Samsung S85D vs Sony BRAVIA 7 II

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.

Sony Bravia 7 II handles HDR very well and, above all, is simply a bright television. In the correct viewing mode for watching, Professional, we measured about 2,000 nits of peak brightness, so the panel’s capabilities are truly large. Of course, in Mini-LED sets a test-pattern result is only part of the story, because much still depends on how the TV controls the backlight in real scenes. Here Sony’s algorithms perform really well. Depending on the scene, the brightness we measured in films ranged from about 1,100 to as much as 1,700 nits. That’s a level at which HDR has proper punch and bright highlights can be genuinely impressive. It’s not perfect in every situation. With small bright elements on a very dark background, the Bravia 7 II clearly prioritises maintaining good black levels, so their brightness can fall to around 500 nits. It still looks good, but it’s clear the TV doesn’t always manage this without compromise.

Colours

The second thing that has a huge impact on HDR is, of course, colour. And this is where True RGB was meant to deliver one of the biggest changes. Looking at the panel’s capabilities alone, the Bravia 7 II performs very well. We measured roughly 98% DCI-P3 coverage and 88% BT.2020, so the potential for showing highly saturated colours is substantial. In RGB TVs the matter is a bit more complex. When we repeated the same measurements with a film-like background applied, gamut coverage dropped to about 92% DCI-P3 and 78% BT.2020. Those are still good numbers, especially for an RGB Mini-LED TV, but they show that the final result largely depends on how the algorithms drive the three backlight colours. In most scenes the Bravia 7 II handles this well and colours retain strong saturation. The biggest differences are visible in blue shades, where samples start to deviate more noticeably from the reference values and coverage is weaker than for the other primaries. True RGB therefore offers genuinely greater potential, but, as with brightness, a lot depends on what’s actually happening on screen.

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.

To evaluate the factory colours we chose the Professional mode, because it performs best among the available presets. It's not perfect. In SDR the white balance is slightly biased toward magenta, so some scenes look a little warmer and less neutral than they should. A bigger issue is the gamma, which sits closer to 2.5 than 2.4. As a result the image is a bit too dark in places, especially in the mid-tones. In HDR the situation is better. As brightness increases there's a little too much red, but it isn't something that really jumps out while watching. Overall the Professional mode is a good starting point, though you can get a bit more out of it with calibration.

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.

After calibration the Bravia 7 II can look significantly better. First and foremost, we managed to set the white balance very well in both SDR and HDR. Gamma can also be improved, and after correction it runs very close to the reference value. For most users those changes will have the biggest impact on the picture. There is, however, a limitation with the colours themselves. On the Bravia 7 II Sony does not provide access to a traditional CMS that would let us adjust individual hues separately. Much is left to the algorithms controlling the True RGB backlight. If the TV reproduces a specific colour inaccurately, we are not always able to do anything about it. In our measurements this is most apparent in parts of the reds and blues, where errors can still be quite large. That does not, however, undermine the value of calibration. Correctly setting the white point and gamma strongly affects the whole picture, so even without the ability to precisely correct every colour the difference from the factory settings is noticeable.

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.

Scaling and digital processing are among the strongest points of the Bravia 7 II and one of Sony's biggest advantages over the competition. Sony has for years excelled at digital image processing, and it's clear here too. Above all, the 'Smooth Gradation' function works very well, smoothing weaker tonal transitions in poorer-quality content. The safest setting is low, but we'd comfortably recommend medium as well. The effect is stronger, and the TV still handles fine detail very delicately. Some minor details may be slightly smoothed, but Sony does it much more subtly than many other brands. Upscaling is also very good. Lower-resolution content is nicely upscaled to 4K; the image looks clean and retains a lot of detail. Of course the TV won't magically turn native HD into true 4K, but the Bravia 7 II does very well with what can be pulled from such a source.

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.

The Bravia 7 II uses a 120 Hz panel, so in terms of motion handling it delivers everything you'd expect from a TV of this class. With sport or games at 120 fps the picture is suitably smooth, and for films Sony provides an advanced motion interpolation system. You can therefore adjust the level of interpolation separately and choose whether to retain a more cinematic motion or achieve noticeably greater smoothness. Motion blur itself is a bit worse. The VA panel used isn't among the fastest, and moving objects can show a slight trailing, especially against darker backgrounds. It's not at a level that will seriously disturb normal viewing, but last year's Bravia 7 was better in this regard and had a noticeably faster panel.

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.

Bravia 7 II has pretty much everything you'd want from a good console TV today. It supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR from 48 to 120 Hz and ALLM, so when you start a game the TV automatically switches to low-latency mode. HGiG works correctly, so once you configure HDR on the console the TV won't try to brighten the image on its own. Just remember to turn off tone mapping in the TV's menu. Another plus is Dolby Vision in game mode, which will be especially useful for Xbox owners. Sony also includes its own Game Menu, where you can quickly view key signal info, check VRR or change gaming settings without digging through the full TV menu. The only thing missing from the feature list is support for 1440p at 120 Hz. Our biggest complaint is not really about the features but the connectors. The Bravia 7 II has four HDMI ports, but only two of them support full HDMI 2.1 with 48 Gbps bandwidth. One of those is also the eARC port. So if you connect a soundbar or AV receiver via HDMI, in practice you only have one full HDMI 2.1 left for a console or PC. With a single console that's fine, but with a PS5, an Xbox and an audio setup it starts to feel cramped. That's hard to justify from Sony. In cheaper TVs two HDMI 2.1 ports can still be accepted, but in a model of this class, especially in 2026, we'd expect all four ports to be HDMI 2.1.