Samsung OLED S90F (QD-OLED) vs Samsung S85H

The biggest difference between the 65-inch S90F and the other versions is brightness. The QD-OLED panel can reach up to 1700 nits in laboratory tests, which is over 500 nits more than the version with a WOLED matrix. This translates to a significantly stronger and more immersive HDR effect. In most scenes, the bright parts of the image look stunning, and we must admit that we were positively surprised, as we expected results closer to the WOLED version, but what we got is an effect that impresses even in films. As with every OLED, there are moments when the panel must reduce brightness a bit. This mainly concerns full-screen, very demanding scenes – for instance, in the last test scene from the movie “The Meg,” brightness drops to around 800 nits. However, it's hard to consider this a flaw because it's still an excellent result, unprecedented in OLED TVs in this price range. Everything suggests that the 65-inch S90F could be one of the best choices this year for those looking for a strong OLED at a reasonable price. Another advantage of the QD-OLED matrix in HDR content is its colour gamut coverage. Thanks to quantum dots, the television achieves nearly 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut and almost 90% of the BT.2020 gamut. These are values that place it alongside much more expensive models and make it exceptional in its class.

Interestingly, the new WOLED SE panel has brought a slight improvement in brightness to the S85 lineup. In the same film scenes last year’s model sat closer to about 700 nits, while the S85H can reach roughly 800 nits. That’s not a change that completely transforms the HDR experience, but the extra headroom is noticeable, especially with point highlights, reflections or stronger special effects. Around 800 nits is a very good result for an entry-level OLED and in most films it’s enough for HDR to have the necessary punch. Bright elements can clearly stand out against perfect blacks, and that contrast is still doing most of the work here. However, you need to remember the typical limitation of OLED technology. When a very bright scene covers a large portion of the screen, brightness can drop to almost half. This is the result of panel protections that limit its output with large bright areas.

Colours

The S85H can deliver very pleasant, saturated colours and in most HDR films it looks really good in that regard. We measured around 95% coverage of DCI-P3, so the palette most commonly used in films is reproduced to a very high degree. Skin tones, greens and stronger reds still have appropriate intensity and under normal viewing it’s hard to have major complaints. Only when you look more broadly at BT.2020 do the limitations of the new WOLED SE panel become apparent. Coverage was about 70%, a bit less than WOLEDs of the previous generation and noticeably less than QD-OLED panels. In films this isn’t a big loss, since most productions rarely use such heavily saturated colours. You’re more likely to notice it in games, where developers more often opt for more intense colours.

Samsung S90F, like most modern televisions, offers several picture modes, but in keeping with our tradition, we checked it in the most important one, which is Filmmaker. This setting makes the picture look much more natural than in the default, often oversaturated modes. It is neither overly vivid nor artificially dimmed – just closer to what you should actually see. However, this doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The S90F had noticeable shortcomings in white balance, particularly in the blue range, which created a slightly yellowish filter effect on most scenes. One might argue that it looks more “cinematic” because it’s warmer, but let’s not kid ourselves – George Lucas didn’t shoot Star Wars in sepia 😉 (you’ll find a comparison with a scene as always below). In HDR materials, there was also an issue with brightness management. The EOTF curve clearly showed that the television brightens the image more than it should, which led to some effects looking too intense and deviating from the reference. Fortunately, many of these flaws can be eliminated through professional calibration – we will discuss the effects of this procedure later in the test.

To evaluate colours we of course used Filmmaker mode, and in SDR our S85H unit was set very well from the factory. The largest deviation appears in the white balance, where as brightness increases it starts to lose a bit of blue. In practice this means whites and greys have a slightly warmer tint than they should. However, it's not a big fault and during normal viewing it generally isn't very noticeable. Gamma also stays close to the reference value, so the picture is neither overly bright nor unnecessarily dim. The S85H's SDR picture therefore looks really good straight out of the box. A few more imperfections appear in HDR. Here the white balance shifts more with rising brightness, with blue starting to dominate and the red component clearly lacking. This also results in larger errors in some colours. These aren't yet colour errors that completely change the character of the picture, but in direct comparison with the reference the difference is easier to spot. Overall, Filmmaker mode is a very good starting point before professional calibration.

Calibration quickly revealed that the S90F has a significant reserve of capabilities. The image in SDR immediately gained a natural quality – classic films no longer looked like someone was applying a yellowish filter, and the colours regained their proper character. It's a return to the atmosphere of the original, without the impression that someone tried to "age" it forcefully. In HDR content, the difference was even more pronounced. The EOTF curve was managed to nearly reference level, and any deviations are so subtle that most viewers wouldn't even notice them. In practice, the S90F shows an image very close to ideal post-calibration. Compared to the WOLED version, it even performs better – mainly due to a wider coverage of the colour palette, which makes the colours look fuller and more vibrant.

Calibration delivers really good results on the S85H. First and foremost, we were able to set the white balance almost perfectly, which removes the slightly too-warm picture tone previously seen in SDR. Colour reproduction also improves significantly, with most errors falling to very low levels, and in everyday viewing it's hard to find any visible inaccuracies. You can also improve HDR quite a bit, although some issues remain that stem from the TV's inherent characteristics. The S85H doesn't always hold the luminance curve perfectly. The darkest parts are slightly boosted, while, as you approach the panel's limits, you can see small deviations in the brightest highlights. Add to that the limited coverage of the wider BT.2020 colour gamut, which of course cannot be overcome by any calibration. Despite that, the end result is very good, and after calibration the S85H can deliver a really well-tuned, natural image.

S90F performs really well here, although there are some points that are common across most Samsung TVs. The noise reduction feature can effectively smooth out unwanted colour transitions in lower-quality materials like television or YouTube, making them look simply better. However, it should be noted that it works quite aggressively and can also soften elements that we wouldn’t want to alter, such as facial details. Therefore, if we want to use it, it’s best to use it in the "medium" setting and be aware of the compromise it brings. The upscaling itself is of a high standard – low-quality materials are pulled towards an image resembling 4K. The only caveat is that the S90F can still have issues with so-called overscan, meaning slight trimming of the edges in very low-quality materials such as 576p and lower.

Samsung's S85H uses the same proprietary AI processor, AI NQ4 Gen2, as last year’s S85F, and in terms of digital image processing it performs quite well. Upscaling is one of the model's stronger points. Lower-resolution material is well sharpened, edges look natural and the picture doesn't come across as overly artificial. Just remember a common quirk of Samsung TVs: at very low resolutions you can't completely turn off overscan, so the TV may slightly crop the left edge of the picture. The "noise reduction" function, that is smoothing weaker tonal transitions, also works very well. The processor can effectively remove posterisation and other artefacts visible in lower-quality material. However, be careful with the strength of this function, because Samsung can be fairly aggressive here. When it's activated, along with unwanted artefacts, fine details such as skin or clothing texture also start to disappear.

S90F is an OLED with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, but in practice, what matters most is how it performs at 120 Hz, as this frequency is the most important when watching sports. The QD-OLED panel is no different in this regard from WOLED panels – the pixel response is nearly instantaneous, so motion is rendered with surgical precision. The effect is easy to predict. The image is practically free of motion blur, making gaming on consoles, matches, or other sports broadcasts a tremendous pleasure on the S90F.

Fans of movies and series have not been forgotten either. Like every Samsung television with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and above, the S90F is equipped with a proprietary motion smoother called “Picture Clarity.” Here, we find two sliders – blur reduction and judder reduction – which allow you to improve the smoothness of content recorded at 24 frames and tailor the effect to your own preferences.

The S85H uses an OLED panel, so it performs brilliantly when it comes to motion blur. Pixels respond almost instantly, so moving objects don't produce the characteristic ghosting seen on some LCD TVs. This is especially noticeable with sport or fast-paced games, where the picture stays very clean even during rapid motion. The panel itself runs at 120 Hz. That's more than enough for movies, TV shows, sport or console gaming. It's a shame Samsung didn't include a higher refresh rate aimed at PC gamers, as more and more TVs now offer 144 or even 165 Hz at 4K. However, that doesn't affect motion handling in films or sport.

There's also the classic motion smoothing feature with two settings: blur reduction and judder reduction. So you can choose whether films should keep their cinematic 24 frames per second, or whether you'd prefer to smooth them a bit. The S85H gives plenty of freedom here, and the interpolation itself works well and, with sensible settings, doesn't generate too many artefacts.

The S90F is a television that genuinely brings a lot of joy when gaming. To start with, we get four proper HDMI 2.1 ports, which means you can connect all consoles and PCs without having to figure out which device takes priority. This is a convenient and practical solution, which is not at all a given with other manufacturers. Additionally, there are key features such as: automatic game mode (ALLM), which automatically switches the screen to low latency settings, and VRR frame synchronization that operates over a wide range from 48 to 144 Hz. This ensures the picture remains smooth, whether we're playing fast-paced online shooters or more relaxed narrative titles. The Game Bar also deserves attention – a panel that allows quick access to several handy extras. For example, you can turn on an extra crosshair in the middle of the screen, enlarge the minimap, or, in the case of PC, change the aspect ratio. Finally, there's also Samsung's unique Game Motion Plus mode. Its task is to smooth out older or poorly optimized titles, and it actually works quite well. With this mode, even less polished games can look better and provide more enjoyment than on other televisions that theoretically offer the same technical parameters.

Samsung S85H is very well prepared for gaming, essentially regardless of whether you connect a console or a computer. The manufacturer didn’t skimp on connectors and all four HDMI ports support full HDMI 2.1. That means you can use 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM without worrying which input to plug your console into. With multiple devices that matters a lot, since you don’t have to choose between a console, a PC or a soundbar connected via eARC. The feature set itself is very complete. The S85H supports VRR, FreeSync and automatic switching to Game Mode, and Samsung also offers its expanded Game Bar, which lets you quickly view the key signal parameters and change settings without leaving the game. The only real omission is Dolby Vision, which will matter mainly for Xbox owners. That’s a typical trait of Samsung TVs. Game Motion Plus performs very well and it’s one of the features that has set Samsung TVs apart for years. It smooths motion in games running at 30 or 60 fps, but does so without as large an increase in input lag as a classic motion interpolator. In practice, for slower-paced games, racing or action titles it can genuinely improve motion perception, especially if you’re sensitive to low frame rates.