Samsung Neo QLED QN90D / QN92D vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

During synthetic tests, Samsung QN92D showed its incredible capabilities in terms of brightness. The charts clearly indicate that the television can achieve an impressive 2000 nits, giving it a solid power base to compete with the best models on the market. Such a result places it at the forefront, especially in the context of displaying HDR content, where brightness plays a key role. However, what happens when we move the tests to real film scenes? In favourable conditions, such as the first scene from the movie Life of Pi or the last scene, where the image is completely flooded with light, Samsung QN92D can achieve almost laboratory results, impressing with its brightness. The situation looks different when small, bright objects appear on a dark background, as in the fourth scene from the movie Sicario. In such cases, the television doesn't perform as well – brightness drops several times, and maximum values in the best conditions are around 600 NITS. Similar to contrast, these limitations arise from the use of an aggressive local dimming algorithm. This algorithm aims to reduce the 'halo' effect around bright objects on a dark background, but often at the expense of overall brightness. As a result, while the television performs well in bright scenes, its ability to display full brightness is limited when it comes to small, vivid elements.

If you're hoping that HDR on the NANO81A will bring tears to your eyes, I have to disappoint you. This TV is just too dark to show what this format is really about. With a brightness of only 250 nits, HDR really only exists on paper here. In practice, during viewing, it's very hard to tell whether we're watching material in high dynamic range or regular SDR – it simply lacks that “punch” of light in the bright parts of the image. But, to balance out the criticism, we do have one light at the end of the tunnel – and quite a distinct one at that. It's about colour gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it's not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. That's a really solid result, placing this model significantly above typical budget models based on regular white LEDs without any filters. Of course, it still lags a bit behind QLED TVs or advanced panels with PFS filters, but for this price range, the colours are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It’s just a shame that this low brightness doesn't allow them to fully “spread their wings” with the Nano filter.

The best mode that reproduces colours best on the Samsung QN92D has consistently been the Filmmaker mode for years. While it generally offers decent colour quality, it is not free from significant issues. Let's start with the analysis of HD/SDR image quality. The biggest challenge here is the white balance – the graphs show considerable instability, with a clear dominance of red making the image too warm. This distortion causes hues to be unnaturally shifted towards warmer tones, which can negatively affect the perception of materials with natural colours. Contrast, based on the gamma chart, although not the worst, remains far from ideal, impacting the overall image quality, especially in darker scenes.

This issue also persists with 4K materials, such as series or films of higher quality. In this case, the white balance also turns out to be faulty, with noticeable deficiencies in blue and red colour, leading to tonal shifts. Tests using the Colour Checker tool confirm these problems – all colours tend to skew towards yellow shades, further distorting the natural appearance of the image. Although the Filmmaker mode is one of the best available modes for watching cinematic content, it still requires improvements, especially in terms of colour accuracy and white balance.

For every film fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. It is designed to show the image as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements". Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left a bit to be desired. The main issue turned out to be the white balance. Measurements revealed a distinct deficiency of blue, which in practice meant that many scenes had a slightly yellowish, even "yellowed" tint. The white wasn’t perfectly clean, which took away the freshness of the image. Additionally, the brightness management wasn't perfect either – the factory-set gamma was too low. The image often appeared oversaturated, as if it had been pulled too much from the shadows, which detracted from its naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price range, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration options for this model are extensive, which is a significant plus for those who enjoy "fiddling" in the menu. We decided to approach the matter our way and see how much we could squeeze out of this panel with professional calibration.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN92D television shows significant improvement, particularly in the SDR content range. The white balance has been greatly enhanced – the previous colour misalignment and dominance of red have been eliminated, resulting in a more natural colour reproduction. In terms of brightness, although the gamma chart did not require significant adjustments, it has been stabilised, which affects the overall picture quality.

Regarding high-quality materials, the white balance has also improved in this case. However, it is worth noting the contrast. The EOTF curve, which illustrates the values in this area, appears correct at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, the television struggles to maintain appropriate contrast in film materials. The EOTF curve reveals some discrepancies, suggesting that despite the progress, there are still areas that require improvement in this aspect. The television continues to strive for excellence in contrast reproduction. A strength of this television is the saturation of colours. Skin tones are rendered very well, and although some colours may be slightly oversaturated, the overall effect looks really attractive – the colours appear rich and vibrant.

Despite some shortcomings in contrast, after calibration, the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN92D offers excellent image quality, with natural colour reproduction, making it a great choice for watching movies.

After calibration, the NANO81A is a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools, even in such an affordable model, deserves major credit. We were able to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colours natural, vibrant, and simply "real". In SDR content (i.e., regular television, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks miles better – it’s clean, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It’s clear that this panel has significant potential, which is simply wasted out of the box due to poor presets. However, we have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it's about brightness management in HDR mode. The LG algorithm in this model is very conservative. The TV deliberately dims the HDR image to avoid clipping the already weak blacks of the IPS panel. The developers faced a choice: either provide more light and accept that black would become light grey, or dial down the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Despite this, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is considerably better.

Let's check how the Samsung QN92D TV performs with tonal transitions in very poor quality materials. The noise reduction feature shows good effectiveness, improving the fluidity of tonal transitions even in difficult conditions. However, it should be noted that, similar to other Samsung TVs, the effectiveness of this feature can lead to the removal of desirable elements, such as film grain, which can sometimes affect the authenticity of the image.

When it comes to digital processing, the Samsung QN92D TV also performs excellently. During tests, the image looked very good, with the model presented in a natural and correct way. Details, such as branches in the background, were reproduced with great precision, highlighting the TV's ability to enhance the quality of low-resolution materials.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels ruthlessly expose all the "dirty laundry" and imperfections in lower resolution materials. However, with the LG NANO81A, the situation is completely different. It's a really solid performer when it comes to handling content that's far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A big plus is the gradation reduction feature, which you can find in the settings. It is exceptionally effective in combating colour banding, which is a godsend when watching low bitrate materials, such as from some streaming services or older files from the web. However, it is worth maintaining a certain vigilance. Since we are dealing with a less powerful chip than in LG's top models, too aggressive a setting for this option can sometimes result in minor artifacts or slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimentation with this feature – in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

The Samsung QN92D television is equipped with a 144 Hz panel; however, when watching content using the smoothness feature, the maximum refresh rate is 120 Hz. As a result, both gamers and sports enthusiasts will be satisfied with the picture quality. It’s also worth mentioning the available options for image enhancement, such as the "motion blur and judder reduction" feature, which allows users to adjust smoothness to their individual preferences on a 10-point scale. Motion blur reduction increases the sharpness of fast-moving objects, while judder reduction smooths out motion, eliminating the "stutter" effect. With these advanced settings, one can achieve optimal visual experiences, making the Samsung QN92D perfect for both dynamic scenes and intense gaming.

In terms of motion blur, the television performs really well, and it’s hard to pick faults. The only note we might have is a slight overshoot effect noticeable on dark backgrounds during our test with "Ufoludkiem." Nevertheless, thanks to the advanced smoothness settings, the Samsung QN92D excels in both dynamic scenes and intense gaming.

In terms of motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a bit of a hurdle. The television is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz. If you're looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast-paced action games, you might feel somewhat dissatisfied. With such a low native refresh rate, fast objects on the screen will always be a bit blurry.

The television Samsung QN92/QN90 is an excellent choice for avid gamers, deserving of the highest recommendations. This model offers practically all the features available on the market in terms of gaming, making gameplay even more exciting. One of the key differentiators is the 120 Hz panel, which ensures exceptional motion smoothness, crucial during dynamic action games. The television also boasts low input lag, guaranteeing instant reactions to player commands. Additionally, technologies such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) adjust the refresh rate and automatically switch the television to game mode, translating to even better gaming experiences. Another advantage is the Xbox app, which allows gaming of favourite titles directly on the television, eliminating the need for a console. This is a typical feature of Samsung televisions, making them exceptional in the gaming world.

Auto Motion Plus Game is a feature that really deserves praise for Samsung. It is a motion smoother that works wonderfully in games, creating the impression of a higher frame rate – a 30 frames per second image looks like 45, and 60 Hz becomes close to 90 Hz. Importantly, this feature does not introduce significant lag (input lag does not exceed 25 ms), so it does not negatively affect gameplay comfort, unlike many other smoothers available on the market. This allows gamers to enjoy a much smoother image without compromising responsiveness.

NANO81A is unfortunately not a device designed with esports in mind. The lack of 120 Hz signal support is a fact that users planning to purchase this model simply have to accept. Nevertheless, LG’s engineers have worked hard to squeeze the maximum potential from this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely improve gaming comfort. First and foremost, the television supports VRR technology (in the range of 48–60 Hz) and ALLM. This ensures that the image remains stable and does not "tear," and the device automatically switches to low latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from a console. Managing these settings is extremely simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay that allows for a quick preview of parameters without leaving the game. A very significant advantage is support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles, as it allows the television to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown-out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which is unfortunately a common issue in budget LCD televisions.