Samsung Neo QLED QN85D / QNX1D vs Hisense E7NQ PRO

Samsung QN85D leaves us with mixed feelings regarding HDR quality. It can shine in synthetic luminance tests, reaching even 1000 nits – which makes scenes like those from 'The Meg' or the start of 'Life of Pi', where the screen is all bright, look truly impressive. However, in practice, the device has its limitations – especially when smaller bright elements appear on the screen. In such moments, brightness noticeably drops, and the HDR effect loses its punch. At brightness levels around 200-300 nits, the magic of HDR simply fades away, not delivering spectacular effects. However, it’s not that the television completely disappoints – coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 95% is quite decent, although it doesn’t stand out against the best competitors. Colours are well-rendered, but it's clear that HDR could make a bigger impression if brightness could be better controlled.

Based on the luminance chart, which indicates around 550 nits, it can be considered that Hisense E7NQ PRO theoretically has the potential to somewhat "enchant" us with its HDR image. Testing various scenes from movies, we noticed that the television continually tries to balance between maintaining appropriate brightness and preserving the deepest blacks. In favourable conditions – such as in a scene from “The Meg”, where the screen is flooded with bright light – this brightness can indeed impress us. At such moments, we feel that HDR actually adds that "something" to the image. Unfortunately, when difficult shots with fine, bright elements on a dark background appear on the screen, the situation looks much worse. Brightness then drops to 200-300 nits, which is definitely too little to really distinguish HDR from standard SDR.

It is clear that the television is trying, but the hardware limitations – mainly the small number of local dimming zones – prevent it from fully spreading its wings. The end result can therefore be quite inconsistent and as average as the contrast tests. On the plus side, it deserves credit for its impressive coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 97%. This allows the television to present a truly wide range of colours, which, in the right scenes, can give us at least a glimpse of the real HDR effect. It’s just a shame that the whole picture isn't complemented by better control of brightness and contrast.

Samsung QN85D TV has been tested in the best available mode – Filmmaker. While one might expect its name suggests a mode perfectly suited for films, unfortunately, it has several significant issues.

When it comes to white balance for HD content, there is a noticeable dominance of red and blue, which makes the entire image take on pinkish hues – this is also confirmed by Colour Checker tests. This effect disturbs the naturalness of skin tones and many other elements, which is particularly evident in more demanding scenes. Initially, the white balance for 4K HDR content seems correct, but at the end of the graph, there is a significant spike in blue hues, affecting the final image quality and making the colours appear unnatural.

The gamma brightness characteristic is also not ideal – although it generally stays close to the reference value, there is a slight drop below 2.4, which can impact the perceived depth of shadows. The EOTF curve responsible for 4K content does not perform any better. There is a clear boost compared to the reference curve, leading to excessive brightness in some areas, thus losing the cinematic quality that the Filmmaker mode should provide. While it might initially seem that the effect is cinematic, unfortunately, the number of errors in colour and brightness reproduction is too significant to call it flawless.

When we took our copy of Hisense E7NQ PRO out of the box, we immediately started checking the available picture modes. Among them, the Filmmaker mode seemed the most promising, although it wasn't without its flaws. With standard SDR content, we noticed a clear tendency to overemphasise red, making the picture appear unnaturally warm. This was particularly evident in the comparison photo attached below. Conversely, when we switched to HDR content, the situation took a turn in the opposite direction. This time, blue was dominant, and there was hardly any red, resulting in a cool, at times almost "store-like" appearance — although not as drastic as in modes specifically designed for showcasing in displays. As a result, in our tests assessing colour reproduction, these disturbances in colour balance led to significant errors.

Additionally, the television had trouble reproducing brightness characteristics. At lower resolutions, it clearly brightened the darkest elements of the image, and with HDR content, the brightness curve (eotf) simply wouldn't align as it should. Initially, the television excessively darkened the smallest details, only to then over-brighten larger areas. Fortunately, the E7NQ PRO provides us with a lot of calibration tools, so knowing there was potential within it, we decided to take matters into our own hands and try to set it up to eliminate these issues.

After professional calibration of the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN85D television, a significant improvement is noticeable, especially for HD/SDR content. The white balance has been completely free of major errors, and the brightness characteristics for this type of content have been significantly adjusted, allowing for a more natural and realistic image. Television, YouTube films, and other HD materials now look much better, with appropriately balanced colours and without the exaggerated hues that previously marred the experience.

However, the biggest issues arise with 4K HDR content. Despite the calibration, it's hard to speak of significant improvement in white balance here – the differences are cosmetic rather than essential. Brightness, governed by the EOTF curve, seems to be set according to the reference level in synthetic tests at first glance, but has its limitations during actual viewing in films. When analysing the EOTF curve in real film scenes, it becomes clear that the television struggles to maintain consistency in brightness. The effect is that mixed scenes still have their darkest elements boosted, leading to exaggerated contrasts, and completely dark scenes remain too dark, which negatively affects the visibility of details.

Thanks to the tools available in E7NQ PRO, we've managed to squeeze a pretty decent image out of it, especially with lower quality content. After fine-tuning the white balance of the SDR materials, the colours look much more natural, and what we see on the screen seems closer to the vision the producer intended to present. Additionally, we've improved the brightness characteristics (Gamma), so the TV no longer tends to over-brighten, and everything looks noticeably better than before our intervention.

With HDR materials, we also achieved some improvements, although it's not as rosy here. Yes, the white balance has approached an acceptable level, but the problem lies elsewhere. It's about the EOTF curve, which is how the TV manages brightness and tonality of the image. At first glance, one might think that the biggest issue concerns only the mid-tones, which are overly brightened. However, after more detailed testing and activating the EOTF curve visualisation filters, it becomes clear that the receiver has a tendency to brighten the entire screen. This seems to be a limitation due to the small number of local dimming zones and generally modest brightness management capabilities. Such hardware limitations are simply insurmountable. Nonetheless, after our calibration, the image is noticeably better than at the start. One just needs to be aware that in terms of contrast and brightness management, this model has its limits, which even a good calibration cannot fully overcome.

When checking the fluidity of tonal transitions in low-resolution materials on the Samsung QN85D television, it’s worth noting the noise reduction feature, which significantly improves problematic tonal transitions. On the other hand, this feature also has its downsides – it removes film grain, which is an important element of many productions, giving them authenticity, and it can also soften the image. This may appeal to those who prefer a smoother picture; however, for lovers of the authentic look of films, using this feature should be considered carefully.

Regarding image scaling, the television performs very well. The model's figure is presented correctly, without noticeable distortions, and the branches in the background do not have excessive artificial sharpness, which is often a problem when scaling lower resolution materials. The high capabilities of the image processor are evident here, which can effectively process lower quality materials, ensuring good final quality.

When it comes to the tonal transition smoothing function in lower quality materials, the “smooth and gradient image” feature in Hisense E7NQ PRO unfortunately does not impress. At the lowest setting, the change is barely noticeable – it's more of a cosmetic improvement. Switching to “Medium” mode does produce a noticeable effect, but it's still nothing special, and the TV starts to excessively interfere with other elements of the image, which can look unnatural.

Image scaling is also rather average. On the test screen, where a portrait of a model and text are displayed, there are slight frays at the edges, making the overall presentation less smooth and aesthetic than we would expect in this class of device. It's just hard to talk about really effective improvement of lower resolution quality here.

Samsung QN85D TV is equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate panel, which should satisfy both gamers and sports enthusiasts by offering a smooth and dynamic image. There are options to enhance fluidity, such as the blur and judder reduction feature, which allows precise motion fluidity adjustments on a 10-point scale. The blur reduction increases the sharpness of fast-moving objects, making action scenes more readable, while judder reduction smooths out motion, eliminating the “judder” effect. Ghosting is generally well controlled, though minor imperfections can be visible in more demanding scenes, especially when an object moves against a dark background. Additionally, the TV offers a BFI (Black Frame Insertion) feature at a 60 Hz refresh rate, which can significantly improve motion fluidity experience, although at the cost of image flicker, which might be bothersome for some users.

Thanks to the use of a 144 Hz panel, E7NQ PRO performs exceptionally well with almost any type of content. Whether we're watching fast-paced matches, dynamic games or action films – the fluidity of motion leaves a good impression. When it comes to movies, the manufacturer has equipped the TV with two key tools: “motion blur reduction” and “judder reduction.” Each of these functions can be adjusted on a scale from 1 to 10.

At lower values, the processing is subtle, barely noticeable, and gently smooths motion without ruining the cinematic character of the image. The higher we move up the scale, the more clearly the TV interferes with the presented material, smoothing motion more aggressively, thereby minimising any judders or micro-cuts. Conversely, the highest settings can resemble the so-called “soap opera effect,” which makes the image look overly smooth, slightly losing its cinematic atmosphere. Thanks to this scale, however, we can find a happy medium, adjusting motion fluidity to our own preferences.

The Samsung QN85D television is an excellent choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that enhance the gaming experience and make it even more exciting. With a 120 Hz refresh rate panel, the image is incredibly smooth, which is crucial during dynamic scenes in action games. The television also boasts low input lag, allowing for nearly instant reactions to player commands, which translates into better control over characters and events on the screen.

In addition, the QN85D Samsung supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) technologies, which optimise image smoothness and reduce delays by automatically adjusting the television to the needs of gamers. Moreover, the Xbox app allows for cloud gaming without the need for a console, which is a big plus for those who want to enjoy their favourite titles without additional hardware – a feature that sets Samsung televisions apart.

The Auto Motion Plus Game feature is another aspect worth highlighting. This motion smoothing technology creates the illusion of more frames per second – as a result, games at 30 fps appear smoother, resembling gameplay at 45 fps, while games at 60 Hz come closer to 90 Hz. Most importantly, this feature does not introduce significant lag, ensuring that gaming comfort is not compromised. This allows gamers to enjoy a smoother image without compromising responsiveness.

If we sometimes like to turn on the console and immerse ourselves in the world of games for long hours, E7NQ PRO can make a really good impression. Thanks to the 144 Hz refresh rate, the gameplay is surprisingly smooth, and support for HDMI 2.1 and VRR ensures that the image doesn't "tear" even during the most dynamic actions. Additionally, there's ALLM, which automatically sets the lowest latency as soon as we switch to the console – so we don’t have to fiddle around in the options ourselves.

A big plus is also the ability to launch games in Dolby Vision, which makes colors and contrast simply look better. Hisense has also included a clear "gamebar," allowing us to continuously monitor the key parameters and change settings without leaving the game. The only thing we might slightly regret is the lack of HGIG support. It may not be a crucial element, but for some gamers, it can matter if they aim for the most faithful reproduction of the creators' vision. Nevertheless, in practice, the E7NQ PRO performs excellently and delivers truly enjoyable gaming experiences.