Philips MLED920 / MLED910 vs Samsung QN90F / QN92F

Philips MLED920 in our measurements in static tests even reached around 900 nits, which for a mid-range model is quite an impressive result. In practice, this translates to a lot of satisfaction during viewing – in scenes rich in bright light, such as the first, third, or fifth test patterns, the screen was able to generate around 700 nits, which is sufficient to feel the real "HDR effect". However, it cannot be denied that the limited number of backlight zones and the typical mini-LED compromises in dimming algorithms reveal their flaws in more demanding scenes. In sequences with small light sources – like the moon or a scene from the film Sicario 2 – the television clearly prioritises maintaining deeper blacks at the expense of the brightness of these small elements. For most viewers, this is still a reasonable compromise, as the dark background looks much better, although it should be noted that the details themselves may not dazzle with intensity. The question of colours also leaves a bit to be desired. Although the employed PFS filter (the equivalent of quantum dots known from QLEDs) does its job and the colours appear quite vibrant, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space reaches "only" 90%. In everyday viewing, this will be sufficient, but in extremely colourful productions – like the latest Disney animations – one can notice that some tones are not as vivid as they could be in other constructions.

Samsung QN90F can really shine with brightness. In our measurements, it reached even over 2200 nits, which directly translates to the viewing experience. In practice, this means that when a very bright scene appears in a film – for example, a sunrise in The Meg – the screen looks as if natural light is actually shining on us. This isn't just a number from a table, but a real sense of image intensity! However, the TV can't always deliver its full power. With smaller details, such as spotlights or lamps, brightness drops to 500–700 nits. This is a deliberate decision by the algorithms – by doing this, the contrast between large and small elements is better controlled, and the image doesn't lose balance. Importantly, this is still a huge improvement compared to last year's QN90D, where similar details were almost invisible, shining at just 200 nits. Here, the HDR effect is much more cohesive and credible. The only downside is the colours. The coverage of the DCI-P3 spectrum has plateaued at 91%, which can be considered a rather average result in this price range.

Like every Philips TV we've tested, the MLED920 was primarily assessed in Filmmaker mode – the so-called "most honest" mode, designed for films and to faithfully convey the intentions of the creators. Indeed, in terms of colour accuracy, it performs best among all the modes available on the TV, but it is not without flaws. The first thing that stands out is the white balance. The image has a slight tendency towards purple-pink tones, giving it a somewhat unnatural character. However, an even bigger problem turned out to be what we mentioned earlier – image clipping. Just looking at the gamma or EOTF charts reveals that the line deviates significantly from the norm, dropping below a value of 1.8. In practice, this means "bleeding" of the brightest whites, where the image becomes almost milky. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected – the MLED920 responds to calibration, and with a few adjustments, image quality can be significantly improved.

The colour reproduction in the QN90F was tested in Filmmaker mode and, as is usually the case with Samsung TVs, this mode proves to be the best starting point straight out of the box. However, this does not mean that we are dealing with an image free of flaws. The white balance in SDR and HDR content was surprisingly good – colours didn't drift in any direction and even in its factory settings it looked solid. However, a problem arose with the gamma and EOTF curves, which determine how the TV manages brightness. Here, the QN90F significantly brightened the entire image, causing the black levels and colours to lose their intensity, and the overall effect resembled that of an applied milky filter. Fortunately, Samsung, unlike many competitors in the miniLED world, provides users with plenty of tools to control settings that we won't find in other manufacturers, such as Chinese brands. Therefore, we decided to see if we could squeeze the full potential out of the QN90F because we know that such a high series is capable of much more.

After calibration, we managed to largely tame the white balance – to the extent that the average viewer will not be able to detect colour inaccuracies. The characteristic pink-purple glow that previously disrupted the naturalness of the image has also disappeared. The colour palette has been organised, and the colours appear more cohesive and neutral. The gamma in SDR content looks really good after calibration – there’s no sign of the earlier “bleeding” effect in bright scenes. The image has become more contrasty and free from the milky effect that previously severely affected the viewing experience. In the case of HDR content, the improvement is also noticeable, although here it is still evident that the television goes “its own way”. The EOTF curve cannot be fully adjusted, as Philips simply does not offer tools for precise control of this parameter in its settings. In many films, the television still exposes the image “in its own way”. Despite these limitations, calibration has brought a lot of good – the majority of colour inaccuracies have been minimised and the overall image balance has significantly improved. However, one must remember that certain barriers arise from the very hardware construction and simply cannot be overcome.

After our adjustment of the settings, the QN90F showed what it’s really capable of – and we have to admit, it’s one of the best images we’ve seen on a miniLED screen this year. As we mentioned earlier, the white balance wasn’t a big issue even in the factory settings, but it was only after gamma calibration that we were able to get close to reference values. The same goes for HDR content, where the EOTF curve post-adjustment presents mature and consistent results. Indeed, in some films, you can notice that the smallest elements of the image are slightly brightened, and with a limited number of local dimming zones, there's still a risk of halo effect. However, it’s important to remember that such phenomena are characteristic of all miniLED TVs and it’s difficult to expect miracles even from the QN90F. The most important thing is that after calibration, the television displays an image that confidently competes with many OLED screens available on the market in terms of expressing the director's vision.

The manufacturer has equipped this model with several features that improve signal quality, and although we usually approach such “enhancers” with caution, here they prove to be really helpful. The key option is called “distortion reduction” – it works best at a medium level because, on one hand, it effectively smooths out unwanted steps and colour transitions, and on the other, it doesn’t excessively cut details, meaning the image still looks natural.

It’s a bit worse when it comes to upscaling. Lower quality materials – such as the test video with the model – appeared soft and lacking sharpness. Of course, it can be partially adjusted with the sharpness slider in the menu, but the result still falls short compared to what competitors offer at a similar price. Philips still needs to work on this aspect because, in light of the successful improvement of tonal transitions, the upscaling simply comes off weak.

QN90F handles upscaling very well. Materials in lower resolutions, even SD, are enhanced to a clear and sharp image, where a lot of background detail can be seen. This is a big advantage, as the TV makes older content or everyday television look significantly better than on most budget screens. However, the issue of overscan remains, which is the cropping of the screen edges that cannot be turned off on Samsungs. This can cause some subtitles on the screen to disappear or Auntie's face from the wedding on a VHS tape to be slightly cropped. 😉

The digital image processing also performs well. In the menu, we find a feature called "noise reduction," which can smooth tonal transitions and improve the viewing of lower quality materials, such as those from YouTube. In the medium setting, the effect is most beneficial – it doesn't heavily interfere with details while simultaneously eliminating the problem of "banding" in colours. However, it's worth noting that the feature can be quite aggressive and removes natural film grain in older movies, so it's best to use it sparingly.

Philips MLED920 features a 144 Hz panel, which immediately suggests that we shouldn’t complain about motion smoothness. And indeed – for a VA panel, the motion blur is relatively low here, and while you can sometimes notice slight issues on darker backgrounds, they’re not something that will catch the eye of most people during regular viewing.

A big plus is also the presence of a motion smoother called “Motion Style.” It allows you to adjust the smoothness to your own preferences – if someone prefers a more “theatrical,” almost television-like character of the image, they can increase the sliders, and if they want to maintain the natural “judders” of a cinematic frame, they just need to set lower values. This way, everyone can find a happy medium.

QN90F has been equipped with a panel that has a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz, and while this advantage will mainly be appreciated by PC gamers, it’s still worth highlighting. In movies or sports broadcasts, we are limited to the classic 120 Hz, but this is not a cause for concern. In practice, the additional motion smoother is more significant here. Thanks to the "Motion Clarity" setting, we can adjust the picture to our own preferences. The blur reduction option is responsible for fluidity and ghosting in sports. Meanwhile, the "judder reduction" function improves motion fluidity in productions recorded at 24 frames, namely films and series. If we set it high, the film looks smoother and more fluid than it was actually shot. Lower values, on the other hand, preserve its cinematic "rawness" with the visible film frame.

For gamers, the Philips MLED920 is truly a complete tool. The manufacturer has taken care of everything that is now considered standard in televisions for consoles and PCs. It has ALLM, so the console automatically switches the screen to game mode, there’s VRR and a 144 Hz refresh rate that ensures smooth gameplay even in fast-paced titles. All key HDR formats are supported – including HGiG and Dolby Vision Gaming for Xbox – which means that regardless of what you’re playing and on which console, the television will be able to extract the maximum potential from the image. In everyday gaming, the Game Bar proves useful too – a relatively simple implementation by Philips, but a functional panel where you can quickly check image parameters, enable VRR, or adjust details without leaving the game. It’s not as elaborate as the competition, but it does its job without any complaints. And finally, something that sets Philips apart from the competition – Ambilight. The three-sided LED backlighting can make a huge impression in games, especially in the evening. It’s also a way to slightly 'expand' the screen and create a greater sense of immersion. And since coloured LEDs have recently become almost an essential element of a gamer’s room, the MLED920 fits perfectly into this trend.

QN90F has almost everything to become the perfect TV for gamers. Things like four HDMI ports, VRR, ALLM, or refresh rates reaching up to 165 Hz need no reminder. The Game Motion Plus mode deserves a big thumbs up, which is the proprietary motion smoothing technology for games. With it, you can add a few 'artificial' frames and make the image generated from the console look smoother than it should. This is a very unique solution in the world of TVs – competing systems usually do not offer this – and that's why Samsung has had a strong selling point among gamers for years, even despite the lack of support for the still niche Dolby Vision in games.

[UPDATE] We have updated our tests of Samsung TVs from the 2025 range due to the release of firmware version 1131, which restored the crucial HGiG feature for gamers.

So why do we refer to it as an 'almost' perfect screen? Unfortunately, just like in recent Samsung models, we've noticed a problem with the lack of HGiG functionality. This is a solution that allows the TV to leave control over tone mapping to the console, so that games look exactly as the creators intended. Worse still, this feature was previously present and disappeared after software updates. Instead of minor fixes, we got a step backward. It's a shame, because if it weren't for this lack, the QN90F could have been a truly ideal choice for gamers in the miniLED category.