Haier M95E vs LG QNED80A6A (IPS)

If there is one category in which the Haier M95E absolutely shines, it is the HDR effect, driven by the raw power of the backlighting. This television cannot be denied the fact that it is a truly bright device. In both most film scenes and during our synthetic measurements, the panel easily achieved, and often even exceeded, the threshold of 1200-1500 nits. This has a direct impact on the viewing experience – the image has a punch and genuinely allows one to feel the magic of materials recorded in this format. However, one must be aware of a certain compromise. When exceptionally demanding scenes appear on the screen, full of small but intense points of light, the M95E does not lose its resonance or dim, but pays a different price for it. A very strong and noticeably distracting halo effect is generated around these bright elements. It is clear here that the algorithms controlling the dimming have been programmed to prioritise brightness and the visibility of the smallest details, even if this comes at the expense of pristine blacks. We are not entirely convinced that this is the healthiest approach; nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that the overall capabilities of the M95E in this regard are indeed significant. A huge advantage is the fact that we are dealing with a Mini LED QLED type construction. The use of a layer of quantum dots brings measurable benefits in the form of wide coverage of the colour palette, which in our tests reached nearly 96% of the DCI-P3 space. This guarantees that the television has full predispositions for displaying vibrant and properly saturated colours.

When it comes to image dynamics and brightness, the QNED80A firmly stands its ground. It is not a “bright beast” – during our measurements, peak luminance oscillated between 350-400 nits. To put it plainly: these values won't allow HDR formats to fully spread their wings. So, do not expect that the glare of the sun or car headlights in films will blind you. However, this television has a powerful ace up its sleeve that salvages the overall picture impression – and that is the colours. LG's engineers have employed an advanced filtration system (technically most likely based on PFS phosphor, marketed as QNED/NanoCell), which does a fantastic job. Thanks to this, despite average brightness, the screen is capable of generating exceptionally saturated and pure hues. Our instruments showed coverage of the wide DCI-P3 cinema colour palette at a level of 93-94%. This is a result that outclasses most standard LCD televisions. In practice, this means that when watching 4K HDR content, the picture – although not very bright – is very plastic, vivid, and delights the eye with its depth of colours.

Each television is primarily evaluated based on its default cinema mode – in this case, "Movie" – which theoretically should be the "best" and most faithful upon being taken out of the box. Unfortunately, in the case of the Haier M95E, the word "best" is certainly not synonymous with the word "good." Already during SDR viewing, the picture revealed evident problems: white balance skewed too much to red, and excessive, unnatural colour saturation led to visible colour deviations. What’s worse, the M95E also struggles with brightness management (gamma curve), excessively darkening the entire scene. Such behaviour is hard to commend, as it directly leads to details merging into shadows that are irrevocably lost in a black blob.

However, the real disaster occurred after switching to HDR material, while still remaining in "Movie" mode. It’s hard for us to guess who came up with such a fantastic idea – or perhaps it was simply a complete oversight of this stage by Haier's engineers – but instead of cinematic fidelity, the picture began to resemble a garish "Dynamic" mode. The white balance exposed immense problems with the blue colour, which in turn resulted in unnatural sharpening and artificial over-saturation of the entire scene. As if that weren’t enough, the EOTF curve characteristics mercilessly revealed that the television also has fundamental issues with local dimming management in this setting. We have not calibrated many Haier models in our career, but we already know for sure that the M95E definitely needs such calibration.

Here, regardless of whether you encounter the VA or IPS version, the situation is identical. LG engineers once again served us their vision of a "gaming look," which unfortunately has little to do with accuracy. When switched to console mode, the white balance automatically drifts towards very cold regions. The image is dominated by the colour blue, which makes it seem artificially sharpened, and the white is so aggressive that it appears burnt out. This creates an effect we associate with vibrant shop modes – everything is meant to shine and scream "I am digital." While some may appreciate this, we must say plainly: the image is not accurate. If you care about naturalness, we suggest you immediately check the settings and change the colour temperature to a warmer one.

The calibration process left us with extremely mixed feelings. On the one hand, we noted considerable success in the area of colour accuracy. By using the available options in the menu, we managed to tame the white balance and bring it down to an acceptable level. As a result, SDR content finally freed itself from the irritating red dominance, and the HDR image no longer resembled a vibrant, shop display mode. We also succeeded in clearly adjusting the entire colour palette and its saturation – perhaps not perfectly, but as much as the software allowed, and the difference was visible to the naked eye.

And unfortunately, this is where our list of improvements essentially ends, as the M95E simply did not allow for more. As we indicated earlier, most settings related to image brightness do not respond to our commands at all. This means that we were unable to grasp its fundamental characteristics in any way – neither the gamma curve nor the EOTF. In practice, the television in SDR content still tends to darken details, as confirmed by the elevated gamma, merging details in the shadows. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve in HDR mode still ruthlessly exposes all the aforementioned problems with chaotic local dimming management. And although the calibration process itself yielded a lot, removing most of the colour issues, in the end, we had to capitulate.

After professional calibration, the QNED80A in the IPS version has changed unrecognisably, especially with "ordinary" content (SDR). We managed to eliminate the greenish tint and calm down the overly bright gamma. In classic television or older games, colour errors (DeltaE) have dropped below the threshold of perception (value < 2). The picture is now coherent, natural, and truly pleasing to the eye. The situation is somewhat more complicated in HDR mode. Although the colours are now in place, the television has a problem with perfectly controlling the brightness (EOTF curve). Due to the limitations of edge lighting and the rather meagre adjustment options provided by LG in this respect, the television's software at times "does what it wants," just to mask the imperfections of black and contrast. However, this is not a cause for concern – despite these technical limitations, the picture after calibration is a class better than what you saw out of the box.

Well, what happens to those colour connections when a lower quality material full of compression artifacts comes on screen? Unfortunately, we have some bad news for you. Although the menu contains an option responsible for smoothing tonal transitions in older content, we definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND using it. Its activation causes an avalanche of additional, hideous artifacts and noticeably blurs the entire image, and what's funniest – it often doesn't even remove those unwanted "jaggies" it was supposed to fight against. This function might as well not exist at all.

We can write many more positive remarks about the general upscaling process, which raises lower resolutions to the native 4K matrix. The image after upscaling looks really decent – it is neither overly jagged nor artificially smoothed. In this particular matter, the M95E simply performs well.

It often happens that cheap 4K TVs mercilessly expose the flaws of low-resolution materials. Here, it is different. The QNED80A is great equipment for watching content that is not perfect. The processor does a good job of upscaling the image, making even older recordings look quite decent on a 4K screen – they are consistent and free of digital noise. Interestingly, there is a gradation reduction feature available in the settings. It is very effective in combating the so-called banding in low bitrate materials. Of course, it should be approached with some caution. Due to the lower processing power of the chip (compared to the premium series), turning on this option can sometimes result in unwanted artifacts or blurriness. Despite this risk, we encourage experimentation, as in many cases this feature can save a poor-quality viewing experience.

In terms of motion fluidity and blur, our feelings are quite mixed, as the M95E is a paradox of a television. Let's start with absolute admiration: at the heart of the device is a 144Hz panel, but what truly impresses is its performance with 120Hz content, which is crucial for sports and console gaming. We must state with full responsibility that Haier has equipped this television with one of the best VA panels currently available on the market regarding the minimisation of blur. It is rare to encounter an LCD panel that offers such clean, sharp, and ghosting-free motion. In this respect, the M95E is simply phenomenal.

And that is precisely why the unpleasant surprise that awaits us on the software side is so painful. It turns out that this fantastic hardware potential is completely underutilised, as the television practically offers no effective options for improving fluidity. The motion smoothing systems that should assist with lower frame-rate content can indeed be found in the Menu, but they essentially do not respond to our settings. The conclusion is brutally simple: if you intend to watch high-fluidity material, you must be sure that the source is broadcasting it at native 120. In every other case, you must accept a rather raw, stuttering image, as the M95E will do nothing to smooth it out.

In terms of motion reproduction, the QNED80A unfortunately has a tough time. The television is based on a display with a refresh rate of 60Hz, which is quite a disappointment for the QNED series in 2025. If you are looking for perfect sharpness during dynamic football matches, you may feel somewhat unsatisfied. A solution in this situation is the TruMotion system. It allows for artificial frame generation, which smooths out the image in films and series. In the menu, you will find a De-Judder slider – we recommend setting it to a value of 2, 3, or 4. This is the "golden mean" that improves fluidity without turning the film into a soap opera.

When it comes to features for gamers, the Haier M95E presents some very strong arguments. First of all, it is fully ready for the new generation of consoles and powerful PCs. It is equipped with two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, which seamlessly handle 4K signals at 120Hz, and even allow for gameplay at 144Hz. This is the foundation that guarantees us the full use of the potential of our gear. Moreover, the key technologies work flawlessly here. The television flawlessly detects the console and automatically switches to low latency mode (ALLM), so we don’t have to fiddle with the settings. The frame synchronization (VRR) works just as efficiently, eliminating annoying screen tearing when game fluidity slightly drops. Considering the incredibly low motion blur of the panel, which we have already mentioned, the M95E creates a really comfortable and responsive gaming environment. Of course, this is not a perfect package. A dedicated "Game Bar," which is a handy menu for gamers, would be useful, but this is essentially just a nice addition. A more serious failing is the lack of support for the HGiG standard, which complicates the perfect HDR configuration on the console and may lead to overexposures. Despite these shortcomings, the basic "gaming" set that the M95E offers is really solid and fully functional.

In the gaming section, we won't be pulling the wool over your eyes – the QNED80A is not e-sports equipment. The lack of 120Hz signal support is a fact that must be accepted. However, LG's engineers have done everything possible to maximise the potential of this 60Hz panel, providing gamers with a set of desirable features. First and foremost, the television supports VRR (in the range of 48-60Hz) and ALLM. This means that the image is smooth, not choppy, and the television automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as we pick up the controller. Accessing these options is incredibly simple thanks to the dedicated system overlay – Game Dashboard. It’s also worth appreciating the support for the HGiG format. This is a nod to owners of modern consoles. Although the screen does not support gaming Dolby Vision, HGiG ensures that the television 'understands' how to display games in HDR. As a result, we avoid the problem of blown-out clouds, which is unfortunately a plague on cheaper LCD televisions.