Samsung Neo QLED QN85D / QNX1D vs TCL P89K / TCL P8K

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.

The maximum brightness of the TCL P8K peaks at around 300 nits, although in real film scenes the television typically maintains closer to 250 nits. These are values that cannot be considered sufficient to achieve a true HDR effect – they are more aligned with a solid base for SDR content. Therefore, we won’t see spectacular flashes, bursts of light, or moments where the screen actually “blinds” as is the case with more expensive models. The image is consequently a bit flat, and the differences between light and shadow – more symbolic than realistic. Fortunately, TCL has a few aces up its sleeve that save the overall impression. One of these is the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at around 93-94%. Thanks to an additional QLED layer (PFS LED), colours gain depth and intensity, clearly surpassing standard LCD panels. As a result, while the typical “wow effect” associated with HDR brightness is lacking, the image itself can impress with its richness and vibrant tones, making the film scenes pulse with colour and not appear significantly washed out.

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.

In Filmmaker mode, the TCL P8K revealed certain imperfections in image reproduction from the start. We noticed that the TV had a tendency to slightly brighten scenes – its gamma was somewhat lowered, which made the image appear softly "washed out," lacking depth, as if the contrast had slipped out of control. This was most noticeable in HDR content, where the EOTF brightness curve clearly deviated from reference values. As a result, darker areas of the image looked too gloomy, and brighter ones did not always reach the correct level of luminance. The second noticeable issue was a slight blue overdrive – the TV stubbornly boosted this colour, causing some parts of the image, especially skin tones and reds, to have a slight purple tint. It is not a major flaw, but to a discerning eye – noticeable. Fortunately, most of these errors could be adjusted during calibration. You can see the results of this calibration in the charts and photos below.

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.

After calibration, the TCL P8K revealed a completely different side. It managed to achieve nearly perfect, even reference-level colour reproduction for both SDR and HDR content. The screen no longer had a tendency towards a cool tint, and the white balance was perfectly aligned. The gamma values for SDR materials finally look as they should – the image has the right depth and no longer appears washed out. The only concern that can still be raised about the P8K pertains to its "Chinese" traits, known from most TCL models. The TV still likes to manipulate saturation in HDR content in its own way – sometimes it gently boosts it, other times it smooths it out, making the effect not always fully predictable. Nevertheless, after calibration, the colours look stunning, and their accuracy is truly impressive. In most cases, measurement errors dropped below values of 1–2, which is a performance that much more expensive models would not be ashamed of.

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.

The TCL P8K performs somewhat weaker when it comes to the fluidity of tonal transitions in lower quality materials. The television does offer a feature to smooth out unwanted bands, but its effectiveness leaves a lot to be desired. Even at the highest setting, it's hard to speak of a real improvement—at times, the effect is even opposite to what was intended, as the feature can introduce small artifacts and unnatural blurring on the screen.

On the other hand, the upscaling, which involves scaling the image to 4K resolution, looks definitely better. The P8K handles this task surprisingly well—HD content, and even SD, is enhanced in an aesthetically pleasing way without excessive loss of sharpness. There are indeed slight “hard” edges typical of this class of equipment, but this can be easily adjusted using the sharpness slider according to personal preferences. The final effect is more than satisfying, especially considering the price range this model is in.

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.

TCL P8K is one of the cheapest televisions offering a 144 Hz refresh rate, which in itself is a significant advantage in this price segment. Thanks to the fast panel, this model can confidently be recommended to both sports fans and gamers – the image is smooth, and the movements of the ball or dynamic actions look natural. However, this does not mean that the P8K is suitable only for sports. On the contrary – it can also maintain the right dynamics in movies without introducing an artificial 'theatrical' effect, as long as the settings are adjusted thoughtfully. The television is equipped with a motion smoother called 'Motion Clarity', which features two sliders: blur reduction and flicker reduction. The first is responsible for smoothing the image by generating additional frames, which increases fluidity but can cause a slight soap opera effect. The second, on the other hand, reduces flicker and improves sharpness in motion, although it may slightly dim the screen. Properly adjusting these two parameters allows for a truly good balance between natural motion and fluidity. The 60 Hz screen is good for dynamic content, though more discerning users will notice that it is not a top-tier panel in terms of motion clarity.

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.

Although the TCL P8K is a budget television, it absolutely cannot be said that it is unsuitable for gaming. On the contrary – this screen can pleasantly surprise any gamer. On board, we find two HDMI 2.1 ports, which allow us to effortlessly send a 4K image at 120 Hz. If someone plays on PC, they will also be pleased to know that the television can operate even with a refresh rate of 240 Hz at a lower resolution – a small thing, but it’s appreciated. Additionally, there is a full set of gaming-specific features: automatic game mode, a Game Bar with quick parameter previews, VRR, HGiG, and support for Dolby Vision in games. All of this makes gaming on the P8K a truly enjoyable experience – the image is smooth, the response is quick, and the television works well with next-gen consoles. The TCL P8K shows that a cheap screen doesn't have to mean giving up on fun. Definitely not when it comes to gaming.