Samsung Q6F (IPS) vs LG OLED G6 (G64LW, G66LS)

Unfortunately, the Samsung Q6F is a very dark model. Its peak brightness in HDR does not exceed 250 nits, which is definitely too low to even talk about any "high dynamic range" or HDR effect. In practice, it's better to stick to content in SDR format, which simply looks more predictable on this TV. Another issue is the global dimming technique – in scenes with a lot of black, the TV drastically dims the entire screen to artificially improve the black levels. This results in the image becoming even darker, with brightness sometimes dropping below 100 nits. The only consolation is the QLED technology, but even here it's average. The applied quantum dot layer is not of the highest quality, as the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut does not exceed 90%. Because of this, colours in HDR content may simply appear unsaturated.

The LG G6 is currently one of the brightest OLEDs on the market. Its peak brightness reaches nearly 2500 nits and, best of all, this translates directly to real movie scenes. The TV flawlessly extracts details in the bright areas of the image. And this is regardless of whether we are talking about very small points in the form of stars in the sky or slightly larger elements on the screen. Naturally, with full-screen, uniformly white scenes, the brightness of the G6 drops due to the panel protection system (ABL). However, in real, varied movie shots, this value still hovers around an impressive 2000 nits, which can be considered a remarkable result. The coverage of the color palette also deserves praise. The new 2nd generation Tandem OLED panel has brought about only a cosmetic change, but still an improvement. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color space reaches nearly 99.5%, while the ultra-wide BT.2020 is around 84%. These are very good results, although it's important to remember one thing: at extremely high brightness levels, the volume of colors will be lower than in QD-OLED panels from Samsung Display due to the use of white sub-pixels (WOLED). However, in everyday content and most films, capturing this difference will be very difficult.

We tested the television in Filmmaker mode, which showed us two completely different sides of this model. Looking at SDR content, we were honestly shocked at how good this television looks straight out of the box. It was really hard to pick on anything here. Despite a slight 'messiness' in white balance and some slightly brightened details in the blacks (which directly stems from the IPS panel construction), colour errors hovered around the '2' level. This is not only a surprisingly good result but rather phenomenal, considering the price of the device.

On the other hand, what the Q6F showed in terms of colours when switched to HDR mode was a very unpleasant surprise. The errors in colour reproduction and palette were so massive that our charts literally ran out of scale. Of course, since Samsung even in such a budget model offers very extensive calibration options, we decided to approach the issue professionally and see what could be done during calibration.

We tested the LG G6 in the best factory mode for colour fidelity, which is FILMMAKER MODE. In the case of our test unit, this mode was reasonably well tuned straight out of the box. In SDR content, the only issue we noticed was the white balance, which leaned towards warmer tones. This made the image occasionally appear slightly yellowish, but overall, it wasn't a significant problem. The G6 performed a bit worse in HDR content. There, the white balance showed too much blue component. This caused the image to veer towards cooler shades, resulting in quite noticeable errors. As can be seen on our ColorChecker chart, the colours shifted towards these cooler registers. Nevertheless, considering the factory settings, the television presented a perfectly decent level. However, we know that OLED screens – particularly those from LG – respond exceptionally well to professional calibration, so we immediately proceeded to do just that.

After our calibration, the colours in SDR mode looked even better – the result is truly surprising, as colour errors at a level of "1" are something typically seen in devices costing several thousand dollars. In this respect, the Q6F is really a great screen for everyday television, less demanding series, or movies. Unfortunately, our intervention in HDR mode did not yield a noticeable improvement. The television, due to its weak blacks and low coverage of a wide colour gamut, still has significant issues with proper colour saturation, especially reds. This is an example of a device where HDR primarily exists as a label on the box – for everyday use, we definitely recommend watching content in SDR format.

After completing a professional calibration, we gained complete control over the panel, and we managed to align all parameters to nearly zero. We were able to tune the white balance perfectly, which removed the factory's cool and warm tints from the screen. The effects are visibly clear in the ColorChecker test – the average colour reproduction errors dropped below the critical value of 1-2. And what does this mean? PERFECT colours, without any distortion! However, as a reviewer’s duty, we must point out how the LG G6 arbitrarily manipulates brightness, which is due to the EOTF curve's behavior. When we look at the standard synthetic graph, it might seem that the line is quite straight. However, the situation changes when we turn on the measurement filter, which shows how the television interprets brightness in actual, moving film scenes (EOTF in MOVIES). Then, it is clear as day that some of the smallest fragments on the screen are slightly overly brightened by the algorithm. Of course, for the average viewer, such a deviation will practically go unnoticed, but in the test of such an expensive screen, it’s worth noting – especially since we are talking about a model that has huge aspirations for the title of the best television of the year.

Q6F handles upscaling lower resolution content to native 4K very well. The scaling is surprisingly good, even for such an inexpensive QLED model. The only downside is when watching very low-resolution materials like 576p (typical for old DVD players) – the image may appear slightly cropped. This is because the TV does not allow the option to turn off the Overscan feature, which is a common issue with Samsung devices.

The situation is completely different when it comes to digital processing, or the attempt to smooth the image of unwanted artifacts. Here, the TV completely fails. Although in the menu we find a feature called "Noise Reduction," it does not produce any noticeable results regardless of the slider setting. The only thing it seems to do is introduce undesirable errors into the image. Despite its presence in the system, we definitely do not recommend using it.

No matter what one might say about the G6's issues with near-black signal, it must be fairly acknowledged that it handles heavily compressed material and lower resolution content extremely well. All unwanted, ugly tonal transitions are effectively reduced here by the "Smooth Gradation" feature. At the "Low" setting, the algorithm works flawlessly – effectively masking the artifacts resulting from strong compression without destroying the sharpness and details in the frame. Higher levels of this feature do further smooth the image, but they start to blur the real texture elements of the objects, so we recommend keeping this slider at a low level. As for the actual upscaling to 4K, the processor does an excellent job – edge sharpness and detail reconstruction are at the highest level, and in this respect, the G6 is on par with the global leaders.

The 60 Hz panel in the Samsung Q6F is standard in this price range, making it a rather average model for dynamic sports or gaming. However, when it comes to movies, the TV performs quite well thanks to its smoothing feature. The "Motion Vibration Reduction" option allows you to adjust the motion smoothness to your own preferences – from preserving a cinematic feel to full smoothness.

The LG G6 is an OLED television, so in the category of motion fluidity, it traditionally deserves the highest marks. The TV supports very high refresh rates of up to 165 Hz in 4K resolution, but most importantly – there are absolutely no signs of blurring on the screen. The response time of the matrix is virtually instant, ensuring that dynamic images remain perfectly sharp.

We won’t beat around the bush – the Q6F is not a television designed with gamers in mind. While it does include features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR frame syncing for consoles, that's pretty much where the list of advantages ends. Beyond these basics, the television offers nothing more that could satisfy those who spend a lot of time in front of a console. It's a real shame that a useful tool like Game Bar, which allows for quick control of game parameters in higher-end Samsung models, is missing here. In terms of gaming, this is an absolutely basic model and it will only suit 'casual' gamers.

The LG G6 is a true beast for gamers and one of the best-equipped TVs on the market in this regard. The manufacturer didn't compromise and equipped this model with four full HDMI 2.1 ports with a maximum bandwidth of 48 Gbps. This means that no matter which port you plug in your PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or powerful PC, you'll get the absolute maximum performance out of them.

The TV supports a full suite of gaming technologies: from VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), to AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. Let's add to that a remarkably low, almost imperceptible input lag and an excellently functioning game panel (Game Optimizer), which allows you to constantly monitor signal parameters. Gaming on this screen, with the perfect black of OLED and powerful refresh rates, is pure pleasure.