Samsung S85D vs Samsung S85F OLED

Brightness is a key parameter in televisions, and the S85D Samsung model offers a level comparable to other OLEDs from a few years ago. Though it doesn't impress in this regard, its huge advantage is a very competitive price. A peak brightness of 600 nits provides good image quality in HDR conditions, giving users a taste of cinema-like experiences in the comfort of their home. However, as with many budget OLED models, the biggest problem is very bright, full-screen scenes – in such moments, like the final shot from the movie "The Meg," the television can lose as much as half of its brightness, which is noticeable compared to more expensive OLED models. Despite this, the television offers an impressive DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 99%, allowing for the display of vibrant and accurate colours.

As an OLED, the Samsung S85F can shine – literally. In favourable conditions, it can generate brightness exceeding 750 nits. This is significant because most films are created with displays aiming for around 1000 nits. In practice, this means that in scenes with moderately large, bright elements, the picture can look absolutely stunning. However, it's not always so rosy. When an enormous amount of light appears on the screen – whether it's an expansive, bright background or an entire frame filled with white – the S85F must tone it down. Brightness can drop by even four times in such scenes. This limitation is well-known to anyone familiar with OLEDs in this price segment, so we don't view it as a particular fail. However, something that deserves praise is what sets this model apart from the competition – colour gamut coverage. Thanks to the QD-OLED panel, our colour meter indicated values exceeding 100% coverage of DCI-P3 and an impressive 86% for the ultra-wide BT.2020 palette. Such results are hard to find even in televisions that cost several times more.

The Filmmaker mode on Samsung's S85D does indeed offer the best factory settings, but it is not without flaws, particularly evident in colour reproduction. The white balance graph for HD and HDR content shows clear issues – both red and blue colours are significantly weakened, leading to a dominance of green. The result is an unnatural yellowish tint that can affect the perception of realistic scenes. The Color Checker test clearly shows that the colour samples deviate from the expected values – for HD materials, the colours tend to be overly saturated, with a marked shift towards green, which is also evident in the white balance graph. Conversely, for 4K HDR content, the colours appear too dull and lacking in depth, causing the image to lose its appeal and naturalness. This effect is particularly noticeable in delicate scenes where colour precision plays a key role, which can be disappointing for discerning viewers who expect faithful reproduction of details and colour intensity.

When it comes to brightness, the gamma graph for HD content looks quite good; however, there is a clear spike at the end, exceeding the value of 2.4. Although this is not a major issue in most scenes, in more demanding sequences it can affect the clarity of bright details. For 4K content, the EOTF curve, responsible for rendering brightness, proves to be problematic. The initial part of the graph shows a slight spike. This phenomenon can result in excessive boosting of brightness in the brightest areas of the image, leading to a loss of detail in very bright scenes.

Although Samsung S85D offers quite decent factory settings, especially in Filmmaker mode, it is worth considering manual adjustment of settings to improve some imperfections, particularly in colour reproduction.

Samsung, as befits a manufacturer with ambitions, has equipped the S85F with a mode called Filmmaker. Its task is simple: to make the colours on the newly purchased television as faithful as possible to what the director intended to show us. Sounds great… but, as is often the case, a theory that sounds wonderful doesn’t always translate into perfect practice.

In the tested unit, it quickly became apparent that the image – due to an excess of blue and red – looked as if someone had gone a bit overboard with the saturation. As a result, there were quite significant colour errors, particularly in 4K content. On top of that, there was an issue with brightness – the S85F could brighten most scenes more than it should, stripping them of the intended mood.

Fortunately, Samsung televisions, including the S85F, offer an impressive number of settings for advanced calibrators. This means that we could see what this panel is really capable of when it gets into the right hands.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode on Samsung S85D really impressed. The white balance, regardless of the type of content, has improved significantly, resulting in more natural colours. The Color Checker test shows that colour reproduction errors are now minimal and rarely exceed acceptable values, which indicates precise colour reproduction. The factory colour representation left a lot to be desired, but now the situation has significantly improved – colours are natural, accurate, and look as if they have been precisely rendered according to the creators' intentions. This is a huge step forward compared to earlier generations, where colours were often distorted or too intense.

The brightness characteristics have also benefited from calibration – it's now more vivid and precise. The gamma, although reasonably good before, has become even more stable, providing a deeper, more natural image. The EOTF curve has been flattened, allowing details in dark areas to be more visible, and the contrast is better balanced. Thanks to all these improvements, the television delivers an image close to reference quality, which definitely enhances the enjoyment of watching films and HDR content.

Thanks to the huge number of settings in the menu, we managed to bring the S85F almost to perfection. White balance in SDR content? Literally perfect – deviations do not exceed a value of "1". So we can confidently say that in materials with not too high dynamics, we have an image that's close to reference.

In HDR content, minor issues appeared, but they don't have much significance in practice – most errors fall below the threshold of perception, which is a value of "3". We also managed to tame the S85F when it comes to brightness management – the EOTF curve, even in films, holds nearly perfect straight line. This is one of those cases where after calibration, you can comfortably forget about the settings and simply watch movies and series at the highest level.

Samsung S85D does a great job of scaling images and smoothing tonal transitions. Like other Samsung models, the television offers three noise reduction modes: off, standard, and high. While it improves gradation well, it unfortunately also removes film grain, which many viewers desire to give the image a cinematic character. This grain often adds authenticity and a certain rawness to films that is lost once it is smoothed out. Removing the grain can make the image appear too sterile and smooth, which takes away some of the charm of the original film material. When it comes to image scaling, the Samsung S85D excels at displaying lower resolution content – the model in the photo and the branches in the background were shown correctly, without major issues with jagged edges. The only noticeable downside is the presence of overscan, which can sometimes cut off parts of the image, which may not appeal to everyone.

The tone transition smoothing function in the S85F works really effectively – it can completely eliminate the problem of visible banding in very poor quality material, such as from YouTube. Unfortunately, even the lowest level of this option comes with compromises. The noise reduction is so aggressive that it can smooth out film grain, which many of us consider to be an element of the cinematic atmosphere. At the “Standard” level, we didn’t notice this function removing anything significant from the image, so we can recommend this setting. On the other hand, the “High” level is a different story – it can smooth out not just noise, but also small, desirable details like, for example, the texture of objects.

When it comes to image scaling, the S85F performs very well. The material looks sharp, and the only slight imperfection is the barely noticeable aliasing of edges. And there’s the ongoing issue with Samsung televisions – overscan. This can cause some scenes to be slightly cropped, which is worth noting when watching very old content.

As befits an OLED television, Samsung S85D offers excellent motion fluidity. Equipped with a 120 Hz panel and a fast response time, the TV delivers very smooth playback of dynamic scenes without visible blurring. For movie enthusiasts, there is a feature called "Picture Clarity Settings," which allows for adjusting the image smoothness to individual preferences on a 10-point scale. Motion blur reduction enhances the sharpness of fast-moving objects, while motion smoothing eliminates the "judder" effect for a smoother motion. This way, every user can set the appropriate level of clarity that best suits their taste, from a more cinematic effect to clearer, smoother movements.

S85F is an incredibly fast television – and that’s not just empty hype. Thanks to the 120 Hz OLED panel, dynamic scenes, whether in games or while watching a live match, look just as they should – smooth, sharp, and without the feeling that something is "slipping" out of frame. The lightning-fast pixel response time, typical of OLEDs, plays a big role here. Transitions between frames are virtually instantaneous, and the image remains clear even during the fastest camera movements. A ball flying across half the field? A car speeding in a chase scene? Everything here is clear and free of the typical "trail" associated with LCDs.

This is exactly what we expect from a good OLED – zero compromises when it comes to motion smoothness. The S85F gives the impression that regardless of the pace of action, we can focus on what’s happening on the screen, rather than on the imperfections of the image.

Samsung S85D OLED is an excellent choice for gamers thanks to its many modern features that make gameplay easier and more enjoyable. The TV has four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing you to connect the latest consoles without worrying about limitations in image quality or frame rates. This means support for 4K resolution at 120 Hz, which is ideal for modern titles. Additionally, the Samsung S85D has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature that automatically activates low latency mode when it detects a gaming device. This means you don’t have to manually switch settings – the TV takes care of ensuring fast response times, which is crucial in games where every second counts.

The VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) feature and G-Sync support are additional elements that make gameplay smoother. VRR adjusts the refresh rate to match the frame rate generated by the console or computer, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering. This is especially useful in fast-paced games where the frame rate can fluctuate. Auto Motion Plus Game is a feature that Samsung introduced with gamers in mind, and it’s worth appreciating. It makes the picture in games smoother – 30 frames per second looks like 45, and 60 Hz gains in smoothness, giving an effect close to 90 Hz. At the same time, there’s no significant increase in input lag, which remains below 25 ms, making this feature stand out compared to others available on the market. Gamers can enjoy smoother visuals without worrying about reduced responsiveness.

Samsung has also thought of something extra – the TV has a built-in Xbox Game Pass app, which means you can game in the cloud without needing a console. It’s a great solution for those who want to enjoy gaming without investing in additional hardware. All you need is an internet connection, and you have a massive library of games at your fingertips. This makes Samsung S85D an excellent choice for both casual and more advanced gamers.

[UPDATE] We have updated our 2025 Samsung TV reviews following the release of firmware version 1131, which officially restores the essential HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) support.

S85F has practically everything on board to become the dream screen for gaming. Four full HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, support for VRR, ALLM, a super-detailed Game Bar that clearly shows all parameters – plus a gem in the form of Game Motion Plus. This motion smoother makes animation in games more enjoyable, while input lag increases slightly. It's a rare combination, and that’s a big plus for Samsung. Perhaps Samsung will fix this in the next update – and we have high hopes for that. Because if HGiG comes back, the S85F will become nearly the perfect TV for gamers.