Haier Q80FUX vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

Alright, let’s move on to the topic that stirs up so much discussion, namely the capabilities of the television in HDR mode. Let’s state it clearly right away: the Haier Q80FUX is certainly not a brightness demon. The panel of this receiver can generate about 350 nits at peak, which in today’s terms is the absolute minimum to even talk about the presence of High Dynamic Range (HDR). On the positive side, this power is at least stable – regardless of which test pattern or film scene we used, the measurements consistently oscillated in the range of 300-350 nits. These are therefore results that are at best sufficient, definitely far from the dazzling display of capabilities we are accustomed to with more expensive models. Fortunately, there is one aspect in which the Q80FUX compensates for these shortcomings and does so impressively. After all, we are talking about a QLED television (more precisely PFS LED), which means that thanks to the quantum dot filter applied to the panel, it can generate really juicy, vibrant colours. These are not empty promises – a DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of nearly 95% is an impressive result and directly translates into colours that are very pleasant to the eye and saturated.

If you are counting on HDR in the NANO81A to bring tears to your eyes, I must disappoint you. This television is simply too dark to truly show what this format is all about. With a brightness of only 250 nits, HDR exists here mainly on paper. In practice, during viewing, it is very difficult to distinguish whether we are watching high dynamic range content or regular SDR – it simply lacks that ‘punch’ of light in the bright parts of the image. However, to give credit where it’s due, we do have a glimmer of hope here – and quite a clear one at that. It concerns the colour gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it is not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. This is a really solid result that places this model significantly higher than typical budget options based on standard white LEDs without any filters. Of course, it still falls short of the level of quantum dot (QLED) TVs or advanced panels with PFS filters, but for this price point, the colours are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It's just a shame that this low brightness prevents them from fully ‘spreading their wings’ with the Nano filter.

Factory settings for movie mode are rarely perfect, but in the case of the Q80FUX, we were confronted with a noticeable imbalance. In SDR content, the image was decidedly too warm, a result of excessive red in the white balance, giving the whole a slightly sepia tone. Ironically, in HDR materials, the television fell into the opposite extreme – an excess of blue caused an unnatural, cold effect in perception. However, it was not the capricious white balance that was the biggest problem with this television. The real culprit, responsible for the aforementioned issues, was hiding deeper. It turned out that the Q80FUX has completely miscalibrated gamma values and, crucial for HDR, a poorly executed EOTF curve. It was these erroneous factory settings that caused persistent clipping of the brightest parts of the image, overlaying them with that characteristic milky filter. Thus, we found the source of the problem. This state of affairs led to general, significant colour errors, which were easy to catch even for an untrained eye. Like every television we tested, we decided to calibrate this model as well, and the results of these adjustments can be found in the next paragraph.

For every film fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. Its aim is to display images as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements". Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left something to be desired. The main issue turned out to be the white balance. Measurements showed a distinct deficiency of blue colour, which in practice meant that many scenes had a slightly yellowish, even "yellowed" tint. The white was not perfectly pure, which detracted from the freshness of the image. Additionally, brightness management was also not ideal – the factory-set gamma was too low. The picture often appeared oversaturated, as if overly lifted from the shadows, which caused it to lose naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price category, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration possibilities of this model are enormous, which is a big plus for those who enjoy "digging" in the menu. We decided to approach the topic in our own way and see how much we could squeeze out of this panel with professional calibration.

The results of our calibration procedures must, regrettably, be acknowledged as twofold. Generally speaking, the picture is undeniably better than before the corrections; however, the biggest winner of this process turned out to be SDR content. It is precisely there, after correcting the gamma and white balance graphs, that we achieved results that can confidently be called very good. After adjustment, the Q80FUX truly shines in standard dynamics, showing only slight errors in the most difficult skin tone reproductions. Unfortunately, the weakest link remains HDR content. Here lies the paradox: despite having calibrated the white balance to nearly perfection, the overall colour errors still remain at quite a high level. The reason is that the television continues to interpret static HDR10 metadata "in its own way," stubbornly enforcing that unfortunate image burn-out effect, which inevitably leads to significant distortions. Although we have successfully eliminated the factory excess of blue, it is precisely due to this interference of electronics that the screen still tends to stray into somewhat overly cold tones. That is just how this television is.

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 a big plus. We managed to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colours natural, vibrant, and simply "true". In SDR content (that is, regular television, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks worlds better – it is clear, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It is clear that this panel has significant potential, which is simply wasted by poor presets out of the box. However, we do have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it concerns brightness management in HDR mode. LG's algorithm in this model is constructed very conservatively. The television intentionally dims the HDR picture to avoid overexposing the already weak blacks of the IPS panel. The programmers faced a choice: either to provide more light and accept that the blacks would become light grey or to reduce the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Nevertheless, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is significantly better.

If there is one area where Haier clearly shows it still has a long way to go compared to the market leaders, it is digital image processing. The upscaling, well... is just alright. And that’s really about all that can be said about it. It does what is expected of it: it ensures that lower resolution signals do not scare us with harsh pixelation on the screen and do not look like a forcibly enlarged postage stamp. However, it is far from the finesse and “intelligent” sharpening that more experienced players in this market have developed over the years. The biggest shortcoming of the Q80FUX software is the almost complete lack of any additional "cleaning" and smoothing functions for the image. The receiver does not offer any noise reduction or gradient improvement mechanisms. This means that with older or heavily compressed materials, we simply have to come to terms with the fact that any imperfections in tonal transitions or blending of colours, which we mentioned earlier, will continually accompany us during the viewing.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels mercilessly bring to light all the "dirt" and imperfections of lower-resolution content. However, with the LG NANO81A, the situation is quite different. This is truly a solid performer when it comes to handling content that is 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 significant advantage is the gradation reduction feature that you will find in the settings. It is extraordinarily effective in combating colour banding, which is a lifesaver when watching materials with a low bitrate, for instance, from some streaming services or older files from the web. However, it is worth maintaining a certain level of caution. Since we are dealing with a less powerful chip than in LG's top models, setting this option too aggressively may sometimes result in minor artefacts or slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimenting with this feature - in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

The issue of motion fluidity and blurring is largely predetermined by the use of a 60-hertz panel, which naturally makes it difficult to recommend this receiver to enthusiasts of very dynamic content. Fortunately, in the Q80FUX, we find a few options (although, as we shall see shortly, in reality only one) that are supposed to improve the experience with older film productions. There is a "De-Judder" slider available, which actually controls the smoothness of the image and allows us to adjust it to our preferences: from raw, cinematic frame rates to a more theatrical, smoothed presentation. However, a true surprise awaits us just beside it in the menu. There is also a second slider, supposedly dedicated to removing blur – a feature we typically encounter in 120Hz panels to combat motion blur in sports. However, as we expected, recalling memories from the tests of the K85F model, this slider here is merely a façade. Its adjustment does absolutely nothing to the image and it simply appears to be an oversight by the product engineers who left a non-functional option in the software for this type of panel.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a hard time. The television is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. If you are looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast action games, you may feel a bit disappointed. With such a low native refresh rate, fast objects on the screen will always be a little blurred.

Stepping into the realm of gaming, the Haier Q80FUX proves to be quite a decent companion for the "casual gamer". Onboard, we find highly desired features such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). However, the biggest surprise is something else altogether. Although we are not dealing with a 4K@120Hz panel here, the television is capable of accepting and displaying a 120Hz signal at a lower resolution (Full HD). This is a very useful feature that allows for a conscious switch of the console to a lower resolution mode in exchange for significantly higher smoothness, which is a compromise entirely acceptable in the gaming world.

We won’t particularly complain about the lack of extras like the "Game Bar", as it's merely a nice addition. The most concerning issues arise when we delve into the world of HDR in gaming. Due to the television constantly adapting the signal "in its own way", setting the brightness on the console according to the HGIG standard is nearly impossible to achieve as per instructions. Worse still, in the Dolby Vision mode for gaming, the input lag increases to around 50 ms, which is a value high enough to render this mode practically unusable. However, in general, we would not recommend gaming on this television in HDR mode, so these are not such grave shortcomings. What is most pleasing is the presence of 120Hz in Full HD, which makes the Q80FUX a rather nice television for the occasional gamer.

NANO81A is unfortunately not hardware designed for e-sports. The lack of support for a 120 Hz signal is a fact that users planning to purchase this model simply have to come to terms with. Nevertheless, LG's engineers have made an effort to maximise the potential of this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience. Firstly, the television supports VRR technology (within the range of 48-60 Hz) and ALLM. As a result, 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, which allows for quick viewing of parameters without leaving the game. A very significant advantage is the support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles because it enables 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.