Sony A95L vs Samsung The Frame LS03D

Sony A95L offers an incredible HDR effect, achieving an impressive brightness level of 1500 nits in scenes such as those from Life of Pi and Sicario 2. These results are truly remarkable – the bright elements in these films practically come alive on the screen, providing the viewer with immersive visual experiences. The only thing to note is minor issues with maintaining brightness in the scene from The Meg, where the entire scene is flooded with light. However, this is a natural effect associated with OLED technology. A big plus also goes to the wide coverage of the BT.2020 colour palette at 89%, which places A95L Sony among the top TVs in terms of colour reproduction. All of this is made possible by the QD-OLED panel from Samsung Displays.

Samsung The Frame LS03D really does well with brightness. Results at the level of 700 nits make bright elements on the screen look impressive and detailed, whether they illuminate the entire screen or appear as tiny points of light on a dark background. In more demanding scenes, like the fourth sequence from the film Sicario 2, the blacks perform moderately, but we have already discussed this in the section on contrast. However, when it comes to brightness – this television definitely holds its own. An additional advantage is the quantum dot coating, which is QLED technology. Thanks to this, the coverage of the colour palette has been improved, although The Frame does not stand out in this regard compared to the competition.

The best factory mode for colour reproduction on the Sony A95L is IMAX Enhanced. This mode seems well-calibrated at first glance, but upon closer analysis, several areas for improvement become apparent. Firstly, the white balance for both SDR and 4K HDR content is marred by an excess of blue and red hues, leading to a subtle pink tint, particularly noticeable on neutral tones. As a result, skin tones are skewed, affecting the realism of the displayed image. This is clearly visible in the comparison photo below. Additionally, the Colour Checker test confirms the presence of these errors – the colour samples often deviate from their reference values, indicating some inaccuracies in the factory colour reproduction of the A95L Sony. The maximum deltaE error values reach up to 5.8, which is a clear indicator that colours are not always reproduced as accurately as they should be.

Regarding brightness characteristics, the gamma for HD/SDR content is generally quite good, maintaining an appropriate balance between brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, a significant jump is visible at the end of the graph, leading to a strong brightening of the image when the screen is fully flooded with white. This can make scenes with very bright backgrounds, such as snowy landscapes or intense daylight, appear too glaring and lose detail. For HDR content, the EOTF curve, which controls luminance, is slightly elevated compared to reference values. This, in turn, causes the image to be somewhat brighter than it should be, which can affect the perception of more subtle details in the darker areas of the frame.

Samsung offers several picture modes in its televisions, but without a doubt, Filmmaker Mode is the one that should provide the most natural representation of content. Unfortunately, as often happens with mass production, the differences between individual units can be quite significant, and our tested model did not escape a few issues.

In the case of SDR content, the white balance leaned heavily towards red, with a slight boost in blue. This effect was particularly noticeable in comparison photos – for example, in a photograph of a boy whose face was unnaturally flushed. The gamma, or brightness characteristic, also did not perform perfectly – the image was slightly brightened, which robbed it of depth.

In 4K HDR content, the white balance was once again dominated by red, this time combined with green. Meanwhile, blue clearly lost intensity, which could easily be seen on the Color Checker palette, where the colours began to "escape" in the wrong direction. The EOTF curve, responsible for brightness in HDR content, showed that the television tended to overly brighten the image, particularly in the darkest elements of scenes.

Overall, while it did not look terrible, it definitely required correction. Fortunately, Samsung offers extensive calibration options, which provides a chance for a significant improvement in picture quality. Therefore, we proceeded with professional calibration to unlock the full potential of this television.

Sony A95L offers excellent tools for professional screen calibration, allowing you to maximise the potential of the IMAX Enhanced mode. We used them to achieve an image quality that satisfies even the most demanding viewers. After calibration, the white balance for both 4K HDR and SDR content looks simply fantastic – nearly perfect. The Colour Checker test confirmed that deltaE errors do not exceed a value of "2", which means that colour reproduction is extremely accurate, and any deviations are practically imperceptible to the human eye.

The calibration also brought a significant improvement in brightness – gamma is now perfectly balanced, eliminating the previous problem of excessive brightening in scenes with very bright backgrounds. Thanks to this, even the brightest moments, such as snowy landscapes or intense daytime scenes, appear natural, without the risk of blown-out highlights. The EOTF curve, responsible for controlling luminance in HDR content, has also been improved – it now reaches reference levels in both synthetic tests and practical movie watching.

As a result of the calibration, A95L Sony provides an excellent experience, whether you are watching regular TV content or your favourite films. Every detail is reproduced exactly as the creators intended – without unnecessary brightenings, with perfectly rendered colours and appropriate depth. This shows that this television, after professional tuning, can compete with the best screens on the market, offering an image that truly impresses.

After professional calibration, the Filmmaker Mode showcases its full potential. The white balance in HD content is exemplary – errors at the level of 0.5 indicate almost perfect accuracy in colour reproduction. The image now appears natural, and the colours are exactly as they should be. In 4K HDR content, the effect is not quite as perfect, but it still maintains a really high standard. The colours are vibrant, well-saturated, and the overall image quality is impressive.

So where does the problem lie, given our praise for the colour reproduction? Unfortunately, the entire experience is disrupted by the brightness characteristics. The gamma in HD content looks decent, but in 4K HDR, it’s not as good. The EOTF curve shows that the television excessively brightens certain parts of the image, which is a result of design limitations. The lack of local dimming means that the television is unable to accurately control the differences between the brightest and darkest areas of the screen. This is a barrier that simply cannot be overcome in this model.

Nonetheless, after calibration, Samsung The Frame LS03D offers excellent colour reproduction, particularly in HD content, and the overall look is significantly better than before the settings were adjusted.

The tonal transition smoothing function in Sony A95L works really well and is worth noting. We recommend setting it to "Medium" level, as this value achieves an ideal compromise – no artifacts appear, and the image looks incredibly natural and pleasing to the eye. This ensures that transitions between different shades are smooth while maintaining scene detail, which further enhances viewing comfort.

When it comes to upscaling, you can see the full power of the XR processor here. Sony A95L handled our test material featuring a model exceptionally well – the image is remarkably clear, there are no excessive jagged edges, and the background details are perfectly preserved. The XR processor effectively improves low resolution, providing very good results that allow you to enjoy content in nearly high quality, even if its source is not perfect.

It's time to check how Samsung The Frame LS03D copes with older, lower-quality materials. We already know that the smoothness of tonal transitions is at a very high level, so we were curious to see how the TV would handle smoothing them out.

The noise reduction feature in the “Standard” setting does its job well – tonal transitions are noticeably smoothed out, and the image doesn’t lose too much detail. However, it’s worth noting that this effect also smooths out film grain, so its usage will be a matter of individual preference.

When it comes to image scaling, the TV performed really well too. The tested image came out solid – the model was accurately represented, with clear details. The branches in the background, although slightly frayed in places, generally look natural and do not stand out as a flaw.

Sony A95L is a television that should satisfy both gamers and movie enthusiasts. When it comes to watching films, this model is equipped with Motionflow technology, which allows you to precisely adjust whether you want the image to be more "framey," like in traditional cinema, or exceptionally smooth, like in cinema TVs. The "Smoothness" slider allows you to control the level of fluidity – from subtle changes to more noticeable effects, while the "Clarity" slider reduces flicker and artifacts, helping to achieve more natural and clear movement. When it comes to gaming and watching sports, the A95L Sony offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, making every dynamic action look incredibly smooth. Gamers will appreciate the lack of blur, and sports fans will see every movement in full clarity. Overall, the television performs excellently – both with fast-paced gameplay and emotionally charged film sequences.

To start off, it’s worth noting that the model we tested in the 55-inch size, along with the 65, 75, and 85-inch versions, is equipped with a 120 Hz panel. Unfortunately, the 43 and 50-inch variants of this series only offer 60 Hz panels, which is worth considering when making a purchase. In terms of improving motion fluidity, the TV offers a feature called “Image Clarity.” This is a classic motion smoother that gives users the ability to adjust using two sliders:

Blur Reduction – this controls image sharpening during dynamic scenes. The higher the value, the less blurring occurs during fast camera moves or moving objects. However, setting it too aggressively can make the image look unnatural and resemble a “soap opera.”

Judder Reduction – this slider affects the smoothness of frame playback, especially in materials with lower frame rates, such as movies (24 fps). Higher settings can smooth out motion but can also lead to excessive “plasticity” of the image.

Both sliders operate on a scale from 0 to 10, allowing for precise adjustment of the effect to personal preferences. It’s a good idea to experiment with the settings to find the perfect balance between fluidity and a natural look for the image. We recommend setting them as shown in the picture.

Sony A95L is a television that will truly satisfy gamers, thanks to several key features that set it apart from the competition. To begin with, the 120 Hz refresh rate – this is something that anyone who loves fast-paced action games, racing, or dynamic shooters will appreciate. This makes the image exceptionally smooth, and gameplay more satisfying, without annoying stutters. The A95L Sony also has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically activates low-latency mode when we start up a console. What does this mean? Primarily, faster reactions on screen, which in games where every second counts, is simply invaluable. Added to that is VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which ensures that the image refresh rate adapts to the number of frames generated by the console. The effect? No tearing of the image, and everything looks smooth and cohesive – even with varying FPS.

It's worth mentioning the support for Dolby Vision with low input lag in games – something we don't often see in televisions, but here it is included. As a result, the image in HDR-compatible games is incredibly vibrant, with vivid colors and excellent contrast. Both the brightest and darkest details are visible, making everything look just as the game developers intended. And there's also the "Game Bar" – a small but very practical convenience. It gives us all the essential gaming-related settings at our fingertips, such as VRR and lag information. There's no need to interrupt gameplay to adjust settings – everything is at hand.

However, it's important to note that the A95L offers only two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is allocated for eARC. This could be somewhat limiting if we plan to connect multiple devices – for example, a next-gen console and a soundbar simultaneously. In such cases, eARC occupying one of those ports may be a bit problematic, blocking the option to connect a second console.

The Frame LS03D in the 2024 version is equipped with four HDMI ports, but only one supports the 2.1 standard with a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s. This is important information if we plan to connect more than one device that requires a 4K@120 Hz signal – for example, two consoles or a console and a gaming PC.

In terms of features for gamers, The Frame truly has a lot to boast about. We have ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and HGiG. It’s worth mentioning that HGiG has been very well implemented here, which is particularly important as the television does not support Dolby Vision in games (which is only available on Xbox consoles). In this case, HGiG turns out to be a better standard for gaming.

Samsung hasn't forgotten about features that enhance the gaming experience. Game Bar is an expanded panel for gamers that allows quick adjustment of screen settings without having to dig through the television menu. We can even change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to the panoramic 21:9, which can be a significant advantage for some gamers.

However, Samsung's biggest ace up its sleeve is the Game Motion Plus feature. This is a special smoother dedicated to games that adds additional frames of animation without significantly affecting input lag. The effect is really noticeable – the image seems much smoother, which will be particularly appreciated by fans of dynamic titles.

In summary – Samsung The Frame LS03D is a television that offers a solid set of features for gamers. Although the limitation to one HDMI 2.1 port may be a downside, the rest of the solutions make gaming on this television a truly enjoyable experience.