Samsung OLED S95D vs Samsung U8000F (IPS)

Samsung S95D offers excellent HDR performance, delivering consistent effects across all scenes exceeding 1500 nits, except for the fifth, where brightness drops to 800 nits. Despite this, the TV maintains a high level of picture quality. A significant advantage of QD-OLED technology is the ability to maintain high brightness even in the smallest elements on a black background, which is rare in LCD and mini LED TVs. As a result, every scene impresses with strong lighting effects, regardless of the size of the illuminated surface. Only in the brightest scenes with a large light area does brightness drop slightly, which is typical even for standard LG OLEDs. Additionally, the quantum dot coating has allowed for an unprecedented high coverage of the BT.2020 colour palette at 88%.

Better doesn't mean good – and that's exactly how you can sum up the capabilities of the U8092F when it comes to displaying bright movie scenes in HDR mode. The brightness of the panel is just under 250 nits, which is definitely too low to enjoy any light effects. An interesting situation was observed during measurements of the fourth scene from the movie Sicario 2 – the television clearly dimmed the entire screen in an attempt to achieve better black levels (which still remain weak). One could even suggest that the device employs some form of "global dimming," but unfortunately – the effects are still very poor. To make matters worse, the television does not support a wide colour gamut – the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 80%, so don’t count on truly vibrant colours. The HDR image here looks more like slightly brightened SDR, and that’s the approach we would suggest you stick to when it comes to this television.

On the Samsung S95D, the best colour reproduction mode is the Filmmaker mode. We conduct all our tests in this mode. Although initially, the image in this mode may seem a bit warmer to the viewer, it provides significantly more detail compared to the standard or dynamic modes, which are always oversaturated and artificial. Therefore, Filmmaker is the most closely aligned with the vision of filmmakers and ideal for watching high-quality content. It is worth noting, however, that the factory settings are not perfect, despite dealing with premium segment equipment. The image may contain certain issues that affect the overall quality of the displayed scenes. An example is the drops in red colour in the white balance, both in HD and HDR content. Colour Checker tests showed that the colours lean towards cooler tones. The image is dominated by blue hues, and the overall colour spectrum is distorted. As can be seen in the picture below, the boy from the film appears in cooler tones, making him look less natural. When it comes to brightness characteristics for HD content, it is quite accurate, although there are minor errors. The biggest issue arises when displaying 4K HDR content. The EOTF curve, which seems appropriate at first glance in test patterns, in actual film scenes shows that the TV sometimes "messes around" with the image. This results in some scenes appearing slightly brighter and others darker.

Samsung S95D offers quite decent factory colour reproduction; however, it has some shortcomings that may require calibration to fully utilise the potential of this television. The process is recommended to achieve the most natural and immersive image possible.

Samsung U8000F has been tested in the best possible built-in picture mode on the television, which is Filmmaker Mode. This mode should – at least in theory – provide a cinematic, reference image without unnecessary enhancements. For SDR content (mainly HD/SD), the television presented itself surprisingly well out of the box. White balance errors hovered around a value of 3, which is roughly on the edge of perceptibility. The only criticism could be directed at brightness management – the gamma chart showed a slight tendency to brighten or darken certain sections, but overall it performs quite well for this price segment.

Unfortunately, it looks much worse in HDR mode. Although the white balance was not terrible, the television had significant colour errors – particularly evident on the Color Checker chart, where almost every sample fell outside the target point. The image in HDR simply looks unnatural, and the colours can be shifted, muted, or too cool. This largely stems from the fact that U8000F does not support a wide colour gamut (DCI-P3). The television is physically unable to display correct colours in the HDR standard – and this is unfortunately felt in every more demanding material.

How much can the picture quality of a TV change after calibration? After calibration on the Samsung S95D, the white balance has significantly improved, eliminating all major errors, allowing for a more natural and harmonious colour representation. In the case of 4K content, there are only minor imperfections which do not affect the overall picture quality. Thanks to the calibration, viewers can now enjoy more balanced tones, which better reflect the intentions of filmmakers. The contrast has also improved, and the gamma shows even better results. This means that the differences between bright and dark parts of the image have become more pronounced, resulting in better depth and detail of scenes. As a result, shadows have gained more detail, and bright areas are no longer so overwhelming, providing a more realistic visual experience. However, it should be noted that the EOTF curve is slightly below the expected level, which may affect how the TV handles dynamic scenes. Nevertheless, after calibration, the overall picture quality has significantly improved, and viewers can now enjoy a visual experience that is more in line with the creators' intentions. The TV handles subtle tonal transitions and contrast better, making it more suitable for watching movies and high-definition programs. Ultimately, the picture after calibration is closely aligned with reference quality, making the visual experience even more satisfying.

Even though the U8000F already offered a fairly good picture in SDR straight out of the box, we managed to tweak it a bit more. We were able to remove a slight purple tint and adjust the gamma to a more reasonable level. However, the television still tends to over-brighten the smallest and brightest parts of the image – the gamma chart shows a characteristic "dip" that is hard to fully straighten out.

Unfortunately, the situation looks worse in HDR. It's difficult to talk about any significant improvement here – the television simply isn't designed for HDR content. We tried to adjust the picture in the advanced settings, but despite our efforts, the colour errors remained quite noticeable – a delta E above 7 is already significantly visible deviations. It's a bit unfortunate, but that's the charm of a budget build. In SDR, the U8000F performs reasonably, whereas HDR is simply not its league.

How does the television handle tonal transitions in lower quality materials? Generally speaking, the S95D performs exceptionally well. On the screen with the light bulb, there are virtually no transitions between shades of grey, making it one of the best televisions we have tested in this regard.

When it comes to digital processing, the entirety of the image — from branches to the models' characters — has been well rendered, with no jagged edges or overly visible contours. However, we must point out one issue: the image has been slightly cropped. Nevertheless, the television performs brilliantly, and details in lower quality materials are still noticeable and well-defined.

When it comes to how the Samsung U8000F handles lower quality materials, we must admit that Samsung has made progress compared to its predecessor from last year – the DU7192 model, which theoretically occupies the same place in the offering.

This year's model has been equipped with a function to improve the smoothness of tonal transitions, which has been implemented significantly better than last year. Yes, the TV still uses quite strong algorithms that can distort details or remove film grain, but even so – it can be confidently said that it operates effectively.

However, not everything has gone perfectly. The U8000F has noticeable issues with slight frame stuttering when watching very old content in very low resolution. If someone plans to play their old VHS tape, they must be aware that the picture may appear slightly "choppy".

The Samsung S95D TV, equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate panel (and even up to 144 Hz in the appropriate PC configuration), provides excellent motion fluidity. Samsung offers a variety of image sharpness settings on a ten-point scale, allowing users to adjust the display according to their own preferences – whether the picture should be more cinematic/frame-like or more theatrical/smooth. In tests with UFO, the OLED panel shows its advantages, eliminating any blurring. The lightning-fast pixel response ensures that dynamic movements are rendered with unparalleled precision.

Samsung U8000F is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, so right from the start, it's clear that we shouldn't expect miracles. This is simply the standard in this class – sufficient for everyday viewing, but without any fireworks.

The television offers one motion smoothing slider – a feature called “Motion Blur Reduction”, which allows us to adjust the smoothness of the image in movies. Higher settings provide a more “theatrical” and smoothed effect, while lower ones maintain the original character of the film with a slight 24p effect. An interesting feature is “Clear Motion LED”, or BFI mode – which inserts black frames between the image frames to enhance motion clarity. However, in practice, the screen flickers significantly when it's activated, and it's better viewed as an experiment rather than something that truly enhances gaming comfort.

The Samsung S95D 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). The HDMI 2.1 ports do not offer the full 48Gb bandwidth, but they are still sufficient for achieving the appropriate resolution and smoothness. With these technologies, gamers can enjoy smoother and more responsive gameplay, which significantly impacts comfort and performance during intense gaming sessions. One of the biggest advantages is the Xbox app, which allows for cloud gaming without the need for a console. With it, gamers can access a wide range of titles directly on the television, enjoying high image quality and smooth gameplay. Additionally, the S95D offers a Game Bar feature that enables easy management of game settings, including quick adjustments to parameters such as changing the aspect ratio, which can be extremely useful in various games and game modes. It is also worth mentioning the support for G-Sync and FreeSync, which is a huge plus for users of Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. Despite the lack of support for Dolby Vision, the television still offers excellent features that make it an ideal choice for console gaming enthusiasts. Overall, the S95D combines modern technologies with superb image quality, creating a complete package for every gamer.

Samsung U8000F offers a basic set of features for gamers, which may still be sufficient for less demanding users. It has an automatic game mode – when a game is launched on the console, the TV automatically switches to low latency mode, which significantly improves response time. It also includes a VRR function, or variable refresh rate, which works within the range of 48 to 60 Hz. This means that both Xbox and PS5 won't produce the "tearing" effect – as long as we stay within this range.

And unfortunately, that's about it for the advantages. Additional features like Game Bar or higher refresh rates are reserved for higher models of Samsung’s 2025 line. In theory, the TV also supports the HGiG function, which should adjust the HDR image to the intentions of game developers. Unfortunately – although this function appears in brochures and store materials – its setup on the Xbox console turned out to be... impossible in practice.