Samsung Neo QLED QN95D vs Sony X75WL

Samsung QN95D handles HDR exceptionally well, achieving peak brightness around 2000 nits. In tested movie scenes where the screen is fully illuminated, the TV delivers intense and realistic HDR content reproduction, significantly enhancing the quality of visual experiences. However, similar to the contrast, the dimming algorithm can sometimes exhibit limitations. Despite a significant number of Mini LED zones, the TV won’t amaze users with incredible lighting. For example, in scenes from "Life of Pi," where a bright moon appears against a dark background, and in segments of "Sicario 2," featuring intense lighting effects on a dark backdrop, the TV shows very poor performance. During such moments, the TV attempts to reduce the halo effect by dimming the image to a level reminiscent of SDR quality. This results in deep and uniform blacks, but at the cost of losing some details in bright areas. It’s a compromise aimed at maintaining the best possible black quality, although it does make the image lose some of its dynamism. Despite some flaws in the local dimming algorithm's performance, this TV deserves praise for its wide coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. This is made possible by the use of a quantum dot coating, also known as QLED technology, which allows for vibrant and rich colours.

The luminance chart for the X75WL Sony television showed a maximum value of 350 nits, which unfortunately is not an impressive result. The television does not surprise with its brightness, and all the HDR scenes we tested lacked depth and the appropriate lighting effect that should accompany HDR content. Additionally, the tragic coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette makes it difficult for the television to reproduce rich colours, which significantly affects the overall viewing experience of HDR content. The lack of adequate brightness and poor colour coverage means that HDR effects are very limited in this model.

In the category of factory colour reproduction, the Samsung QN95D television has been tested in Filmmaker mode, which offers the best settings from the manufacturer. However, it is not entirely free of flaws. For HD content, there is a significant colour discrepancy, particularly in the white balance, where the red colour clearly dominates the graph. The situation improves with 4K HDR content, but there are still significant drops in blue colour reproduction. These effects can be observed in a scene from the film "Star Wars," where the main character is rendered in overly warm tones.

In terms of contrast, the gamma graph shows a large initial spike, indicating that the television effectively highlights the brighter parts of the image. However, at the end of the graph, we notice a significant drop, which may mean that details may be lost in darker tones. This shape of the gamma curve can affect how users perceive dark scenes, where some details may become too blurred or too dark, causing the image to lose clarity. It's also worth noting the curve corresponding to brightness (EOTF), which is quite correct, except for the initial drop.

Although the Samsung QN95D boasts impressive specifications and advanced technologies to earn the title of one of the best televisions on the market, it requires some improvements in colour reproduction and contrast to fully realise its potential.

Colour reproduction tests for the model Sony X75WL are conducted in film mode, which offers the best picture settings but also has its flaws. The biggest issue with the X75WL Sony is the white balance – for both HD and 4K HDR content – which is characterised by a dominance of blue. As a result, the entire image feels too cool. The colour checker confirms these errors, showing that colours lean towards cooler shades. Regarding brightness characteristics, the contrast gamma is at quite a decent level; however, the same cannot be said for the EOTF curve. There are significant issues with maintaining the appropriate brightness – the image is either too bright or too dim, which affects the visual perception of the content.

After calibration, the picture on the Samsung QN95D television achieves truly impressive results. The white balance is perfectly balanced, and error readings rarely exceed a value of 2, which means that colours are displayed very accurately. Most samples from the Color Checker test fall within an acceptable error range, confirming that the television reproduces colours excellently. The contrast has also improved significantly, and the gamma curve is more stable, leading to better visibility of details in dark and bright scenes. However, it is worth noting the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) curve, which shows some discrepancies in film tests. Although the television performs well in most scenes, in more extreme cases, details in black can still be lost - this is due to an aggressive dimming algorithm.

Nevertheless, these minor imperfections do not diminish the overall picture quality. After calibration, the Samsung QN95D delights with its visual quality, offering an exceptional experience that will certainly please anyone looking for a top-of-the-line television.

X75WL Sony is one of those cases where image calibration may not be heavily spectacular, but it provides a very good improvement in colour perception. The white balance, both for HD and 4K materials, has been significantly improved – we no longer have a strong dominance of cooler shades. The gamma curve also appears more stable, which translates to better image quality. However, the biggest issue remains the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness in 4K materials. Due to the technological limitations of the television (IPS panel and lack of local dimming technology), it's hard to talk about significant improvement, as we can't squeeze more out of this model. Despite these limitations, the tonality of the image has been significantly improved.

The Samsung QN95D television handles tonal transitions well, even in lower-quality materials, thanks to the noise reduction feature, which acts like a gentle gradient. This feature is incredibly effective, smoothly rendering the image and eliminating unwanted noise while significantly improving the quality of the displayed content. However, as is often the case, excessive effectiveness can lead to unintended side effects. In some materials, this feature can also blur elements that should remain sharp, such as film grain.

Despite this, the television performs well in terms of image scaling, eliminating larger jaggedness in the picture. In a scene where branches are visible, they are not overly artificially sharpened, which allows for a natural appearance, and the model does not have an artificial outline. Overall, this means that even in more challenging conditions, the film material presents itself satisfactorily on the Samsung QN95D. The only downside when watching HD/SD content (like regular terrestrial television) is that we have a slightly cropped image - this is caused by the so-called overscan, which cannot be turned off.

In the case of low-quality tonal transitions, the Sony X75WL television performs poorly. The lack of any feature to improve tonal transitions results in noticeable imperfections in colour gradation. However, it can be noted that the digital processing is quite good – the image is displayed without overscan, and the overall presentation is relatively good thanks to the added slight sharpness, which some users may appreciate.

The panel in Samsung QN95 performs very well in terms of motion blur and fluidity. With a refresh rate of 120 Hz and features that reduce blur and jitter, users can adjust the picture settings to their personal preferences, whether for watching films or dynamic sports broadcasts. Users have the ability to customise the motion smoothness on a 10-point scale – from a more frame-like appearance, reminiscent of traditional film, to a smooth, almost theatrical effect that works especially well in sports broadcasts.

The X75WL Sony television features a 60 Hz panel, making it more suitable for watching movies than for fast-paced gaming. This model includes a motion smoother called Motionflow, which allows the user to adjust the picture on a 10-point scale. Smoothness adds intermediate frames, thus increasing motion fluidity, and the image becomes more theatrical while minimising the judder effect. Clarity reduces motion blur, which is especially useful during fast-paced scenes, such as sports or dynamic action in films. With this feature, the user can tailor the fluidity and sharpness of motion to their own preferences.

Samsung QN95D offers a fair bit of features that gamers will appreciate. First and foremost, the television supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which allows for smoother gameplay by eliminating screen tearing issues, especially during dynamic scenes. There's also the Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which automatically switches the TV to low latency mode when it detects a connected console or computer, providing more responsive control.

Additionally, the QN95D Samsung has a gaming mode that reduces input lag to a very low level, which is crucial in games where reflexes play an important role. With a high refresh rate of 120 Hz, the image is exceptionally smooth, significantly impacting the experience of dynamic action games and sports productions. The television also supports G-Sync and FreeSync technologies, which further enhance gameplay smoothness and improve user comfort. An interesting addition is the 'Game Bar' – a special menu that provides quick access to all game-related settings, allowing easy adjustment of the image and parameters to the user's preferences without the need to pause the gameplay.

Although the Samsung QN95D does not support Dolby Vision – which is quite obvious for Samsung TVs – it does offer the HGiG feature, which ensures appropriate image quality in HDR games, in line with the creators' vision.

X75WL is not the best TV for gamers. It only has the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature and a basic Game Bar, which are not sufficient to satisfy more demanding users. In this price range, one would expect support for features such as VRR or 120 Hz refresh rates – although in FULLHD, which are already standard – unfortunately, they are lacking here. This is a big downside for Sony, as the competition offers much more for gamers in a similar budget.