Samsung S85F (WOLED) vs Samsung R95H Micro RGB

For most of the time, let's say in 90% of film scenes, viewers will hardly see any difference between the S85F versions. When small but very bright light points appear on screen – a lantern in a dark alley, a gunshot, the sun breaking through the clouds – this WOLED panel (just like the smaller S85F) performs exceptionally well. Our measurements showed a peak brightness of around 750 nits. We can confidently state: this is a great result that guarantees fantastic HDR effects. The problem arises in a very specific, uncomfortable situation for any OLED. We're talking about the moment when the entire screen has to shine at full brightness clearly. Examples include a white background screen, a skiing scene, or our test sequences (5) from the film The Meg. And here, unfortunately, the results diverge quite significantly against the WOLED panel variant. Our measurement equipment was able to measure a maximum of around 250 to 300 nits of brightness under such conditions. To be clear: the same model on a QD-OLED panel in the same test is almost twice as bright. The second issue: colours. And here we also have to be honest – QD-OLED has a structural advantage. Why? It’s simple. QD-OLED creates colours from three components (red, green, and blue) and doesn’t need an additional white subpixel. The WOLED panel we’re testing here uses that white subpixel, mainly to boost overall brightness. The effect is that QD-OLED is able to display a slightly wider colour palette, and the colours are a bit "cleaner." But let’s be clear: it’s not that the colours on this WOLED panel are bad! Quite the opposite, they are really very good. Coverage of the DCI-P3 film colour gamut at 97% and 71% for the wider BT.2020 palette is still high-end. We just have to honestly admit that those few percentage points of coverage advantage lie with QD-OLED technology and may be noticeable in very specific moments.

In terms of brightness the Samsung R95H shows it’s still a top-tier TV, although the results aren’t always as spectacular as you might expect from a flagship Micro RGB model. In synthetic tests the TV can exceed 2400 nits, so it certainly has plenty of power. Crucially, it can maintain high brightness even when bright elements occupy a larger part of the screen. In real movie scenes the situation is a bit more complex. The R95H typically reaches around 1000 to 1400 nits, which still delivers a very good, punchy HDR effect. Bright sun, specular highlights and lights can look really impressive, and the TV has enough power for HDR to stand out clearly from ordinary SDR.

The problem mainly appears in very dark scenes with single, small light sources. Here the local dimming algorithm prioritises deep blacks and reducing halo over the maximum brightness of such elements. As a result, small lights can be noticeably dimmed. Overall, HDR performs well, but not without limitations. The R95H has huge brightness headroom, especially in larger, brighter parts of the image, but in difficult, dark scenes its capabilities are mainly limited by the way local dimming works.

Colours

Colours were meant to be the biggest revolution from the RGB backlight and indeed the R95H shows considerable potential here. The assessment isn’t as simple as synthetic measurements might suggest. On test patterns the TV performs brilliantly – BT.2020 coverage reaches nearly 94% and DCI-P3 98%, so particularly strongly saturated reds and greens can look really impressive. The picture changes a little when, instead of test patterns, we start measuring real movie scenes. Then BT.2020 coverage drops to about 87% and DCI-P3 to 93%. It seems that with more complex imagery the RGB zones are not always able to maintain the same high colour saturation as on simple patterns. They are still saturated, but the advantage of the new backlight isn’t as large as the manufacturer’s figures might suggest.

When it comes to factory colour reproduction, our test unit in SDR mode suffered from a slight deficit in red and yellow. This resulted in a subtle yellowish tint visible in shades of white. However, this is not the biggest issue with the S85F. Similar to the QD-OLED panel variant, the main problem with this model is the way it presents HDR content. When we look at the EOTF curve graph, it’s easy to see that the TV has quite significant issues with strong image over-brightening. This results in the final image becoming very unnatural in many scenes.

To assess factory colour reproduction we chose Filmmaker mode, the setting that should, in theory, be closest to how the creators prepared the image. Unfortunately the R95H does not fully exploit its panel’s capabilities. The biggest issue in SDR is the gamma. The image is noticeably brightened across almost the entire range, which robs it of some depth and makes it look flatter than it should. The white balance is not ideal either — as brightness increases there is a bias toward red and a lack of blue, making the image too warm. You can see this especially on bright elements and skin tones, which can look more reddish than they should. It’s similar in HDR. The EOTF curve sits above the reference value for a large part of the range, so the R95H again brightens the image compared with how it should appear. Combined with an inaccurate white balance, this means colours here are not as precise as we would expect from a TV of this class. The factory Filmmaker setting is therefore not the R95H’s strongest suit. At first glance the picture may look impressive because it is bright and strongly saturated, but in terms of fidelity to the source material there is still plenty of room for improvement.

After conducting calibration in Filmmaker mode, we managed to eliminate most unwanted effects. In SDR content, the TV performs exceptionally well, and its colour reproduction errors do not exceed a value of 2, which is an outstanding result. The HDR content looks a bit worse, though still very good. Although we managed to eliminate a significant unnaturalness of the image caused by an overly high EOTF curve, the most discerning observers may notice that it is not perfectly aligned. It runs slightly below the reference curve, which would suggest that the S85F has minor issues in displaying all details in the image. We must immediately point out that it is highly unlikely for the average viewer to notice any deficiencies in the picture. We assess the final result after calibration as exemplary.

The R95H responds very well to calibration. In SDR we were able to set the white balance and gamma almost perfectly, and colour errors dropped to a very low level. The difference compared with the factory settings is therefore substantial, and after calibration the picture looks noticeably more natural. In HDR we can also make significant improvements, especially in terms of white balance and overall colour accuracy. The situation is a bit different when it comes to managing brightness and colour saturation. At a certain point we hit limits caused by the way the RGB backlight and local dimming operate. Individual zones have to control both the brightness and the colour of the light at the same time, so in more demanding scenes you can’t always achieve exactly the same saturation and brightness that the TV shows on simple test patterns. Calibration simply can’t entirely overcome that. Even so, after calibration the R95H delivers accurate image reproduction, and most of the errors we saw with the factory settings can be effectively eliminated.

The processing of tonal transitions (gradients) in the S85F is at a high level. The television effectively handles posterization (the "stepping" effect of colours), even with heavily compressed content, for example, from streaming services. However, using this feature requires a certain compromise. We noticed that the noise reduction algorithm is quite aggressive – even at the lowest setting, it can eliminate the natural film grain, which for many viewers is part of the film's aesthetics. The "Standard" setting seems to be a golden mean, without causing a noticeable loss of important details, so we can recommend it. However, we advise against using the "High" level, which, in addition to noise, also removes desired details such as texture or the structure of objects on the screen.

The upscaling process of lower resolution content works very well in the S85F. The image is sharp and clear. The only minor imperfection we managed to observe is occasional slight aliasing on the edges. The television still displays characteristics typical of this manufacturer, namely active "overscan" (a slight image enlargement). This should be kept in mind, especially when watching older content, as it may result in minimal clipping of the original frame.

The Samsung R95H uses the new Micro RGB AI Processor, but in practice we didn’t notice a big leap compared with the NQ4 AI Gen2 or Gen3 chips found in the manufacturer’s other TVs. Upscaling itself still performs very well. The image is properly smoothed while retaining plenty of sharpness and not looking overly soft. That’s definitely one of Samsung’s strong points. It’s a pity that with very low-resolution material you still can’t completely disable overscan.

The processor also handles banding well and can effectively smooth unwanted posterisation. The noise reduction feature works really effectively, but you need to use it with restraint. At higher settings it can start to interfere quite heavily with the picture and even remove natural film grain. So it’s best to use it only when the source is genuinely heavily compressed.

S85F is a model with impressive speed. The use of a 120 Hz OLED panel ensures that dynamic scenes, both in games and during sports broadcasts, perform as expected: smoothly, sharply, and without loss of clarity. A key role here is played by the lightning-fast pixel response time, which is a natural advantage of OLED technology. Transitions between frames are instantaneous, and the image remains clear even during the fastest camera movements. Moving objects, like a ball on the field or a car in a chase scene, are clear and free from the characteristic smearing of LCD panels (so-called "trail").

Samsung R95H has a 165Hz panel, so its motion handling is genuinely excellent. At 120Hz, for example when gaming on a console or watching sport, motion blur is minimal, and when you connect a PC you can use the full 165Hz and further improve motion clarity. Bear in mind it's still a VA panel, so it doesn't respond as instantly as OLED. Sometimes you might notice slight ghosting behind a moving object, but from a normal viewing distance it shouldn't be bothersome. For movies and TV shows you can also use the adjustable motion smoothing. You can keep the more cinematic 24 fps look or gradually smooth motion if you prefer a more fluid image. Samsung gives plenty of freedom here, so it's easy to find a setting that suits your preferences.

85F has practically everything on board to become the dream screen for gaming. It features four full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). Additionally, there is a super-detailed Game Bar that clearly shows all the key parameters. However, the real gem is the Game Motion Plus feature. This motion smoother dedicated to games makes the animation more pleasant to the eye while only slightly increasing input lag. This is a rare and well-functioning combination that deserves big applause for Samsung.

Now comes the moment where we need to vent a little. The lack of Dolby Vision in Samsung TVs has become standard, so there's no use hoping (unless something changes in the future). Unfortunately, it's much harder to explain the disappearance of support for HGiG after one of the software updates. HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) is a key mode that allows for precise representation of brightness in HDR games, as intended by the creators. Without it, HDR calibration on consoles becomes less accurate, which may result in images that are too dark in the shadows or overly bright in the light areas. Perhaps Samsung will fix this in the next update – we have high hopes for that. Because if HGiG returns, the S85F will become nearly the perfect TV for gamers.

[UPDATE] We have updated our tests of Samsung TVs from the 2025 lineup due to the release of software version 1131, which restored the crucial HGiG feature for gamers.

In terms of gaming the Samsung R95H is almost a complete TV. When you connect a PS5 or Xbox Series X you can use 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, and the TV also works correctly with HGiG. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung, like on its other sets, simply doesn't support. There's also the Game Bar, already known from other Samsung models, which lets you quickly check the frame rate, VRR status or HDR format and change key settings without leaving the game. You can also brighten darker parts of the picture or change the screen aspect ratio.

Samsung also offers Game Motion Plus, a motion-smoothing feature designed specifically for gaming. It makes most sense in titles running at 30 fps, where it can noticeably improve smoothness and make camera movement feel much nicer. You should just remember this comes at the cost of higher input lag (about 60 ms), so it's not the best choice for online or fast-paced games. It's also worth mentioning the Gaming Hub, which lets you run some games directly from the cloud without connecting a console. In terms of gaming features it's hard to find any major omissions on the R95H.