Hisense U7NQ vs SAMSUNG OLED S95F (QD-OLED)

The Hisense U7NQ 65 television showed considerable potential on the luminance chart, exceeding the 1000 nits barrier and easily achieving very high brightness results in the first, third, and fifth test scenes. However, as before, in the second and fourth test scenes, such as from the film Sicario 2, there are significant issues with maintaining brightness, and results around 200 nits are very disappointing. Despite a large number of dimming zones, the algorithm in the television responsible for controlling these zones fails to respond adequately — in this case, it significantly dims small elements such as the moon or the light from a helicopter. The bright light that should dazzle us is too dim to be considered HDR effect. Nevertheless, it is worth praising the television for its high coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 96%, which allows it to represent most film scenes well.

The new generation of QD-OLED matrices in the Samsung S95F shows its full potential, with brightness results that are truly stunning. In test film scenes like "Life of Pi" or "Sicario 2," where smaller light elements appear – stars, the moon, or headlights – the television managed to achieve over 2000 nits of brightness. This is a result that surpasses even most top-of-the-range Mini-LED models.

The secret lies in the technology itself – instead of a limited number of dimming zones like in Mini-LED televisions, here we have millions of emitting pixels, allowing the television to fully showcase its power without technological compromises. Of course, as this is still an organic panel, in full-screen scenes flooded with white – like in the final sequence of the film The Meg – the brightness drops to around 1400 nits. Nevertheless, the result remains excellent and clearly exceeds what any OLEDs, both QD-OLED and WOLED, have offered so far. The colour reproduction is also particularly noteworthy. Thanks to QD-OLED technology, the television achieves nearly 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space and about 80% in BT.2020. These values make HDR images not only dazzling in brightness but also captivating in the richness of colours.

The Chinese manufacturer offers various picture settings in its televisions, but the best mode in this model is undoubtedly Filmmaker Mode. Despite its name, this mode has its issues: white balance, although roughly correct, is characterised by a strong dominance of warm tones due to the oversaturation of red, both in 4K and HD content. The Colour Checker test confirms these errors — deviations of samples towards inappropriate hues are visible. As for brightness characteristics, the gamma responsible for HD content shows values below 2.4, leading to some brightening of the screen. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve reveals the television's struggles with displaying small bright elements, as confirmed by the previously described paragraphs.

The best picture mode straight out of the box is undoubtedly Filmmaker Mode – a mode that Samsung has been using for several years, designed to faithfully convey the creators' intent. In SDR content, its implementation is not bad, although some imperfections can be observed. The image is slightly dimmed, and the screen has a subtle pinkish tint due to the dominance of red and blue in the white balance. Colour errors were maintained at a level of 3–4 ΔE units – and for those who are not familiar: a value above 3 is the threshold at which the average human eye starts to notice differences.

However, much greater problems arise in HDR content. Here, the white balance was not such a significant issue – a slight excess of blue did not significantly hinder the viewing experience. The problem became managing brightness. In practice, the television "blasted" the image too much, causing details in the blacks to completely disappear. The final effect was far from expected, and colour errors in this mode became quite pronounced. It's hard to say why such a design decision was made, but it was evident that the factory HDR settings did not allow this television to showcase its full capabilities.

Hisense televisions offer many image correction tools that allow users to adjust settings to their own preferences, which is why we decided to take advantage of these capabilities to bring the image quality closer to a reference standard. In terms of white balance, we were able to eliminate the dominance of the red colour, resulting in more neutral hues, which allowed for a more realistic image in both 4K and HD materials. We observed similar improvements in brightness characteristics. The gamma, which previously led to excessive screen brightness, was corrected, contributing to better detail reproduction in the darker areas of the image while maintaining a natural tonal balance.

However, the biggest challenge was calibrating the EOTF curve, which corresponds to brightness in 4K materials. At first glance, the EOTF value appeared nearly perfect, but detailed tests showed somewhat different results. When we examined it more closely — especially using the filter on the right side of the EOTF chart — we noticed how the television manipulated 4K film materials, often significantly boosting brightness. This effect was particularly noticeable in scenes from films such as Pan and Billy Lynn, where the television attempted to artificially increase the brightness of elements, affecting their naturalness. Despite these imperfections, the calibration yielded positive results, especially in terms of tonal improvement. For most users, the final effect should be satisfactory, particularly if they are keen on bringing the image quality closer to professional reference standards.

After calibration, it was possible to make subtle adjustments to the white balance and significantly improve the image characteristics. In SDR content, the quality has become practically reference-level – most colour errors have fallen below a ΔE value of 1, which is the level at which the human eye can no longer discern differences. This is a result that places the S95F among the very best televisions available on the market.

In HDR materials, the calibration also brought about a significant improvement. The television's tendency to blow out highlights has been brought under control, as confirmed by the analysis of the EOTF curve. A slight tendency to brighten the entire scene or occasional loss of detail in blacks can still be observed, but this does not significantly affect the overall perception. After calibration, the S95F reveals its full potential and can be described as one of the best televisions on the market!

When it comes to smoothing tonal transitions, despite the presence of the "Smooth and Gradient Image" function in the test sequence, we did not notice that the function made any difference — we recommend turning it off. As for upscaling, the television handled our model reasonably well, and the branches in the background are not overly jagged — the image appears quite plastic. However, it was slightly cropped by the so-called overscan.

The Samsung S95F offers a noise reduction feature that is responsible for smoothing tonal transitions. It works very effectively, but in practice, it can be overly aggressive. Materials of lower quality – e.g., older recordings or videos from YouTube – become soft and plastic when this feature is activated, resembling an image digitally smoothed in a graphic program. Unfortunately, the natural film grain, which often adds authenticity to the image, disappears in the process. Fortunately, the television does not lose too many fine details, such as in skin textures or elements of the surroundings. Therefore, this feature is best used with discretion – depending on preferences, one can achieve a smooth image that is less natural, or one that is truer to the original. In our opinion, the most universal choice is the “Standard” setting.

The image scaling performs significantly better. The television handles materials of lower resolution well – even content at 576p looks quite decent, although a slight blockiness can be noticed. Overall, the effect is very good, although it somewhat falls short of what Sony Bravia 8 (II) or LG G5 can achieve. It is also worth mentioning a minor imperfection of the S95F – in older materials, overscan may occur, causing a slight trimming of the left edge of the image.

Hisense U7NQ has a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which definitely contributes to smooth movement. For film enthusiasts, two functions are available: judder reduction and motion blur reduction. The judder reduction function minimises the effect known as judder, or unpleasant jumps in the image, particularly noticeable at lower frame rates. Meanwhile, motion blur reduction helps to sharpen fast-moving objects, which is useful when watching dynamic action scenes.

As for ghosting, the television has a good response time, meaning excessive ghosting is not visible, except in specific situations, such as the test with the little green man on a dark background. In such cases, slight artefacts may appear, but overall the television handles dynamic images well, providing satisfactory motion quality.

The Samsung S95F shows phenomenal performance in terms of motion fluidity. The panel operates at a native resolution of 4K with a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz, and combined with QD-OLED organic technology, it delivers incredible results. Sports and games look stunning – the image is fast, dynamic, and very natural. Additionally, the built-in motion smoother and motion blur reduction system allow you to tailor the character of the picture to your own preferences. You can opt for a more "frame-like" effect with visible film structure or a smooth, theatrical spectacle. Every viewer will find a setting that suits them.

Hisense U7NQ offers everything a gamer might need for comfortable gameplay. The television supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz, providing an incredibly smooth image, especially in dynamic action games. The VRR (variable refresh rate) feature ensures that the image adapts to varying frames per second, eliminating stuttering and screen tearing. Additionally, there is an ALLM (automatic low latency mode) feature, which automatically switches the television to game mode, minimising input lag.

The television also supports Dolby Vision, which is particularly important for gamers who appreciate high contrast and rich colours in games that support this format. The Hisense U7NQ also has a Game Bar feature that allows quick access to the most important settings during gameplay, as well as support for G-Sync technology, further reducing screen tearing effects.

Unfortunately, despite a wide range of features, it lacks support for the most popular HDR format in gaming — HGiG. This may be disappointing for gamers who expect optimal detail reproduction in HDR scenes. Nevertheless, the other features make the Hisense U7NQ a solid choice for any console gaming enthusiast.

The advantages of low motion blur and excellent motion fluidity characteristic of OLED panels are just the beginning, as the Samsung S95F has been designed with gamers in mind. The manufacturer has equipped it with four HDMI 2.1 ports – although limited to a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s, in practice this has no impact on compatibility with consoles or PCs. We get a full suite of gaming features: variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic game mode (ALLM), as well as a very well-implemented HGiG standard, which ensures that HDR titles look exactly as their creators intended. Completing the package is the Game Bar – a clear settings hub where we can preview and change all key image parameters with one motion. The proprietary motion smoother, Game Motion Plus, also deserves commendation, as it can smooth out animations, which is particularly useful in productions running at 60 frames, where stability is not always exemplary. While support for Dolby Vision in games is lacking, it’s hard to view this as a serious drawback – Samsung compensates with other solutions. This is one of the best, if not the best, gaming televisions available on the market today.