Samsung's 2019 AirPlay 2-Compatible QLED TVs Now Available for Purchase

[MacRumors]

Samsung today announced that its 2019 TV lineup with QLED 4K and 8K options, can now be pre-ordered or purchased from the Samsung website or from select retailers across the United States.

Available in sizes ranging from 43 inches to 98 inches, the QLED lineup works with AirPlay 2, thanks to Apple's move to expand AirPlay 2 availability to many television manufacturers. AirPlay 2 will allow Apple users to stream music, podcasts, and more directly to Samsung TVs.

Samsung's 2019 TVs will also feature a new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app, allowing iTunes content like movies and TV shows to be accessed directly on a Samsung television set.

Existing 2018 smart Samsung TV sets will also get AirPlay 2 support and the iTunes app through an upcoming firmware update. Samsung plans to debut the new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app in more than 100 countries, while AirPlay 2 support is set to be available in 190 countries, but specific timing has not yet been announced.

Samsung's 2019 TV lineup includes Q60, Q70, Q80, and Q90 sets ranging in size from 43 to 82 inches, along with the QLED 8K, available in sizes ranging from 65 inches to 98 inches. Samsung's QLED Lifestyle 4K TVs in sizes ranging from 43 to 55 inches are also launching, as are new 4K UHD RU TV sets in sizes ranging from 43 to 82 inches.

According to Samsung and Apple, all 2018 and 2019 4 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series, and QLED Series TVs will work with AirPlay 2, and presumably, those television sets will also get the iTunes app. Other smart TVs with AirPlay 2 support will also work with HomeKit, but Samsung's televisions will not feature HomeKit integration and will not be listed in the Home app.

Samsung has its 65-inch Q900 QLED 8K TV available for purchase from its website starting at $5000 for 65 inches. The TV sets will ship by March 1, 2019.

Many of the other 2019 television sets are not available for purchase on Samsung's site but should soon be showing up on websites for various retailers like Best Buy, B&H Photo, Amazon, and others.

Article Link: Samsung's 2019 AirPlay 2-Compatible QLED TVs Now Available for Purchase

 

[calzon65]

I think it's so misleading that Samsung uses the term QLED; the uninformed public is lead to believe this may somehow be similar to OLED … which is it not!

 

[chewbaka]

QLED: just LCD with local dimming, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on an OLED.

 

[Baymowe335]

Samsung is a such a joke company.

"QLED"

Hmm...what could that look like?

 

[benshive]

I think it's so misleading that Samsung uses the term QLED; the uninformed public is lead to believe this may somehow be similar to OLED … which is it not!

What's more misleading: QLED or AT&T's 5GE?

 

[calzon65]

What's more misleading: QLED or AT&T's 5GE?

LOL good one.

 

[munpip214]

but Samsung's televisions will not feature HomeKit integration and will not be listed in the Home app.

Of course they would limit the usefulness of Airplay 2.

 

[barkomatic]

QLED: just LCD with local dimming, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on an OLED.

At $5000 for a 65 inch set--that's more expensive than an OLED set of the same size. What's the advantage, if any, over OLED?

 

[IRockThat828pScreen]

great for the end user, bad for the Apple TV

 

[jimothyGator]

QLED: just LCD with local dimming, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on an OLED.

I'm not saying the name isn't potentially confusing (and potentially misleading), but QLED isn't LCD with local dimming. The "Q" stands for "quantum", as in quantum dots that increase color volume, brightness, and viewing angle. It has nothing to do with local dimming. In fact, the entire 2017 QLED series, and the 2018 Q6 do not have local dimming.

(That said, if someone can't tell the different between a Q and an O, or don't bother research the technology differences before they spend two grand or more on a TV, they get none of my sympathy).

 

[IRockThat828pScreen]

QLED: just LCD with local dimming, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on an OLED.

Liquid Retina: Just LCD with curved corners, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on a better type of display

 

[jimothyGator]

At $5000 for a 65 inch set--that's more expensive than an OLED set of the same size. What's the advantage, if any, over OLED?

Brightness is the primary advantage, including peak HDR brightness. If you're watching TV in a bright room with lots of windows, that might be an advantage.

Also, some people are concerned about OLED burn-in; LCD is immune from burn-in.

 

[IRockThat828pScreen]

At $5000 for a 65 inch set--that's more expensive than an OLED set of the same size. What's the advantage, if any, over OLED?

Cheaper to manufacture, so Sammy gets more profit on each unit sold

 

[macduke]

There is no reason for anyone to need an 8K TV at 65" if you're using it as an actual TV. With 20/20 vision you don't even get the full benefit of 4K at 65" in a typical living room. For instance, at 6ft away from the TV, you would need a 100" TV to start to see a difference over 4K. There are actual calculators and charts online that will tell you this. And that's just to start—it's not even anywhere close the full benefit of 8K at that huge size and close distance. Perhaps it could be used as a computer monitor, but that just sounds nuts and possibly painful to look at a screen that big that close all day, having to move your head all around. I hope consumers aren't going to fall for this 8K BS.

 

[thefredelement]

TVs have really gotten huge over the last ten years. I feel like the only person who likes a smaller set. I don't like it as the focal point in the room, then again we don't watch much television lately.

 

[Cosmosent]

Can someone explain to me, technically, what exactly is AirPlay 2 ???

I assume that it's a "screen capture" streaming solution from an iOS device (@ perhaps 720p30), to an AirPlay 2 Receiver.

But I'm just guessing.

If RE-encoding of content is occurring on the iOS device, then what is the Bit Rate for the streamed video ???

Anybody know the answer to that ???

 

[kiranmk2]

I'm not saying the name isn't potentially confusing (and potentially misleading), but QLED isn't LCD with local dimming. The "Q" stands for "quantum", as in quantum dots that increase color volume, brightness, and viewing angle. It has nothing to do with local dimming. In fact, the entire 2017 QLED series, and the 2018 Q6 do not have local dimming.

(That said, if someone can't tell the different between a Q and an O, or don't bother research the technology differences before they spend two grand or more on a TV, they get none of my sympathy).

Not sure QLED improves the brightness. The Qdot colour filter is another filter layer and even though Qdots have high efficiencies, they will be below 100% meaning that the Qdot film will slightly lower the brightness.

 

[triangletechie]

What's more misleading: QLED or AT&T's 5GE?

I'll throw Liquid Retina into the mix.

 

[chewbaka]

Liquid Retina: Just LCD with curved corners, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on a better type of display

Not contesting that.

 

[mi7chy]

What's more misleading: QLED or AT&T's 5GE?

#1 Liquid Retina near 720p
#2 AT&T 5Ge
#3 QLED

 

[vdgroodt]

really need that homekit integration ( thinking about using homebridge as an alternative, anybody some experience with it on a samsung?

 

[JeffPerrin]

Can someone explain to me, technically, what exactly is AirPlay 2 ???

There should be no "re-encoding" of content. It's simply streaming the video or photo file to the device, just as happens with the Apple TV.

Of course, whether or not Samsung and other 3rd-party TVs can do this reliably is yet to be seen.

 

[mithion]

At $5000 for a 65 inch set--that's more expensive than an OLED set of the same size. What's the advantage, if any, over OLED?

The $5000 is for the 8K model which is expected since 8K is pretty new. Nevertheless, the 65in 4K model is $3500 so it's still pretty pricey. But for me, the samsung TV is worth it because there is no risk of burn and the picture is much much brighter. The one thing where oled is unbeatable is contrast ratio but these samsung tvs have great black levels thanks to local dimming so the tradeoff is less than you would think. The ultimate no compromise technology will be microLEDs but we're still a little ways from that technology being mainstream. As it stands right now, for my living room, a top of the line LED is where it's at. If your living room is darker like a movie theater and you're willing to gamble on burn in, OLED will be the better option.

 

[jmh600cbr]

why can't we get homekit? why gives us half and not all?

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

QLED: just LCD with local dimming, but it sounds cool and confuses uninformed consumers who think they’re getting a great deal on an OLED.

Question is: Does it matter? (which technology)

I'd really like to hear the opinion of the MR community having seen latest gen QLED. Would you buy it instead of OLED?

My personal is: At first glance I thought the QLED screen was OLED. It was that good.
I'm not sure how well it will perform in a dark room, but at normal living room lighting it's hard to tell if it's OLED or QLED.
IMHO: If they could (?) controll backlight amount per pixel it's equivalent to OLED. And if they really did that, I'd gladly buy the QLED* over OLED as that would not suffer from burn-in and similar OLED problems.
(*very hypothetically as I'd rather stay away from Samsung...)