Samsung Q60D / Q67D / Q68D vs LG UA75006LA (VA)

Television Samsung Q60D, regardless of the tested scene, achieves brightness levels above 500 nits, which is above average for this class of devices. Such a level of brightness allows for a taste of true home cinema, with clearly visible details in bright areas of the image and well-rendered contrast dynamics, especially when watching content from streaming platforms or films played from Blu-ray. This means that movie screenings gain greater depth and realism, particularly in well-lit scenes. Despite the use of quantum dot technology (QLED), the television does not achieve outstanding results in colour reproduction. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space is only 90%, which may be noticeable in more demanding scenes, where the richness and saturation of colours play a key role in image quality.

LG UA7500 with a VA panel has brightness peaking around 350 nits, which, by today's standards, isn't very impressive. It's hard to talk about a true HDR experience here – most content looks more like classic SDR with a slight attempt to boost highlights. One advantage is that regardless of the test content, the effect remained relatively stable. However, we noticed that in very extreme scenes with a lot of fine details, the television can slightly dim the image in order to achieve better blacks, but this comes at the expense of the visibility of bright effects. On the downside, it should be noted that the UA7500 is not equipped with any additional technologies to expand the colours. It's neither a QLED panel nor PFS LED, which means the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is just 80%, making many HDR films look flat and failing to capture the full diversity of colours.

Samsung has been offering a "Filmmaker" mode in its TVs for several years now, aimed at providing the most faithful picture settings straight from the factory, in line with the vision of filmmakers. This is certainly a big step towards cinematic quality at home, but it is worth noting that this mode is not without its issues.

For example, the white balance in both SDR and HDR modes exhibits an excessive amount of red, which makes the image too warm. As a result, the skin tones of actors and bright scenes can appear unnaturally flushed. The Colour Checker test further confirms this problem – colour samples often shift towards red hues, deviating from the neutral colour representation that would be more desirable in a professional setup.

When it comes to contrast, there is a noticeable strong drop at the beginning of the gamma graph, where values below 2.4 drop all the way down to 2.1. As a result, the image in darker scenes may appear less distinct, losing depth. In the case of HDR content, the EOTF curve (which is responsible for brightness reproduction) shows a strong spike at the beginning of the graph, which can lead to excessive brightness in the lighter parts of the image, disrupting the natural tonal balance.

The Filmmaker Mode on the LG UA7500 performs better than one might expect from such a budget TV, but let's not get carried away with the praise. The image is reasonably well put together and at first glance doesn't irritate, however, its weaknesses quickly start to emerge. This is most apparent in scenes with bright points – lamps in the background or reflections of light on the skin are clearly exaggerated. Faces of characters often look unnatural, as if they have been "burned out." Additionally, the default gamma setting brightens the smallest details and causes the image to lose subtlety in the darker areas. That said, for its price range, the UA7500 in factory mode offers a pretty decent starting point. However, it is clear that without additional adjustments, these issues cannot be avoided, which is why – similar to other TVs – we decided to check what could be achieved after calibration.

After professional calibration of the Samsung Q60D television in film mode, users can enjoy a significant improvement in image quality. Samsung televisions have always offered 2- and 20-point grayscale adjustment and an advanced CMS (Colour Management System), allowing for precise colour and shade adjustments. The white balance for both SDR and HDR has been stripped of strong peaks and tendencies towards colour drifting into red tones, significantly enhancing the naturalness of the image. Although a few larger errors can still be observed in HDR mode, the overall quality of colour reproduction has been excellently improved. Regarding contrast, although drastic changes cannot be said due to the limitations of the television's technology, the improvement is noticeable. Thanks to calibration, details in dark scenes are more visible, and the differences between light and dark elements of the image have been enhanced. This makes the overall perception of the image more satisfying, allowing viewers to enjoy greater depth and realism in the displayed content.

The biggest improvement we noticed was while calibrating the mode designed for daily SDR content. We managed to smooth out the white balance in an acceptable manner and tackle the issue of excessive brightening of small elements due to the gamma characteristic. As a result, the image gained the consistency and naturalness that was lacking in the factory settings. After such correction, we can confidently state that for everyday TV content, programs, or materials from YouTube, the LG UA7500 performs really well – especially after professional calibration. The situation looks a bit different for HDR content. Here, calibration helped to tame the white balance and slightly improved brightness management, but the limitations of the design are immediately apparent. The lack of additional filters to expand the colour palette means that the most vivid colors appear flat, and the image lacks the intensity we would expect from good HDR. So, in SDR, the UA7500 performs quite well, but in HDR – despite corrections – it remains far behind, and this is a characteristic that one must accept when choosing this television.

However, when it comes to processing and scaling lower quality materials, the television performs quite well. The image is rendered without overscan, which ensures full use of the available screen space. Additionally, the outlines of the model or branches of the tree are not overly jagged, resulting in a satisfactory quality of the displayed content. Although noise reduction could be more effective, the overall processing results of lower quality materials are positive and meet expectations.

LG UA7500 with a VA panel has shown itself in this category in a really good light. Image scaling from Full HD or even SD materials was surprisingly smooth. The picture looked smooth, edges were not overly jagged, and the television maintained a good amount of detail, ensuring that even older films did not lose their character. It particularly excelled with faces – there were no artificial contours or "mask" effects, which often occur in cheaper models. The way the television handled tonal transitions in lower quality materials is also noteworthy. Thanks to digital processing, colours did not bleed into one another, and gradients looked natural and smooth. There was no question of intrusive smoothing of the image or loss of cinematic grain. This makes the UA7500 great for everyday content – from free-to-air television, to sports matches, all the way to YouTube, where we often watch materials in various resolutions.

Samsung Q60D is equipped with a 60 Hz panel and a feature to enhance movie smoothness, known as "Motion Blur Reduction." This function aims to minimise motion blur and improve overall image fluidity, which will certainly appeal to users who primarily seek a television for watching movies and series. Thanks to this technology, viewers can enjoy a more fluid visual experience, even in dynamic action scenes where details are crucial. However, it is worth noting that while "Motion Blur Reduction" improves image fluidity in films, for gaming, this panel may not be the best choice due to its considerable motion blur effect, which can be seen in the photo below.

LG UA7500 is a TV with a 60 Hz panel, so it’s hard to expect any raving reviews in this category. It’s more of a screen meant for everyday content or an evening movie session rather than for following dynamic sporting events or playing action games. It's evident that the manufacturer targeted this model precisely at this group of consumers – and in that regard, it performs adequately. We get the TruMotion function, which is a motion smoother. It’s simple, has only one slider, but it can make a noticeable difference. In the lower range, the image looks more raw and cinematic, while at higher values, the motion becomes smoother and more pleasant to the eye.

Samsung Q60D has been equipped with features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) and Game Bar, which significantly enhance the gaming experience. However, the lack of HDMI 2.1 implementation limits its capabilities, preventing the use of VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which could further improve smoothness and image quality. Generally, for casual gamers, this TV should perform well in everyday use, providing satisfactory gaming experiences. However, if we are more demanding in terms of gaming, it is worth considering models with a higher refresh rate and HDMI 2.1, which will ensure full functionality and better support for the latest games. In such cases, investing in a more advanced TV will yield significantly better results in terms of smoothness and image quality, which is crucial for gaming enthusiasts.

LG UA7500 is a TV that can be comfortably recommended to "Sunday" gamers. While it doesn't feature a 120 Hz panel or HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning it can't fully utilise the potential of modern consoles, the manufacturer has included a few extras that can enhance the gaming experience. The Game Bar deserves a special mention – a very nicely designed panel where you can quickly view and change the most important settings. From this interface, we have access to features like ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode) and frame synchronization, also known as VRR. The range of VRR is limited – working from 48 to 60 Hz – but the mere presence of this feature in such an affordable TV is impressive.

Additionally, it supports HGiG, which is a mode for HDR calibration for gaming. It sounds good, but from our testing experience, we know that for the UA7500, this option isn't very practical. The TV doesn't handle HDR very well, so ironically, we achieved better results with this mode turned off. This is another indication that the UA7500 is more of a screen for casual gamers who value simplicity and convenience, rather than for those seeking a full experience with the latest consoles.