Samsung QN990F vs SONY Bravia 9 II XR95M2

Samsung QN990F is one of the bright televisions, and this is immediately apparent in tests. In measurements, it achieved around 1300 nits, which in practice allows you to enjoy films as their creators intended. Bright scenes have the right strength, lights shine, and the impression is truly cinematic. In standard test patterns, sequences number 1, 3, and 5 performed the best – there, brightness remained around 800-1000 nits, and the image looked very natural. In more difficult segments, it could dip to around 600 nits, but the level was still sufficient for details to be clearly visible. However, it should be added that with such highly contrasted shots, the halo effect returns – the same one we mentioned regarding blacks. Bright elements can leave a glow on dark backgrounds, and this is immediately noticeable. As we are dealing with a QLED, the colour palette is expanded, and the colours present themselves impressively. The problem is that with such a flagship model, we expected better numbers. 91% coverage of DCI-P3 and about 67% BT.2020 are results that can be considered solid but not outstanding. This gives an image that is vibrant and appealing; however, the competition in this and lower price ranges can show even more.

The real showcase for the new backlight architecture and Sony’s processor is HDR reproduction. At the official launch the Sony engineers said (not officially 😉) that the Bravia 9 II’s brightness should be almost identical to their professional director’s monitor BVM-HX3110, priced at astronomical sums. Our lab tests confirmed they weren’t empty promises. In synthetic measurements on the L20 test pattern the TV easily exceeded 4000 nits of peak brightness. More importantly, these impressive results translate directly to real film scenes. In most of the demanding shots we tested the screen consistently held brightness around 2500 to 3000 nits. Whether the light was small and pinpoint or flooded almost the entire screen, the HDR effect was incredibly intense.

Colours

Colour is another key pillar of RGB Mini LED technology (Sony’s True RGB implementation). For testing this type of panel we’ve permanently added a new research section to check how TVs handle colour in real-world conditions. Traditional synthetic-chart tests are no longer enough to determine real gamut coverage. From now on we also measure colour saturation directly in selected film scenes by overlaying measurement points. So how do the colours perform?

In synthetic tests the Bravia 9 II posts excellent results. For the popular DCI-P3 space used for HDR, colour-gamut coverage was almost 98%, while for the extremely wide and demanding BT.2020 space our measurements showed nearly 90%. However, in real-world, varied scenes those values drop by a few percentage points. This is directly due to the nature of zoned RGB backlighting. When differently coloured elements or bright white points appear next to each other, light from adjacent zones begins to mix slightly, producing a whitish backlight. This, of course, affects colour saturation, slightly reducing it. It shows that despite Sony’s brilliant algorithm controlling the RGB diodes, that number of zones is too small to eliminate the effect completely.

Is this a reason to complain? Of course not. The Bravia 9 II’s final colour coverage is the same as that of a very good QLED TV, and it’s important to remember: the vast majority of films and TV shows distributed in HDR use the DCI-P3 gamut. In that standard Sony easily maintains very high colour saturation, regardless of the scene.

We tested the QN990F in Filmmaker mode, which is the best out-of-the-box setting available. Right from the start, we noticed a few significant issues. The biggest problem was with white balance. Due to too little blue, as well as incorrect ratios between red and blue, the image—especially in scenes with a lot of white—appeared too yellow, and at times even orange. On the Color Checker palette, these errors didn't look dramatic as they hovered around a value of 4, but in everyday viewing, especially with strong whites, they were most noticeable. We also noticed problems with brightness management—the TV struggled to maintain details in the smallest parts of the image, mainly due to how it manages backlight zones. Fortunately, Samsung provides plenty of room for adjustment when it comes to setting corrections. We know that with proper calibration, much more can be extracted from this screen.

Contrary to expectations and high hopes, the Bravia 9 II we tested straight out of the box showed some issues with its factory calibration. Looking at the white balance charts, you can see it isn’t perfect. In SDR content it mainly lacked the red component, so the picture leaned toward cooler, bluish tones. By contrast, white balance in HDR looked much better in that respect. So where do the visible errors in image reproduction come from? They stem from an unexpected tuning of the gamma and the EOTF curve. In both cases the Bravia 9 II straight from the factory showed a clear deviation from reference standards.

In SDR content the gamma was significantly too high, at times running very close to 2.8 instead of the reference 2.4. In practice this meant the image was artificially dark and appeared washed out of colour, with details in dark areas (the shadows) completely lost. The opposite was true in HDR material, where brightness reproduction is handled by the EOTF curve. That curve was pushed too high above the correct value, which resulted in the picture being artificially brightened across most luminance ranges. As with every TV we test, we also subjected this unit to professional calibration. You can see the results and how we managed to correct those factory errors below.

After carrying out the calibration, we managed to bring the white balance into order and eliminate the earlier shortcomings in shades of blue. As a result, the picture no longer looked like it had a slight yellowish filter – the whites are cleaner, and the whole thing presents itself much more naturally. We also managed to tame the brightness characteristic in HDR content to some extent. The television now handles maintaining detail in blacks much better and does not lose them as much as before. However, when we look at the EOTF curve and how the QN990F reproduces brightness in films, it is evident that it still tends to accentuate details in dark areas more strongly. This is a characteristic feature of Mini-LED technology and, more specifically, how it is managed by the QN990F, which is practically impossible to eliminate completely. Despite this, after calibration, the picture looks significantly more natural, mainly due to the correct exposure of white light. The final effect is definitely more pleasant to the eye and closer to what we expect from a flagship television.

Fortunately, with professional calibration, most of the factory shortcomings of the Bravia 9 II can be effectively eliminated. We managed to precisely correct primarily the white balance and the gamma and EOTF curves. After those adjustments, in everyday use and during movie sessions the TV looks vastly better. The image gained proper dimensionality, the cool tint to the whites disappeared, and shadow details that had previously been lost due to excessively high gamma finally became clearly visible. Although we ultimately assess colour accuracy as very good, as specialists we must point out one fairly serious design flaw in this model. The Bravia 9 II could look even better if it weren't for the complete lack of an advanced colour management system in the TV's menu.

While a basic white balance correction can be carried out here without issue, the settings lack options for adjusting specific colours. We tried to tackle this from every angle, both using the traditional method from the remote and with dedicated calibration software for Bravia TVs. Unfortunately, that function has been entirely locked. We suspect this may stem from the specifics of the new RGB architecture, which imposes these limitations. It's a real shame, because without it you can't fine-tune colour reproduction to perfection. The inaccurate red, for example, still stands out. Let's hope Sony will fix this shortcoming over time via an update.

The QN990F deserves the highest praise for its upscaling capabilities. The processor responsible for 'lifting' classic TV to 8K resolution does a really decent job. Watching footage in 576p, we had no illusions that we would suddenly see a miraculous transformation like in an advertisement, where the image magically turns into crystal-clear 8K. Nevertheless, the final effect was surprisingly good; the picture looked clean and sharp. It's just a shame that the TV, like most Samsung models, has an overscan issue, which slightly cuts off the edges of the screen from the left side.

When it comes to image processing, Samsung offers a feature called "noise reduction," which in theory should improve tonal transitions in older materials, where they are usually more noticeable. Unfortunately, here we felt quite disappointed. The feature performs poorly – it struggles with unwanted banding and can even introduce its own artifacts. On the plus side, it’s worth noting that the TV doesn’t remove film grain when using this feature, but in practice, that’s a poor consolation when the noise reduction itself turns out to be practically useless.

Digital processing and upscaling have long been Sony's forte, and after testing the Bravia 9 II we can confidently say that nothing has changed in this area. Sony remain at the top of the market. Their proprietary XR image processor, which in this model works together with the main MediaTek Pentonic 1000 chip, deserves the highest praise. That combination delivers excellent results. Upscaling lower-resolution content is extremely effective and precise.

However, what earns the most praise in the XR processor's performance is its tonal transition smoothing function. The system can reduce posterisation in heavily compressed material to practically zero. Crucially, the algorithm does this in a very intelligent way. It removes only the irritating digital 'steps' in gradients (banding), but does not blur fine texture detail or create an artificial, 'plastic' look lacking film grain. The image remains sharp, natural and cinematic.

QN990F can easily be called one of the fastest TVs in the world. In 4K mode, it can display images at a frequency of up to 240 Hz, which until now was more associated with gaming monitors than with living room TVs. However, in everyday viewing, what's more important is how it handles an 8K signal at 120 Hz – and it performs very well here too. Motion remains smooth, and the TV handles even the most demanding content without breaking a sweat. Additionally, there's the motion smoother, or "Image Clarity." Thanks to this, you can adjust the picture to your preferences – leave it slightly cinematic with a bit of judder or switch to maximum smoothness, which works brilliantly for things like sports broadcasts.

In the specifications for the Sony Bravia 9 II you won't find dizzyingly high screen refresh rates above 120 Hz, which some more demanding PC gamers might see as a drawback. However, in everyday use — whether during film sessions, playing console games or watching sport — it's really hard to criticise the motion smoothness. The VA panel used here does exhibit some slight, natural smearing typical of this panel type, but the excellent Motionflow smoothing algorithms come to the rescue. The system menu includes sliders for blur reduction and smoothing that let you precisely tune the motion characteristics to your own preferences.

It has to be said straightforwardly – the QN990F is one of those televisions that scream they were designed with gamers in mind. Samsung has been developing its gaming solutions for years, but here we have a true package. Sure, it lacks Dolby Vision support in games, which is a downside that will always come up in discussions. However, aside from that, the list of features is truly impressive. To start, we have the Game Bar – a handy menu that allows you to quickly check and change game-related settings. You can see things like VRR enabled, frame rate, or aspect ratio settings there. It's like a little “dashboard” so you don’t have to dig deep into the menu to fix something. Since the word VRR was mentioned: yes, variable refresh rate is present here and works flawlessly. Plus, there's ALLM, which automatically switches the television to game mode as soon as the console is turned on. These may seem like small details, but together they make using the QN990F simply convenient and hassle-free.

However, the greatest impression comes from the number of ports. Four wireless HDMI 2.1 ports as standard is already great news, as there's no need to choose whether to connect the console, the receiver, or maybe even the PC. There's comfortably enough room for everything here. And if we add another micro HDMI (which we recommend connecting directly to the console), hidden within the casing, then in practice we have five inputs in full 2.1 standard. Let’s also add support for high refresh rates – 120 Hz in 8K or even 240 Hz in 4K – and we get a television that not only keeps up with the new consoles but also feels ready for consoles that aren’t even out yet.

Aside from the fairly serious design oversight of limiting the platform to just two full HDMI 2.1 ports, the Bravia 9 II offers almost all the key gaming features available on the market. Sony has already accustomed us to such a rich feature set in its previous designs. The list of supported technologies here is extensive. It includes automatic low-latency mode (ALLM), variable refresh rate (VRR), as well as a fully compliant implementation of the HGIG standard and Dolby Vision tailored specifically for gamers.