SAMSUNG S95F (TANDEM OLED 83") vs LG QNED86A / QNED85A / QNED87A

The Samsung S95F in the 83-inch variant with a Tandem OLED panel also enchants with its HDR effects. In test movie scenes, such as “Life of Pi” or “Sicario 2,” where smaller light points dominate – stars in the night sky, the glow of the moon, or headlights – the TV easily achieves brightness levels surpassing 2000 nits. This is a result that not long ago seemed unattainable for OLEDs and places this model in the same category as the best Mini-LED constructions.

The limitations of organic panels only emerge in full-screen scenes completely filled with white. In the case of this model, for example, in the final scene of the film The Meg, brightness drops to around 1000 nits – slightly lower than in the smaller QD-OLED variants, where the result hovered around 1400 nits. Nevertheless, we are still talking about an outstanding result, unprecedented in OLED TVs of this size. The colour reproduction is equally impressive. The new Tandem OLED panel nearly catches up to QD-OLED TVs, offering excellent coverage of a wide colour gamut. The results are slightly weaker than those of QD-OLED, but in practice, they still provide an image whose intensity and naturalness of colours are hard to compare with any other television.

Against the backdrop of contrast and black, the brightness of the QNED86A and the overall HDR effect fare much better. It's a television that can achieve around 700 nits under the best conditions, so in terms of luminance alone, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. As a result, scenes with strong lights, explosions, flashes, or bright parts of the landscape – look clear and can make an impression. Interestingly, even in tougher moments with small, contrasting elements on the screen, the television does well with backlighting and details are quite visible. The problem arises when there are many dark tones. The lack of effective local dimming means that black virtually disappears, and instead, we get a grey glow spreading across the entire screen. This kills the depth effect and causes the image to appear flat, as if it lacks cinematic character. In bright animations or family films with vibrant colours, this won't be an issue, as the colours and bright light dominate. But in horror films or productions set in darkness, these limitations are strongly felt. As a consolation, it’s worth noting that the QNED86A is essentially a QLED television with an LED PFS filter, which gives it very good coverage of wide colour gamuts. Both the DCI-P3 palette and the wider BT.2020 perform solidly here. This means that colours in HDR films are saturated, juicy, and have the right depth – even if the black itself is disappointing, the colours can save the viewing experience and make the image look appealing.

The best picture mode right out of the box is undoubtedly Filmmaker Mode. This mode has been present in Samsung televisions for several years and is intended to reproduce the image as faithfully as possible to the creators' vision. In SDR material, it performs reasonably well, though not without flaws. The image is slightly dimmed, and the white balance tends to shift towards red and blue, resulting in a slight pinkish tint on the screen. Average colour errors hover around values of ΔE 3–4, which is on the borderline of what most people can detect with the naked eye.

The limitations are much more apparent with HDR content. Here, a slight excess of blue in the white balance isn't such a big issue – the real obstacle is how the television manages brightness. In many scenes, the image looked as if it had been blown out, and details in the blacks could completely vanish. The final effect didn't do justice to what such a device is capable of, leading to significant colour inaccuracies. It's hard to understand why such a factory characteristic was chosen, as the perception of HDR in this rendition was definitely not what it should have been.

We primarily tested the QNED86A in Filmmaker mode, which is designed to provide the most faithful picture. Unfortunately, right out of the box, there were quite a few shortcomings. The most glaring issue was the poorly calibrated white balance – there was a lack of blue, which caused the overall image to take on a slightly yellowish, and sometimes even an orange hue. An even bigger problem was the way the television manages brightness. Due to its technical limitations – that is, local dimming functioning only along the edges of the screen – the QNED86A has a tendency to oversaturate entire scenes. This is where the flattening of the image that we mentioned earlier comes from. Instead of clear depth and contrast, we get something akin to "boosted brightness," which, in the long run, can strain the eyes.

After calibration, the S95F shows what it can really do. The white balance has been straightened out, and minor inaccuracies have been corrected, making the image in SDR content look nearly exemplary. Colour differences have fallen below the level that the human eye can detect – looking at the screen, one just gets the impression of complete naturalness and harmony of colours.

In HDR, the improvement is equally noticeable. The TV handles brightness much better, and there’s no longer the 'blowing out' of the entire frame. Bright scenes are more controlled, and blacks retain more detail, though sometimes a slight brightening of the overall image can still be noticed. However, this doesn’t change the fact that after calibration, the S95F delivers an image that can confidently be called one of the best on the market – regardless of whether we’re watching movies in SDR or spectacular productions in HDR.

What was saved in the QNED86A6A is undoubtedly the colours. After calibration, the white balance was set with great precision, ensuring that deviations on the Colour Checker palette mostly did not exceed the visibility threshold for the human eye. In other words – the colours finally looked natural, without strange yellow or orange tones that had previously marred the perception. Unfortunately, even the best calibration cannot overcome structural limitations. The already mentioned very modest number of local dimming zones and their unfortunate placement meant that the analysis of the EOTF curve in films still showed noticeable scene over-exposures. The image tended to flatten, lacking cinematic depth. Fortunately, this effect is not as visible in older productions or in SDR content. There, calibration really does its job and allows the QNED to be tamed so the image can be pleasing. However, the specifics of this construction – especially the contrast issues – cannot be completely bypassed.

The Samsung S95F model features noise reduction, aimed at improving the fluidity of tonal transitions. Its effectiveness is difficult to call ineffective – on the contrary, it can excessively interfere with the image. Older films or materials of lower quality, such as those from YouTube, take on a soft, smoothed character reminiscent of a painting effect thanks to this feature. The problem is that along with the noise, the natural film grain, which gives the image a cinematic quality, also disappears. Fortunately, the feature does not blur significant details, so its use is more a matter of preference. If someone prefers a slightly polished and smooth image, it’s worth turning it on, but in our opinion, the most sensible setting is “Standard”.

Upscaling leaves a better impression. The S95F efficiently enhances the quality of lower resolution content – even 576p videos look quite good, although minor artifacts in the form of blockiness can be noticed. Overall, the effect is very solid, although when compared to the competition – such as the Sony Bravia 8 (II) or LG G5 – it is noticeable that those models can extract a bit more from the image. However, one inconvenience to remember is that in the case of older films and photos, there is a problem with overscan, which causes a slight trimming of the left edge of the image.

If someone is worried about potential "steps" when blending colours, the QNED86A has a simple solution for that. Just turn on the feature called Smooth Gradation and set it to the medium level. Then the TV really smooths out all those unwanted transitions – especially in older productions – and it does so in a way that the film grain doesn’t disappear, nor do any strange artefacts appear. In other words, you can use it without any worries.

The upscaling itself also turns out quite well. Of course, there are no miracles here – with poorer quality sources, you can notice characteristic jagged edges. Fortunately, there is a sharpness slider in the menu, and if someone prefers a more "soft" image, it can be quickly adjusted to their own taste.

In the case of the 83-inch S95F with a Tandem OLED panel, the fluidity of motion also makes a huge impression. The panel in native 4K resolution offers a refresh rate of 165 Hz, and this combined with organic technology makes games and sport look fantastic. Additionally, the manufacturer has added a motion smoother and a motion blur reduction system, allowing each viewer to customise the picture to their own preferences – whether a more 'choppy', cinematic effect or a smooth, almost theatrical spectacle.

QNED86A has been equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate panel, so right from the start, it can be said to be suitable for both sports and gaming. And indeed it is – the picture looks smooth, and motion blur isn’t too much of an issue. IPS panels have always had a bit of a problem with this, and here too you can sometimes notice slight blurring, especially in very dynamic scenes, but it’s not something that ruins watching a match or a fast-paced game. For cinema and sports fans, LG has included the traditional TruMotion smoothing feature. In the menu, we have two sliders – one for movies (De-Judder), and the other for sports (De-Blur). The first adds missing frames and allows you to adjust the character of motion – from raw, cinematic to a more fluid, “theatrical” feel. The second improves sharpness during dynamic actions, so it’s worth turning it up a bit if you watch a lot of sports.

Low motion blur and phenomenal motion fluidity, hallmarks of the OLED panel, are just the warm-up. The Samsung S95F has been designed with gamers in mind – and this is evident at every turn. Four HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s may sound like a compromise on paper, but in practice, neither consoles nor PCs will feel the slightest limitation here. Onboard is a full set of gaming features: variable refresh rate VRR, automatic game mode ALLM, and an excellently implemented HGiG standard, which allows you to enjoy HDR exactly as the creators intended. All this is complemented by Game Bar – an intuitive command centre where you can check and adjust the most important settings in seconds.

Particularly noteworthy is Game Motion Plus, Samsung's proprietary motion smoother. It can add additional fluidity to animations, which can be a lifesaver in games running at 60 frames, where stability doesn't always hold up. Yes, there's no support for Dolby Vision in games, but it's hard to consider this a serious flaw – the manufacturer compensates for this gap with other solutions. The S95F is one of the absolute favourites for the title of the best gaming television on today's market.

When it comes to gaming, the LG QNED86A6A is a complete tool. It features four HDMI 2.1 ports with a full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, which means that whether you connect a PlayStation 5, an Xbox Series X, or a powerful PC – everything will work in full 4K at 120 Hz with support for all functions. This is a significant advantage, as some competitors still only feature two such ports, which can be troublesome when dealing with multiple devices. It also includes VRR, or variable refresh rate, which eliminates screen tearing, and ALLM, which automatically activates game mode when the console powers on. Dolby Vision Gaming is included as well, alongside proper implementation of the HGiG format, so titles that support these formats look livelier and more detailed. Additionally, there's the Game Optimizer – a kind of control centre for gamers. From this interface, you can view image parameters in real time, quickly switch modes, activate additional features, or adjust picture settings to your own preferences. The LG QNED86A6A has basically everything you would expect from a modern gaming television.