Samsung Neo QLED QN95D vs TCL C655 / C69B (55"-85")

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.

Overall, the quality of the HDR effect in TCL C655 / C69B looks quite promising. The average value in the test patterns is around 450 nits, which already allows you to feel the light effects and better image dynamics. However, as mentioned earlier, this effect may be somewhat subdued by slight differences in bright and dark shades, resulting from the lack of local dimming technology. However, the DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 94% deserves high praise, and this is possible due to the use of a quantum dot (QLED) panel. This makes the colours vibrant and well-reproduced when watching HDR content.

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.

The TCL C655 / C69B television offers a film mode that has been tested for colour reproduction quality. Although this mode is called film mode, it unfortunately has quite a few errors that the director would certainly not want to see when filming their work. Starting with image analysis, it's worth looking at the white balance – both in HD content and 4K HDR, the white balance has significant issues. In both cases, the red colour dominates, resulting in colours that are too warm, with an overall pink or yellow tint. This can be seen in the image below from the film "Star Wars." The Colour Checker test confirms these errors – the colour samples stray into incorrect shades, affecting the overall colour fidelity. The brightness characteristics are a lesser issue. However, they are not without flaws either. The gamma chart shows a strong spike at the beginning, which can cause the image to be overly bright, and the EOTF curve responsible for brightness in 4K HDR content also has significant fluctuations – it's evident how the television tries to maintain appropriate brightness, but it doesn't always succeed effectively.

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.

After calibrating the movie mode of the television TCL C655 / C69B , the white balance has been adjusted, and the colours look as they should – which is confirmed by only slight deviations in the Colour Checker test. The gamma is really good, which ensures that the television shouldn't have any issues with brightness in low-resolution material. Unfortunately, a similar EOTF characteristic is still noticeable, which is a natural occurrence in televisions that do not have local dimming – they simply struggle to "shine" brighter in a given part of the screen. Despite this design limitation, which cannot be bypassed, we recommend making adjustments in the settings, as the overall colour presentation looks really very good.

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.

Television TCL C655 / C69B handles tonal transitions in low-quality materials fairly well. The "Gradual Smoothing" feature on low settings effectively smooths out tonal transitions, but it also blurs important details, such as the texture of objects. A positive aspect is that it does not negatively affect film grain, which helps to maintain the natural look of the image. In terms of digital processing, the television adds artificial sharpness, which some users who prefer a sharper image might appreciate. However, for those who prefer a softer look, this may be a drawback. Another downside is that the image has been significantly cropped due to the so-called overscan, which reduces the field of view and cuts off the edges of the image.

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 television C655 / C69B is equipped with a 4K@60 Hz panel, which means it's best suited for watching movies and less dynamic content. It also features a "Flicker Reduction" function, allowing users to adjust the smoothness of the image – they can choose whether they prefer smoother motion or a more cinematic, frame-like effect. The television can also adapt to lower resolutions, such as Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, which will surely please gamers by offering a smoother image at the cost of resolution. It’s worth noting that this feature is available in sizes starting from 55"+. Additionally, the largest variant, 98", is equipped with a 144Hz panel with full motion smoothing.

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.

The TCL C655 / C69B TV offers an almost perfect set of features for gamers, supporting all the key technologies. It has an ALLM feature that automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, significantly improving responsiveness and minimising signal lag, which is especially important during dynamic gameplay. The VRR feature allows synchronisation of the screen refresh rate with the number of frames generated by the console, eliminating screen tearing and providing smoother gameplay.

The TV also supports Dolby Vision in gaming mode, ensuring better colour and contrast reproduction in games that support this format, and the Game Bar enables quick access to gameplay-related settings, such as response time, latency level, and other parameters. Unfortunately, the C655 / C69B does not support 4K resolution at 120 Hz (the 98" variant is the exception), which may be disappointing for more demanding gamers seeking the ultimate smoothness in high-resolution games. However, if we can forgo 4K, the TV offers support for Full HD and 2K at 120 Hz, providing a smoother image and serving as a great alternative for those who prefer higher refresh rates at the expense of resolution.