SAMSUNG S90F (WOLED) vs Haier Q80FUX

Does the S90F handle not only blacks but also bright parts of the image? Definitely. The stories about OLEDs as "dark screens" can slowly be regarded as myth. The Samsung S90F, like the LG C5 based on a very similar panel, achieves brightness exceeding 1000 nits. This is a value more than enough to enjoy impressive and dynamic HDR images – both in movies and series. Most of the scenes we tested look stunning, with well-defined highlights and high contrast. Of course, OLED technology still has its limitations – in very bright, full-screen sequences, such as the test card from the movie The Meg (photo 5), the television may noticeably dim the image. However, it should be emphasized that such scenes are rare. It can be said that the HDR effect is good enough that even mid-range OLED models like the S90F can provide a cinematic experience in the home living room.

Alright, let's move on to the topic that really sparks discussions, which is the capabilities of the TV in HDR mode. Let's be clear from the start: the Haier Q80FUX is certainly not a brightness demon. The panel of this set can generate about 350 nits at peak, which in today's reality is an absolute minimum to even talk about the presence of HDR expanded dynamic range. On the plus side, this brightness is at least stable – regardless of the test pattern or film scene we used, measurements consistently hovered around 300-350 nits. These are at best adequate results, definitely far from the dazzling display of capabilities that we know from more expensive models. Fortunately, there is one aspect where the Q80FUX makes up for these shortcomings and does so considerably. We are talking about a QLED TV (or more precisely PFS LED), which means that thanks to the quantum dot filter used on the panel, it can generate truly juicy, vibrant colours. These are not empty promises – covering nearly 95% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is an impressive result and directly translates into very pleasant, saturated colours for the eye.

Samsung S90F, like most modern televisions, offers many picture modes, but – following our testing tradition – we checked it out in the best one, which is the Filmmaker mode. Thanks to this, the image looks much more natural than in the default, often oversaturated settings. It was neither overly saturated nor artificially dimmed – simply closer to what one should see. Of course, “more accurate” doesn’t mean “perfect”. Unfortunately, our S90F had significant issues with white balance, particularly in the blue color range, resulting in a slightly yellowish filter being applied to most scenes. Someone might say it looks more “filmic” – because it’s warmer – but let’s not kid ourselves, George Lucas didn’t film Star Wars in sepia 😉 (you’ll find a comparison with the scene below as always).

Additionally, in HDR materials, there was an issue with brightness management. The EOTF curve showed a clear “spike” in brightness – the television brightened the image more than it should have, causing some effects to look too intense and deviating from the reference. Fortunately, some of these problems can be eliminated through professional calibration – you’ll read about its effects later in the review.

Factory settings for movie mode are seldom perfect, but in the case of the Q80FUX, we encountered a noticeable imbalance. In SDR content, the image was definitely too warm, due to an excessive amount of red in the white balance, giving the overall picture a slight sepia tone. Conversely, in HDR materials, the television fell into the other extreme – an excess of blue caused an unnatural, cool effect in perception. However, it wasn't the fickle white balance that was the biggest issue with this TV. The real culprit, responsible for the previously described problems, was hiding deeper. It turned out that the Q80FUX has completely miscalibrated gamma values and, crucial for HDR, a poorly executed EOTF curve. It was these erroneous factory settings that caused the notorious clipping of the brightest parts of the image, imposing that characteristic milky filter over them. Thus, we found the source of the problem. This situation led to general, significant colour inaccuracies that were easy to catch even for an untrained eye. Like every television we tested, we decided to calibrate this model as well, and you can find the results of these adjustments in the next paragraph.

After calibration, we managed to eliminate practically all the previously mentioned errors. Older movies in SDR quality finally look like they should – without the sepia effect or artificial aging of the image. The atmosphere of the classics is back in place (no thanks needed, Star Wars fans), and the colours no longer resemble an Instagram filter.

One of the key changes was also the improvement of brightness characteristics in HDR content. We managed to control the EOTF curve in almost a reference manner. Admittedly, the most demanding users may detect minimal deviations in brightness, but honestly – most viewers won't even notice that. And it's no surprise because the vast majority of errors fall below the ΔE 3 value, which is below the threshold of visibility. After calibration, the S90F (WOLED) becomes a truly excellent display – one on which you can enjoy nearly perfect image quality.

The results of our calibration procedures must, unfortunately, be regarded as twofold. Generally speaking, the picture is undeniably better than before the adjustments; however, the biggest winner of this process has been SDR content. It is precisely here, after correcting the gamma curves and white balance, that we achieved results that can safely be called very good. Once set up, the Q80FUX truly shines in standard dynamic range, displaying only slight errors in the most challenging skin tones. Unfortunately, the weakest link remains HDR content. And here's the paradox: even though we managed to calibrate the white balance to near perfection, the overall colour errors still remain at quite a high level. The reason is that the television still interprets the static HDR10 metadata "in its own way," stubbornly enforcing that unfortunate image clipping effect, which inevitably leads to significant distortions. Although we successfully eliminated the factory excess of blue, due to this electronic interference, the screen can still veer into somewhat too cool tones. That’s just how this television is.

Digital Image Processing in S90F:

Fortunately, Samsung, like in most of its models, manages to effectively tackle the unwanted posterisation effect in the S90F. The function responsible for this element is noise reduction, which does a pretty good job of smoothing tonal transitions and eliminating unnatural colour blending – of course, within its capabilities. Unfortunately, it works quite aggressively, so using it comes with trade-offs. In addition to improving gradation, it can also remove film grain or slightly soften facial features. In this case, the choice is yours – do you prefer a more "clean" image, or do you care about preserving the original texture of the material.

Image Scaling in S90F:

In this year's model, Samsung has implemented its proprietary AI processor – NQ4 Gen3, which really handles upscaling quite well. In our test scenes, the TV effectively "pulled up" lower quality towards artificial 4K – the image was more enjoyable to view, and the differences in sharpness between native and scaled content were minimal. Unfortunately, behind all this AI marketing façade lies a certain shortcoming. The S90F struggles with overscan. If you reach for truly archival material – e.g. a VHS tape of your parents' wedding – you have to reckon with the fact that the lower part of the image may get cut off. The function to adapt the image to resolution simply does not work as it should here.

If there's one area where Haier clearly shows it still has a lot to catch up on compared to the market leaders, it's digital image processing. The upscaling, well... it's just okay. And that's really all that can be said about it. It does what it's supposed to do: ensures that lower resolution signals don't scare you with harsh pixelation on the screen and don't look like a forcibly enlarged postage stamp. However, it's far from the finesse and "intelligent" sharpening that more experienced players in this market have developed over the years. The biggest issue with the Q80FUX software is the almost complete lack of additional "cleaning" and smoothing features for the image. The receiver offers no noise reduction mechanisms or gradient enhancement. This means that with older or highly compressed materials, we simply have to accept that all the imperfections in tonal transitions or colour blending, which we mentioned earlier, will constantly accompany us during viewing.

S90F really handles motion excellently – after all, it’s an OLED with a 144 Hz panel, so sports and games look absolutely stunning on it. The image is smooth, clear, and there’s no room for ghosting or blurring, which can sometimes plague cheaper LCDs.

The TV also comes equipped with motion smoothness settings that allow you to customise everything to your liking. We have motion blur reduction and judder reduction – you can set it so that the image is super smooth (even to the point of looking a bit soap opera-like), or more cinematic, with the classic “jumpiness” of 24 frames. The choice is yours, Samsung imposes nothing.

The issue of motion fluidity and blurring is largely predetermined by the use of a 60Hz panel, which naturally makes it difficult to recommend this receiver to enthusiasts of very dynamic content. Fortunately, in the Q80FUX, we find a few options (although, as will soon become clear, really just one) intended to enhance the experience with older film productions. There is a "De-Judder" slider available, which indeed affects motion fluidity and allows us to adjust it to our preferences: from raw, cinematic frame rates to a more theatrical, smoothed presentation. However, a true surprise awaits us right next to it in the menu. There is also a second slider, supposedly dedicated to removing blur – this is a feature we typically encounter in 120Hz panels, aimed at combating blurring in sports. As we expected, recalling memories from testing the K85F model, here too this slider is merely a façade. Its adjustment contributes absolutely nothing to the picture and simply seems to be an oversight by the product engineers who left a non-functional option in the software for this type of panel.

When it comes to gaming features – the S90F has absolutely nothing to complain about. Aside from the lack of Dolby Vision, which is already the norm for Samsung. The television operates at 144 Hz, has four HDMI 2.1 ports, so you can easily connect more than one console or PC. Onboard, we also find Game Bar – a practical tool that allows you to quickly preview picture settings, VRR status, ALLM mode, and other useful options. Game Motion Plus deserves special mention – Samsung's proprietary motion smoother that actually works sensibly in games. The image appears smoother, but without any artificial effects or slowdowns.

It's also worth mentioning the HGiG feature, which – and this may be a slight surprise – works correctly. We bring this up because Samsung clearly messed something up in one of the recent updates, and in some models, the option responsible for HGiG simply... disappears from the menu. Setting it up becomes almost impossible. Fortunately, our S90F unit did not have this issue, but the situation is dynamic, so it's worth keeping this in mind and regularly checking for new software versions and information from the manufacturer.

Entering the realm of gaming, the Haier Q80FUX proves to be quite a good companion for the "casual gamer." It is equipped with some highly sought-after features today such as VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (automatic low latency mode). However, the biggest surprise is something else. Even though we don't have a 4K@120Hz panel here, the television can accept and display a 120Hz signal at a lower resolution (Full HD). This is a very useful feature, allowing you to consciously switch the console to a lower resolution mode in exchange for significantly higher fluidity, which is a perfectly acceptable compromise in the gaming world.

We won't particularly complain about the lack of additions like the "Game Bar," as it's just a nice extra. However, the most concerning issues arise when we enter the world of HDR in gaming. Due to the fact that the television continuously adapts the signal "in its own way," setting the brightness on the console according to the HGIG standard is almost impossible to accomplish according to the instructions. Worse still, in Dolby Vision mode for gaming, the input lag increases to around 50 ms, which is a high enough value that essentially makes this mode unusable. Generally speaking, we still wouldn't recommend gaming on this television in HDR mode, so these aren't that serious shortcomings. What’s most pleasing is the presence of 120Hz in Full HD, making the Q80FUX quite a cool television for the occasional gamer.