Best Buy is selling Samsung's brand new 2020 Q90T 85" model television for $2,600 for one day only. That is more than half off the usual retail price.

Here's how I talked myself out of the impulse buy (thread)

Yes, I know there's a global pandemic and wasteful spending is a terrible idea, especially now. But TV is what we have right now, right? It's what we watch to make us feel less scared. So the temptation to upgrade right now is actually stronger than ever.

Which brings me to the first question all TV buyers ask themselves: is this actually a good TV? And the answer, in this case is... we don't know. There aren't enough full reviews of the Q90T to judge any of the categories that people ask about when making a TV purchase.

What we do know is that 2020 Q90T is, by design, less good than last year's model, the Q90R. And the reason for that is because Samsung is trying to push consumers towards THE NEXT BIG THING - 8K. But 8K isn't as important as manufacturers want you to think. More on that later.

All Samsung TVs (right now) are QLED, which means that the pixels that make up the screen's image are lit from behind by what's called "dimming zones." The more zones, (hopefully) the less "blooming" and the more accurate the colors, the whites, and the blacks.

Samsung wants you, the consumer, to buy its 8K range (the Q800TS and the Q900TS), so they decreased the number of local dimming zones in the Q90T compared with last year's Q90R. And while there are ways to improve image quality beyond dimming zones, a downgrade is a downgrade.

How much of a difference will fewer dimming zones make? We don't know yet. But a 50% off sale this soon doesn't paint a great (pardon the pun) picture. Add to that the fact that only the 85" model is on sale and it suggests that there are more issues the larger the screen gets.

Another thing to consider is QLED's chief technological rival - OLED. Unlike with QLED, the pixels of OLED are self-emissive, which means no "blooming" and (hopefully) very accurate colors, white, and blacks.

Each of these technologies has the merits and their shortcomings, but here's the BIG thing to know:

By the end of 2020, Samsung will no longer be producing LED screens. So after this year, their entire lineup (including the top tier 8K models) are being completely rethought.

Samsung's plan, so far as we know, is to marry Quantum Dot technology with OLED self-emissive diodes. Whether it'll work or what the price points will be, we don't know. But it seems like, right now, they're looking to move their old product, and that includes this year's models.

And remember how I said 8K isn't as important as manufacturer's want you to think it is? Well, that's true. And the reason I know this is because there are TV tech nerds like me who still prefer their 1080p televisions even though they have a fraction of the resolution.

Why? Well, in my case, it's because my TV is a plasma screen. And plasma, like OLED, is self-emissive. But it also has something no new TVs have - an essentially perfect refresh rate.

4K, 8K, 12K, 1,000,000K - makes no difference. The current crop of TVs, by the nature of their LED screens, have refresh rates that can't compete with plasma. And refresh rates are just a fancy way of saying "the image looks good when it moves."

You would think one of the most important things about a motion picture device would be the motion, and you would be right. That's why OLED and QLED both dedicate so much on processors to handle motion as best as possible.

But plasma still does it better.

Some day, there will be a TV that has the bright pop of QLED, the blacks of an OLED, and the motion of a plasma, but today ain't it.

In the meantime, companies, like Samsung, are going to do everything they can to get you to buy a thing, especially before reviews come out.

All that being said, Samsung's Q90T 85" TV will probably be fine. But it will also probably have blooming issues. It's peak brightness won't be as good as last year's model. And it's motion probably won't be great either. If you don't mind any of those things and a deals a deal?

Then here's a link to the sales. It ends 4/12/2019 at 11:59pm CT. This TV might be worth it for you. Who could blame you? That deal is unbelievable! But me? I can wait a few more years for what's coming next. Thanks for reading! https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-85-q90t-series-4k-uhd-tv-smart-led-with-hdr/6402405.p?skuId=6402405