Samsung is making it possible to bring the cinema home. The company's largest QLED TV seems to combine mini LED backlighting with cinema-level sound to provide a viewing experience that might spoil the average sized TV.

The 98-inch Neo QLED QN100B TV is an evolution of the Samsung QN90B, one of the company's Neo QLED 4K Smart TV flagship models this year. However, the QN90B's configuration is up to 85 inches, which may not be enough screen for some people.

With the Neo QLED QN100B TV, Samsung is taking the demand for large smart TVs seriously. But make no mistake, this set and its price of $40,000 is for the premium market. So while we won't be going into the lab to conduct our usual series of tests, I was able to spend a few hours with this set for a hands-on Neo QLED QN100B TV review.

The Samsung QN100B Neo QLED TV is a 98-inch single configuration and currently sells for $39,999. Others that come to mind are LG's $100,000 Signature OLED R rolling TV and $25,000 97-inch G2 OLED TV.

Design-wise, Samsung's QN100B Neo QLED TV does not appear to be that much different from the QN90B, other than the fact that it is huge. I saw this TV in action at CEDIA in Dallas shortly after it was first announced, and it did not do it justice on the show floor. Seen in a space similar to the size of a living room, the 98-inch screen is truly a spectacle. The bezel-less effect adds to the illusion.

The set includes four HDMI ports (120Hz capable) housed in a One Connect box. The One Connect box can conveniently be stored in the entertainment cabinet when the TV is placed on a central stand, as in my demo. If you want to keep the TV close at hand, you will need a 600 x 400 VESA mount. The TV is less than 1" thick, so it can be mounted flush with the wall.

The QN100B Neo QLED TV is powered by a Mini LED panel; when properly controlled, the Mini LEDs provide rich HDR performance with precise dimming zones. Samsung's Neural Quantum Processor 4K is the brains of the operation, responsible for balancing the TV's motion handling and brightness capabilities.

Samsung advertises a peak brightness of 5,000 nits, or twice as bright as the Samsung QN90A Neo QLED TV; if the QN100B is actually quite bright, that's great. But even when tested against the room's overhead LED lighting, this TV seemed quite bright. I imagine it would hold up quite well in a room with natural light.

One concern regarding brightness levels is control. In shaded scenes, i.e., any office disciplinary meetings in Top Gun, the brightness of the Samsung Electronics was a concern: In Maverick, the Samsung QN100B was seen to struggle a bit with the contrast around the actors' heads. The set, surprisingly, handled the aircraft motion very well, although there were occasional artifacts in the ground scenes. Whether it was a helicopter propeller spinning, a mission practice run, or a big game dogfight, the action of the film was never compromised.

Even better, the big screen was very clear. I could clearly see the texture of the Navy uniforms, the stubble barely growing on Tom Cruise's face, the details of the cockpit, etc. I guess it's hard to miss nuances when you're watching a nearly 100-inch TV.

The Samsung QN100B Neo QLED TV features 120W, 6.4.4 channel sound with Dolby Atmos, utilizing an upgraded version of the company's object tracking sound technology called Cinema Object Tracking Sound features. While the effects of Object Tracking Sound have been proven on other Samsung TVs, this size screen further emphasizes the movement of sound across the screen. Throughout "Top Gun: Maverick," my ears follow the jets as they hurtle through the North Island skies.

If I were to get this TV, I would invest in a complete home entertainment setup, complete with soundbar and subwoofer, but it's good to know that audio may be all I need. Otherwise, with the Q Symphony, the TV's built-in speakers work with the surrounding speakers to create the ultimate immersive experience; in my experience with the QN100B, the voices overlapped with the sounds of airplane engines and cockpit alarms during movie training scenes.

I watched "Top Gun: Maverick" on a Blu-ray player, but the Samsung QN100B Neo QLED TV is also a capable smart TV that can access dozens of streaming apps through the Tizen platform The apps range from the best streaming services to the most popular ones. Apps range from the best streaming services to sports content to fitness programs.

The TV also features Samsung's gaming hub and library of cloud gaming services, including Xbox Game Pass and Amazon Luna. Nevertheless, if you are exploring Samsung's current display options, the 55-inch Samsung Odyssey Ark is a more dedicated gaming monitor.

Not only that, but like other Samsung 2022 TVs, the Samsung QN100B Neo QLED TV has SmartThings built in. This will allow it to serve as a mater home control as the protocol becomes more prevalent; who needs a countertop smart display to manage smart home devices when you have a 98-inch TV?

The Samsung QN100B Neo QLED TV comes with the latest version of Samsung's Eco Remote, which supports solar charging as well as a USB-C connector. The remote has a slim, uniform design with a minimalist button layout. It also has four dedicated launchers for Netflix, Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video, and Disney Plus. If you use these services frequently, you will find this remote especially useful.

The ridiculously expensive Samsung QN100B Neo QLED TV is not something we can really recommend to most people. A projector is a more cost-effective way to set up a large screen in a room. In addition, without testing this set in a lab, there is no way to verify how it compares to other top-class mini LED TVs.

That said, premium customers with large living rooms need look no further for the ultimate AV thrift.