Samsung OLED S90D / S94D (WRGB OLED) vs LG OLED G5

In the tested film scenes, the Samsung S90D television achieves impressive brightness results, exceeding the 1000 nit barrier in the first four shots, which can be considered a remarkable outcome. In the case of the last shot, where a full-screen flash of sunlight is visible, the brightness drops to around 500 nit, but it still remains at a very good level. Additionally, the television impresses with a DCI-P3 colour space coverage value of 98%, which guarantees extraordinarily rich and realistic colour reproduction, further enhancing the image quality. This result makes the Samsung S90D an ideal choice for those expecting high-quality images in a variety of lighting conditions.

LG G5 with its new Tandem OLED panel brings the biggest change in terms of TV brightness. And it’s substantial. This is a truly astronomically bright OLED. In every scene tested – whether it's point lights or full-screen whites from the movie The Meg – brightness on the G5 exceeded 2000 nits. Just a year ago, such values on an OLED were simply unimaginable. And here we are – the G5 is approaching, and at times even surpassing, the best Mini-LEDs on the market. A novelty in the Tandem OLED panel is also the expanded colour gamut coverage – and here the LG G5 performs almost perfectly. DCI-P3 achieves a full 100%, while BT.2020 hovers around 83%. These are some of the highest values currently available on the market – it's hard to find any other TV that comes close to such results, unless we're talking about the best displays with QD-OLED panels. The G5 has almost reference-level HDR quality – both in terms of brightness and colour saturation. This is an OLED that can truly shine – and not just metaphorically.

The S90D television has been tested in Filmmaker mode, which offers good colour reproduction, although with some imperfections that may be noticeable to more discerning users. This mode may seem too warm, and users who have switched from Standard mode might experience a slight shock. It’s worth noting that this state of affairs is caused by poor settings, such as in the white balance, rather than the Filmmaker mode itself. In both SDR and HDR content, the device shows drops in blue, causing colours to appear warmer than they should. In practice, this means that certain shades, such as sky blue or skin tones, may appear less natural and more tinged with pink or yellow. The Colour Checker test confirms these deviations, showing shifts towards warmer tones. In SDR content, the gamma chart indicates slight fluctuations, which may result in the image being minimally darker, especially in the shadows. This can affect the clarity of details in darker scenes. Meanwhile, in 4K HDR materials, the EOTF curve is located above the recommended line, leading to some parts of the image being displayed too brightly, which can cause clipping in the brightest areas. Overall, Samsung S90D delivers a solid picture straight out of the box, but for the best results, especially with more demanding content, additional calibration is recommended.

Our test unit LG G5 had some issues in the factory Filmmaker mode. While the picture might have seemed fine to most people, we knew this TV could do much more. This mode had a noticeable excess of blue tint in the white balance, resulting in a strongly cooled image – especially in HDR modes, where there was additionally a lack of red. The image appeared cold, and its sharpness was artificially boosted and unnatural. Another significant problem was the brightness characteristics. In SDR content, the situation wasn't the worst, aside from a slight dimming of the entire image. However, it fared much worse in HDR materials – due to improper brightness management, the smallest details could completely disappear from the image, while larger, bright elements looked overexposed and lacking in gradation. Fortunately, the G5 supports calibration using 3D LUT (a professional tool for colour calibration), so we decided to take advantage of its professional capabilities and see what it was really capable of. Because while it wasn't terrible even before calibration, the potential of this TV definitely deserved more.

After calibration, the Samsung S90D TV in movie mode looks even better than one might expect. The white balance for both HD and 4K HDR content has been improved almost to perfection. Although minor errors can still be noticed, they are so minimal that they do not significantly affect the picture quality. Colours are more balanced, leading to a natural reproduction of details, especially in scenes that require a precise colour palette. It is worth noting that this model in this size is equipped with a WOLED panel, which has less coverage of a wide colour gamut and does not offer as rich colours as, for example, the 65-inch version, which is equipped with a QD-OLED panel.

The contrast has also seen a significant improvement. The gamma graph after calibration is much closer to the expected line, providing a better balance between bright and dark areas of the image. The EOTF curve, which showed problems with overexposed scenes before calibration, now demonstrates better results. This effect allows for greater detail to be preserved in the bright parts of the image, especially in HDR materials.

After completing the calibration process with professional tools, we can confidently state this – the LG G5 offers almost reference-quality image. Most of the errors related to white balance and the ColorChecker test are below a value of 2, which is a phenomenal result, practically imperceptible to the human eye. And while one could still nitpick that in HDR films the TV still has a tendency to slightly dim the smallest elements of the image, in practice this does not negatively affect the overall reception. Hats off to LG, as once again they provide users with enormous display settings options – and this, combined with very good parameters of the panel itself, results in an image that is truly hard to beat.

Television S90D handles tonal transitions very well. Thanks to the technology used, transitions between colours are smoother and more natural. You can also use the noise reduction feature, which further smooths out tonal transitions, which can be useful in certain situations. However, it's worth remembering that turning on noise reduction can also lead to the smoothing out of desirable film grain, thereby reducing the cinematic feel of the image. For this reason, caution is advised when using this feature, as it’s better to leave the natural grain that adds character and authenticity to the content being viewed.

Samsung, as always, does not disappoint and excels in scaling images from lower resolutions. The S90D Samsung TV effectively processes lower resolutions, as seen in the visible image. The outline of the model is clear and accurate and, as a result, looks natural and detailed. Moreover, the branches of the trees are well-represented, showing no significant jaggedness that could degrade image quality. With effective scaling, even materials in lower resolution present attractively on the screen, satisfying users who prefer various sources of content such as regular antenna/cable television.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the LG G5 performs very well. The television handles lower quality content excellently, especially when the "Smooth Gradation" feature is set to a low level. In this mode, it effectively removes undesirable artifacts and issues with visible tonal transitions. It may also slightly smooth out some desirable details, like the subtle texture of clothing or skin, but importantly – it does not remove film grain, so it's hard to talk about a serious compromise here. This is one of those options that is actually worth turning on.

The G5 also does well with upscaling, which is improving the quality of older materials. The test image with the model looked really solid – slight jaggedness was visible, but that's an effect that can't be completely avoided. On the plus side, there were no overscan issues, which – contrary to appearances – is not obvious, even in 2025.

Samsung S90D TV is equipped with a 120 Hz panel, with the ability to overclock to 144 Hz with the right PC configuration, providing exceptional motion smoothness. For years, Samsung has offered a variety of ten-point settings for image clarity, allowing users to adjust the display to their preferences. In the UFO test, thanks to the use of an OLED panel, there is no sign of any motion blur. The pixel response is instantaneous and perfectly captures dynamic movements. In this aspect, OLED technology is considered one of the best on the market. The image is incredibly sharp and detailed, even during fast action, making the S90D an ideal choice for gamers and sports enthusiasts.

The motion smoothness on the LG G5 is simply phenomenal. The television is equipped with a panel featuring a 165 Hz refresh rate, and this combined with the instantaneous response time of the OLED matrix delivers incredible results. The image doesn’t judder or blur like on traditional LCD televisions. Like most LG models, the G5 comes with a motion smoother, which can be handy when watching movies – we’re talking about the TruMotion mode, of course. With the “De-Blur” and “De-Judder” sliders, we can adjust the smoothness of older materials according to our own preferences, whether we want to maintain the characteristic film jitter or lean towards a more fluid, television-like effect.

The Samsung S90D television is perfectly adapted to the needs of gamers, offering four HDMI 2.1 ports that support key features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and HDR Gaming Interest Group (HGIG). With these technologies, gamers can enjoy smoother and more responsive gameplay, significantly enhancing comfort and performance during intense gaming sessions. An additional advantage of the television is the special Game Bar, which allows for easy management of game settings. This functionality enables quick adjustments of parameters, such as changing the aspect ratio of the television screen, which can be useful in various games and types of gameplay. Users can easily customise their preferences, making the use of the television while gaming even more convenient and enjoyable. As for PC users, the television pleasantly surprises. When connecting a computer, the panel is able to achieve a refresh rate of 144Hz, and users of Nvidia or AMD graphics cards can enjoy features such as G-Sync and FreeSync. However, it should be noted that the television does not support Dolby Vision, which may be a downside – although it is worth considering that Dolby Vision is not as popular in the context of games as it is in films. Nevertheless, the S90D television still offers excellent features for gamers, making it a great choice for gaming enthusiasts looking for outstanding picture quality and modern technological solutions.

Features for gamers? Perfect. That should be enough for you to know what level we’re dealing with here. The G5 is a TV designed for gamers, so you'll find literally everything you might expect from a gaming screen. There's Game Bar, support for high resolutions with high refresh rates - that is, 4K at 120 Hz, and even more, as the panel has a refresh rate of 165 Hz (which PC gamers will benefit from). The TV supports variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic low latency mode (ALLM), and also properly handles HDR in games thanks to the HGiG feature. All of this adds up to one of the best gaming feature sets available on the market. Well done, LG.