Blaupunkt UGC5500S vs Samsung OLED S95H (S99H) (QD-OLED)

Here, too, we will not mince words – if you are looking for a television strictly for cinematic experiences in HDR, you have come to the wrong place. The Blaupunkt UGC5500S is unfortunately not a machine designed for such challenges. This is primarily due to its very low brightness, which we measured during our tests. A result of around 250 nits on film scenes speaks for itself. It is simply too little to even talk about any real HDR effect. Quite frankly, everything displayed here in this format can be confidently regarded as a somewhat “enhanced” SDR mode. We expected this, as virtually every device in this price range falters in this area, but we feel obliged to warn you about it. Manufacturers love to boast about HDR compatibility with stickers on their boxes, but in reality, this format simply does not exist here – it lacks the “fuel” of brightness.

The situation is particularly difficult for Blaupunkt, as we are dealing with a panel that has a very basic coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, reaching only about 80%. You will not find any advanced coatings to extend these capabilities (such as quantum dots), which means that scenes that should ideally burst with richly saturated colours appear simply under-saturated on this screen. Therefore, we have a specific piece of advice for you: do not force the HDR mode on this model. If you have the option in the streaming app settings – simply turn it off. By sticking to the classic SDR mode, you can be sure that the television will not attempt to “enhance” something that it cannot handle hardware-wise.

When it comes to brightness alone, the S99H is an astronomically bright TV. Its peak brightness in film scenes can exceed 2800 nits. Whatever the scene, you can count on powerful HDR effects that are almost blinding, exactly what you expect from a top-tier screen. It is the nature of OLED panels that they cannot sustain the same extreme brightness in very bright, full‑screen frames as they can with small highlights, but the results are still excellent. In a bright scene from the film The Meg, the sun still exceeded 2200 nits. That means the S99H managed to sustain higher brightness than most Mini LED displays on the market. In terms of brightness, the S99H is currently the best OLED TV we have tested.

Colour gamut coverage

The S99H also handles colour extremely well, which is a direct result of the QD-OLED panel used here. Whether the test scenarios were synthetic test patterns or measurements taken with film material playing in the background, the results remained at a very high level. The S99H easily covers almost 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut, and for the more demanding BT.2020 colour space it reaches nearly 90%. That is absolute top-tier performance. These results match what we have seen in the new SQD-Mini-LED screens, and in real film scenes even outperform RGB Mini LED displays.

We also took a close look at how Blaupunkt handles colours in movie mode, and here the matter is, in short, twofold. Once again, we need to clearly separate what we see in standard SDR format from what happens when HDR is turned on, as these are two entirely different worlds. Let’s start with the better side of the coin. If you plan to watch classic television, YouTube, or older films on this television, you can count on really reasonably well-tuned colours. In our test unit, the white balance in movie mode performed exceptionally well, which honestly surprised us. Of course, to avoid being overly optimistic, we did notice some shortcomings. Looking at the gamma charts, we observed that the processor struggles with appropriately dimming the image in its brightest areas. Additionally, there is quite a strong, at times excessively aggressive red saturation, which resulted in visible errors in reproducing certain shades. Nevertheless, in general terms, the image in SDR is simply solid and can be watched without a grimace on one’s face. Unfortunately, the charm disappears the moment we again enter the HDR world. Here, Blaupunkt behaves as if we suddenly switched it to shop mode, and in its worst version. The excess blue in the white balance is so significant that it is almost blinding, ruining any realism of the scene. Moreover, the television interprets brightness very loosely, which, when analysing the EOTF curve, clearly showed that for most of the time, the colours appear simply washed out and lacking in depth. This is, by the way, perfectly visible through the colour errors that become evident in this mode. Once again, we are left with the same conclusion: Blaupunkt in SDR mode looks significantly better and more natural than in HDR, which feels forced and lacking appropriate refinement.

Samsung offers a whole host of picture modes and features, but as usual we recommend choosing Filmmaker Mode, especially if you want the most faithful rendering of the filmmakers' intent. Out of the box the TV is tuned very well, although it has minor shortcomings. These are mainly a slight drift in the white balance in SDR content and a slightly low gamma. As a result, in darker viewing conditions the picture can be a little too bright compared with the reference gamma of 2.4, which is the standard for watching films with the lights off. These are, of course, minor points, because overall colour reproduction remains at a very good level and the errors in the ColorChecker measurements are not large. However, we know that with a screen of the S99H's class you can, and arguably should, expect even more, which is why we carried out a professional calibration.

It may sound like a joke – pulling out professional measuring equipment for a television costing around a thousand złotys / 250 dollars, but we wouldn’t be ourselves if we didn’t check it out. The question is: does such cheap equipment give us any room for manoeuvre when it comes to calibration? To your surprise, the answer is: yes, and very much so. In the Blaupunkt UGC5500S menu, we found surprisingly many options that allowed us to really work on the picture. These are not just empty sliders; they are specific tools that we could utilise using our measuring sensors and software. In SDR mode, the effects were visible to the naked eye. We successfully eliminated the problem we mentioned earlier – that excessive, almost artificial red saturation. We also fixed the issue of improper dimming in the brightest parts of the image. After calibration, the standard format image became significantly more balanced and simply correct. When it came to HDR, the situation was again more complicated. While we managed to 'tame' that aggressive blue tint in the white balance, it was clear that we were fighting somewhat in vain. Even after adjusting the settings, the television still tried to interfere with the image in its own way, as if the electronics knew better than us how the scene should look. Additionally, there is a hardware barrier that no slider can overcome – colours in HDR still remain under-saturated. This is simply due to the quality of the panel itself; it physically cannot produce the most vibrant colours. To sum up this topic: if any of you ask whether it is possible to calibrate a television for a 'thousand', we answer with full conviction: it is possible.

After professional calibration, FILMMAKER mode looks practically perfect. Because Samsung offers a rich set of advanced calibration features, we were able to fine-tune the colours to an almost perfect level. Above all, we managed to even out the white balance and the gamma curve, which resulted in noticeably improved contrast and proper image modelling. In this tuned picture profile there really isn't a single thing to criticise or call a flaw. After calibration, the S99H can deliver an essentially reference-quality image.

If you expect the processor in this model to magically "fix" the poor-quality signal from cable TV or old films from YouTube, we must disappoint you. The capabilities of this television end at absolutely basic upscaling, which is simply stretching the image to a higher resolution. It does this adequately in that the image is not blurry, but there's no mention of any intelligent sharpening or adding details here. Worse still, Blaupunkt is completely devoid of any features for reducing unwanted tonal transitions. If the material being watched has what is known as banding (that is, ugly "steps" instead of a smooth transition of colours, e.g., in the sky), this television will display it in all its glory. Additionally, the television has a tendency to slightly crop the edges of the image. Instead of displaying 100% of what the source sends, Blaupunkt slightly enlarges the frame, causing us to lose details at the very edges of the screen. In summary: in the category of digital "enhancing" of images, Blaupunkt simply performs poorly. We receive a raw, unprocessed signal, with all its flaws.

The proprietary Samsung NQ4 Gen3 processor is responsible for upscaling and digital image processing. It handles upscaling lower-resolution material to 4K very well. The picture is clear without looking artificial or overly sharp. The only rather specific drawback appears with very old material recorded at 480p or below. In such cases the TV can slightly crop the edges of the picture.

The processor also copes quite well with artefacts visible in lower bit-rate material, for example heavily compressed YouTube videos. The noise reduction function effectively smooths the image and reduces posterisation, but it operates quite aggressively. It can remove not only unwanted artefacts but also some fine detail, and even natural film grain. Wanting to preserve the source material as faithfully as possible, we decided not to use it. However, if someone prefers a clean, as-smooth-as-possible picture over retaining every detail, it may prove useful.

When it comes to motion fluidity, Blaupunkt has nothing to defend itself with. A 60 Hz panel at this price is standard, so none of us were expecting an impeccably sharp image in fast action scenes or during a match. However, the biggest drawback of this model is that you won't find any digital motion smoothers in the menu. The manufacturer has not given us any room for manoeuvre – nothing can be smoothed out or adjusted to our personal preferences. The image is always "raw," and we receive it exactly as the source transmits it. For fans of cinematic "jumping" of the image, this might be good, but the rest of us simply have to get used to the lack of any motion enhancement.

Another major advantage of organic OLED panels is their excellent motion handling. Thanks to the pixels' virtually instantaneous response time, the Samsung S99H exhibits virtually no motion blur. Fast-moving objects do not produce visible halos or trailing outlines, so the television performs very well for both watching sport and gaming. One characteristic of OLED screens compared with LCDs, however, is the way they render low-frame-rate material. With very slow camera movement the image can appear noticeably more 'choppy'. This can, however, be fairly effectively mitigated using a frame-interpolation system. Samsung lets you adjust judder reduction and blur reduction separately, so it's easy to find a compromise between smoother motion and preserving the cinematic character of the content.

When it comes to gaming on the Blaupunkt, we weren't expecting miracles, and indeed – the list of features is not very long. However, there are two interesting points worth mentioning, as they might be significant for some of you at this price. The first plus is that the TV quickly detects the connected console. Thanks to the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, the device knows when you start gaming and automatically switches to low-latency mode. This is convenient because you don't have to fiddle with settings each time to prevent input lag from ruining the fun. The second point is a genuine surprise that caught us off guard. Although it has a 60 Hz panel, the Blaupunkt can display images at 120 Hz at Full HD resolution. Sure, you lose the details of 4K, but for those playing more dynamic, online shooters where smoothness is more important than resolution, this is a really nice and unexpected addition in such an inexpensive device. Besides these two points, you won't find anything more here. There are no advanced smoothness enhancement systems for gamers or extensive gaming menu bars. This is a simple screen for occasional gaming.

The Samsung S99H is also a great TV for gamers. It offers almost every possible and useful feature... well, except for the obvious lack of Dolby Vision for the Xbox console. It's equipped with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports that offer the full 48 Gbps. This lets you use VRR frame-rate synchronization and the automatic game mode (ALLM) without any problems. This year Samsung also has no issues properly supporting HGiG, so HDR setup on a console is quick and straightforward. Samsung's TVs are also known for interesting extras. In the Game Bar menu you'll find options to add an on-screen crosshair, enlarge the minimap or change the displayed image's aspect ratio (PC).

Particularly noteworthy is Samsung's Game Motion Plus feature. It's Samsung's proprietary motion-smoothing system that uses interpolation to increase smoothness in games. Input lag then rises to around 40 to 50 ms (depending on the strength of the setting), which is an excellent result compared with the competition. The system makes gameplay noticeably smoother. So if someone has their eye on a demanding game (e.g. GTA 6 😉) that runs on a console at only 30 frames per second, the S99H can display it much more smoothly than competing models.