course, nothing is perfect, and you can always find something you might not like about things. I’d recommend this TV to anyone looking for a 4K HDR TV and I’d especially recommend this to gamers as they will get the best experience on a Samsung QLED.
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Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
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