Samsung S85D vs LG QNED91T6A

Brightness is a key parameter in televisions, and the S85D Samsung model offers a level comparable to other OLEDs from a few years ago. Though it doesn't impress in this regard, its huge advantage is a very competitive price. A peak brightness of 600 nits provides good image quality in HDR conditions, giving users a taste of cinema-like experiences in the comfort of their home. However, as with many budget OLED models, the biggest problem is very bright, full-screen scenes – in such moments, like the final shot from the movie "The Meg," the television can lose as much as half of its brightness, which is noticeable compared to more expensive OLED models. Despite this, the television offers an impressive DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 99%, allowing for the display of vibrant and accurate colours.

As befits a MiniLED television, LG QNED91T easily exceeds the magical barrier of 1000 nits on the luminance chart. In scenes where light played a key role, the effect was truly commendable. For instance, 1000 nits in the first scene of "Life of Pi" is a really impressive value, and the achieved 600 nits in the third and fifth scenes allowed for a true sense of HDR magic. However, problems arise with very small light elements on the screen, such as the moon, street lamps, or lights. Values around 100 nits - to put it bluntly - are disappointing, as these elements are so dark they are barely visible. The television deserves praise for covering 96% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and 75% of BT.2020. LG QNED91T leaves us with very mixed feelings, mainly due to the very aggressive dimming algorithms which, while effectively eliminating halo effect, do impact the brightness of smaller elements.

The Filmmaker mode on Samsung's S85D does indeed offer the best factory settings, but it is not without flaws, particularly evident in colour reproduction. The white balance graph for HD and HDR content shows clear issues – both red and blue colours are significantly weakened, leading to a dominance of green. The result is an unnatural yellowish tint that can affect the perception of realistic scenes. The Color Checker test clearly shows that the colour samples deviate from the expected values – for HD materials, the colours tend to be overly saturated, with a marked shift towards green, which is also evident in the white balance graph. Conversely, for 4K HDR content, the colours appear too dull and lacking in depth, causing the image to lose its appeal and naturalness. This effect is particularly noticeable in delicate scenes where colour precision plays a key role, which can be disappointing for discerning viewers who expect faithful reproduction of details and colour intensity.

When it comes to brightness, the gamma graph for HD content looks quite good; however, there is a clear spike at the end, exceeding the value of 2.4. Although this is not a major issue in most scenes, in more demanding sequences it can affect the clarity of bright details. For 4K content, the EOTF curve, responsible for rendering brightness, proves to be problematic. The initial part of the graph shows a slight spike. This phenomenon can result in excessive boosting of brightness in the brightest areas of the image, leading to a loss of detail in very bright scenes.

Although Samsung S85D offers quite decent factory settings, especially in Filmmaker mode, it is worth considering manual adjustment of settings to improve some imperfections, particularly in colour reproduction.

All our tests are conducted in the best picture mode on each television. In this case, as usual, it’s the Filmmaker mode. The name of the mode suggests ideal colour reproduction; however, there were noticeable deviations from the correct image. Our unit, in terms of white balance, exhibited a significant drop in blue hues - both in SDR and 4K HDR materials - resulting in a noticeable yellowing of the image, evident in the comparison scenes from a movie with Tom Cruise. As we described earlier, QNED91T has a tendency to brighten the screen. This is confirmed by the gamma, which is quite significantly lower than the reference value of 2.4. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness in 4K content, showed some issues with the television’s ability to dim the image in the darkest areas, which we could observe in the paragraph describing the quality of the HDR effect. Although the Filmmaker mode is a pretty good "out of the box" mode, it still requires some adjustments.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode on Samsung S85D really impressed. The white balance, regardless of the type of content, has improved significantly, resulting in more natural colours. The Color Checker test shows that colour reproduction errors are now minimal and rarely exceed acceptable values, which indicates precise colour reproduction. The factory colour representation left a lot to be desired, but now the situation has significantly improved – colours are natural, accurate, and look as if they have been precisely rendered according to the creators' intentions. This is a huge step forward compared to earlier generations, where colours were often distorted or too intense.

The brightness characteristics have also benefited from calibration – it's now more vivid and precise. The gamma, although reasonably good before, has become even more stable, providing a deeper, more natural image. The EOTF curve has been flattened, allowing details in dark areas to be more visible, and the contrast is better balanced. Thanks to all these improvements, the television delivers an image close to reference quality, which definitely enhances the enjoyment of watching films and HDR content.

LG offers advanced calibration tools in its televisions such as 65QNED91T6A, which we took advantage of. When it comes to white balance, we managed to significantly correct it in SDR content. The picture mode in 4K HDR quality posed greater challenges, which, while still not perfect, looks significantly better than before calibration. The errors on the Color Checker palette and the colour palette are much smaller than in the factory settings. In terms of brightness characteristics, gamma for HD content is practically perfect, with a small exception at the end of the graph. However, the biggest issues the television faced were with brightness in 4K HDR content. Analyzing the EOTF characteristics in films, we noticed that the television manipulates brightness quite a bit, which we could observe in previous tests. Brightness is significantly boosted compared to the graph in the static test, and the television brightens certain scenes to the extent that some smaller details lose definition. Unfortunately, this is caused by an average backlight zone management algorithm in this model. Nevertheless, the calibration yields quite good results, especially regarding accurate colour reproduction.

Samsung S85D does a great job of scaling images and smoothing tonal transitions. Like other Samsung models, the television offers three noise reduction modes: off, standard, and high. While it improves gradation well, it unfortunately also removes film grain, which many viewers desire to give the image a cinematic character. This grain often adds authenticity and a certain rawness to films that is lost once it is smoothed out. Removing the grain can make the image appear too sterile and smooth, which takes away some of the charm of the original film material. When it comes to image scaling, the Samsung S85D excels at displaying lower resolution content – the model in the photo and the branches in the background were shown correctly, without major issues with jagged edges. The only noticeable downside is the presence of overscan, which can sometimes cut off parts of the image, which may not appeal to everyone.

When it comes to tonal transitions in lower quality materials, the television offers a well-known feature from LG TVs - "Smooth Gradation". We can control it at three levels: low, medium, and high. We recommend using the medium option, as it handles tonal transitions well without causing noticeable issues with removing the structure of objects or other artifacts.

On the other hand, when it comes to image scaling (upscaling), LG's Alpha processor performs quite well here. The image appears very smooth, with slight jaggedness in some elements, but this does not significantly affect quality. It looks really good, and the overall effect is very satisfying.

As befits an OLED television, Samsung S85D offers excellent motion fluidity. Equipped with a 120 Hz panel and a fast response time, the TV delivers very smooth playback of dynamic scenes without visible blurring. For movie enthusiasts, there is a feature called "Picture Clarity Settings," which allows for adjusting the image smoothness to individual preferences on a 10-point scale. Motion blur reduction enhances the sharpness of fast-moving objects, while motion smoothing eliminates the "judder" effect for a smoother motion. This way, every user can set the appropriate level of clarity that best suits their taste, from a more cinematic effect to clearer, smoother movements.

The television has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which should satisfy most users in terms of motion smoothness. Additionally, QNED91T is equipped with TruMotion technology, which allows for smoother image display in films. With this feature, we can adjust the "De-Judder" and "De-Blur" sliders. The "De-Judder" slider reduces stutter in films, which is particularly useful when playing content with a lower frame rate, while "De-Blur" helps to reduce motion blur in fast scenes, which is important for sports or dynamic shots.

Samsung S85D OLED is an excellent choice for gamers thanks to its many modern features that make gameplay easier and more enjoyable. The TV has four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing you to connect the latest consoles without worrying about limitations in image quality or frame rates. This means support for 4K resolution at 120 Hz, which is ideal for modern titles. Additionally, the Samsung S85D has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature that automatically activates low latency mode when it detects a gaming device. This means you don’t have to manually switch settings – the TV takes care of ensuring fast response times, which is crucial in games where every second counts.

The VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) feature and G-Sync support are additional elements that make gameplay smoother. VRR adjusts the refresh rate to match the frame rate generated by the console or computer, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering. This is especially useful in fast-paced games where the frame rate can fluctuate. Auto Motion Plus Game is a feature that Samsung introduced with gamers in mind, and it’s worth appreciating. It makes the picture in games smoother – 30 frames per second looks like 45, and 60 Hz gains in smoothness, giving an effect close to 90 Hz. At the same time, there’s no significant increase in input lag, which remains below 25 ms, making this feature stand out compared to others available on the market. Gamers can enjoy smoother visuals without worrying about reduced responsiveness.

Samsung has also thought of something extra – the TV has a built-in Xbox Game Pass app, which means you can game in the cloud without needing a console. It’s a great solution for those who want to enjoy gaming without investing in additional hardware. All you need is an internet connection, and you have a massive library of games at your fingertips. This makes Samsung S85D an excellent choice for both casual and more advanced gamers.

The LG 65QNED91T6A television is equipped with HDMI 2.1 ports with a full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, providing full support for all the standards needed for gaming on modern consoles. We can count on variable refresh rate (VRR) support and automatic low latency mode (ALLM). This ensures smooth gameplay without delays.

Thanks to support for all popular HDR standards in gaming, such as HGiG and Dolby Vision, we can fully utilise the potential of the PS5 and XBOX One consoles. The television also easily handles lower resolutions than 4K, so even older consoles look good on it. The Game Bar makes it easier to access gaming-related settings, allowing us to quickly and intuitively adjust picture parameters and features for gamers. Additionally, the QNED91T offers NVIDIA GeForce Now functionality, allowing us to play in the cloud without needing a console. However, it's important to keep in mind that this solution is quite costly and somewhat falls behind the Xbox Game Pass, which is available only on Samsung televisions.

QNED91T LG is a great choice for both less experienced and more advanced gamers looking for a versatile television for gaming.