Samsung The Frame 2025 (LS03F) vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

The Frame LS03F is a television that can surprise with its brightness. The maximum luminance reaches around 650 nits, which already looks solid on paper. But as we know – lab tests are one thing, and real film scenes are quite another story. When watching HDR materials in natural conditions, The Frame 2025 maintains very good results. In most film scenes, peak brightness stayed at around 550–650 nits. This is enough to feel the difference between standard picture and that in HDR quality – bright highlights, reflections on water, or moonlight look distinct and impressive.

It's also worth noting that the LS03F is a QLED television, which translates to solid colour saturation. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space reaches about 92%, allowing for vibrant, intense colours in HDR content. It's not at the level of top premium models, but for a lifestyle screen – the result truly deserves recognition.

If you're hoping that HDR on the NANO81A will bring tears to your eyes, I have to disappoint you. This TV is just too dark to show what this format is really about. With a brightness of only 250 nits, HDR really only exists on paper here. In practice, during viewing, it's very hard to tell whether we're watching material in high dynamic range or regular SDR – it simply lacks that “punch” of light in the bright parts of the image. But, to balance out the criticism, we do have one light at the end of the tunnel – and quite a distinct one at that. It's about colour gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it's not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. That's a really solid result, placing this model significantly above typical budget models based on regular white LEDs without any filters. Of course, it still lags a bit behind QLED TVs or advanced panels with PFS filters, but for this price range, the colours are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It’s just a shame that this low brightness doesn't allow them to fully “spread their wings” with the Nano filter.

When it comes to picture quality right out of the box, even in Filmmaker mode, which is supposed to be the closest to reference, there were some issues. In both HD and 4K HDR content, we noticed clear deviations in white balance. The picture was heavily skewed towards red and blue, giving the screen a distinctive pinkish hue. This effect was most noticeable in bright scenes – for example, in shots with a lot of white, where neutral light should naturally dominate. In such moments, the screen clearly took on pink tones, which is also evident in the attached comparative photo. As for brightness characteristics – it wasn't as bad as one might expect given such colour inaccuracies. Analysis of the gamma curve and EOTF showed a slight brightening of the image compared to the reference, but not enough to drastically spoil the viewing experience.

For every film fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. It is designed to show the image as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements". Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left a bit to be desired. The main issue turned out to be the white balance. Measurements revealed a distinct deficiency of blue, which in practice meant that many scenes had a slightly yellowish, even "yellowed" tint. The white wasn’t perfectly clean, which took away the freshness of the image. Additionally, the brightness management wasn't perfect either – the factory-set gamma was too low. The image often appeared oversaturated, as if it had been pulled too much from the shadows, which detracted from its naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price range, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration options for this model are extensive, which is a significant plus for those who enjoy "fiddling" in the menu. We decided to approach the matter our way and see how much we could squeeze out of this panel with professional calibration.

After calibration, the movie mode gained a completely new quality. The issue of the pink tint, which was previously clearly visible, especially in bright scenes, has been effectively eliminated. Colours started to look significantly more natural, and the white balance no longer dominated the rest of the image. It was no longer the same oversaturated "picture from a box" – everything took on coherence and a cinematic character. Additionally, the tendency of the TV to slightly brighten scenes, previously visible in the EOTF curve analysis, has been partially corrected. Of course, within the limits of what the design allows without local dimming – it's difficult to speak of perfect brightness management here. Nevertheless, the final effect was definitely closer to what one might expect from a mode named Filmmaker.

After calibration, the NANO81A is a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools, even in such an affordable model, deserves major credit. We were able to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colours natural, vibrant, and simply "real". In SDR content (i.e., regular television, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks miles better – it’s clean, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It’s clear that this panel has significant potential, which is simply wasted out of the box due to poor presets. However, we have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it's about brightness management in HDR mode. The LG algorithm in this model is very conservative. The TV deliberately dims the HDR image to avoid clipping the already weak blacks of the IPS panel. The developers faced a choice: either provide more light and accept that black would become light grey, or dial down the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Despite this, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is considerably better.

LS03F is equipped with an NQ4 processor, which is responsible for improving image quality – especially in lower-quality materials. In practice, it works surprisingly well, particularly when it comes to older content and recordings with lower resolution. Activating the "noise reduction" feature delivers noticeable results. The television effectively smooths tonal transitions and removes digital noise that can appear in darker areas of the image. Compared to previous generations, there is a clear improvement – earlier, this feature often smoothed everything too much, including details that it shouldn't have removed. In this year’s model, the smoothing still occurs, but it happens in a much more acceptable way. Textures of materials, skin, or fabric details are not as heavily muted as before – the image retains more naturalness. However, this does not change the fact that film grain is still removed by the television, which may not appeal to everyone. On the other hand, it's no longer such an aggressive intervention as in previous models. It's also worth mentioning that the LS03F may struggle with very weak signals – for example, from VHS tapes or low-resolution video. In such cases, we noticed slight clipping of the image at the edges – the so-called overscan. This can lead to situations where a small part of the image (e.g., subtitles at the bottom edge) gets cut off.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels ruthlessly expose all the "dirty laundry" and imperfections in lower resolution materials. However, with the LG NANO81A, the situation is completely different. It's a really solid performer when it comes to handling content that's far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A big plus is the gradation reduction feature, which you can find in the settings. It is exceptionally effective in combating colour banding, which is a godsend when watching low bitrate materials, such as from some streaming services or older files from the web. However, it is worth maintaining a certain vigilance. Since we are dealing with a less powerful chip than in LG's top models, too aggressive a setting for this option can sometimes result in minor artifacts or slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimentation with this feature – in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

The new feature in The Frame for 2025 is a 144 Hz refresh rate display. Yes – in a television primarily associated with displaying works of art, you can now not only watch Van Gogh, but also comfortably play on a console or follow fast-paced sporting events. This is a significant step towards greater versatility. In the case of Samsung movies, as usual in models with a 120 Hz display and above, it allows you to adjust motion fluidity according to your preferences. You can set a more cinematic reproduction that maintains frame rate or opt for complete image smoothing. The range of options is broad, allowing you to tailor the effect to your tastes – regardless of whether the screening is meant to look like classic cinema or a performance on a modern theatre panel.

*this part of the test refers to the model LS03FAU in sizes 55 and 65 inches, which is equipped with a 144Hz display; the sizes 43 and 50 inches have 60Hz displays, and consequently perform much worse in terms of motion fluidity.

In terms of motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a bit of a hurdle. The television is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz. If you're looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast-paced action games, you might feel somewhat dissatisfied. With such a low native refresh rate, fast objects on the screen will always be a bit blurry.

As we mentioned earlier – while The Frame is likely to display images and works of art most of the time, Samsung realised that a Van Gogh enthusiast could equally well be an avid gamer. And it must be said that The Frame 2025 has almost everything it needs to become a full-fledged gaming TV.

Onboard, we find support for ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) thanks to the implementation of one HDMI 2.1 port. The television handles lower resolutions at higher refresh rates with ease and has an extensive Game Bar – already known from other Samsung models – which allows for quick viewing and changing of the most important gaming-related settings. And for that, it scores extra points with us. The proprietary motion smoothing technology, Auto Motion Plus Game, also deserves special mention, which – it’s worth emphasising – works without increasing input lag. Samsung remains the only manufacturer that has managed to implement this feature in a virtually unnoticed way in terms of delays. The result? Much better smoothness in games, especially those that struggle to maintain stable 60 frames. This solution can significantly improve gameplay comfort in more demanding titles – particularly on consoles that don’t always maintain full fluidity, especially in AAA games.

As for the downsides – the lack of Dolby Vision is already regarded as standard in Samsung televisions, so there’s not much to critique here. However, the problem is something completely different. In the latest version of the Tizen system, the HGiG option has disappeared. Literally – it’s gone. This is a significant hindrance when configuring consoles for the correct HDR content display in games. It's hard to understand why such a decision was made, but one thing is certain – this should be fixed as soon as possible. We are talking about a brand that has set standards for years when it comes to gaming on TVs. If HGiG returns – and we hope it will – The Frame LS03F can confidently aspire to the title of a true gaming television. Not just as a wall decoration but as equipment that truly provides joy in gaming.

[UPDATE] We have updated our tests of Samsung televisions from the 2025 model year due to the release of software version 1131, which restored the key gaming feature, HGiG.

NANO81A is unfortunately not a device designed with esports in mind. The lack of 120 Hz signal support is a fact that users planning to purchase this model simply have to accept. Nevertheless, LG’s engineers have worked hard to squeeze the maximum potential from this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely improve gaming comfort. First and foremost, the television supports VRR technology (in the range of 48–60 Hz) and ALLM. This ensures that the image remains stable and does not "tear," and the device automatically switches to low latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from a console. Managing these settings is extremely simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay that allows for a quick preview of parameters without leaving the game. A very significant advantage is support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles, as it allows the television to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown-out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which is unfortunately a common issue in budget LCD televisions.