LG QNED91T6A vs Samsung Q8F

As befits a MiniLED television, LG QNED91T easily surpasses the magical barrier of 1000 nits on the luminance chart. In scenes where light played a key role, the effect was truly decent. For instance, 1000 nits in the first scene of "Life of Pi" is an impressive value, and the 600 nits achieved in the third and fifth scenes allowed one to feel the true magic of HDR. However, problems arise with very small light elements on the screen, such as the moon, street lamps, or lights. A value around 100 nits - to put it bluntly - is disappointing, as these elements are dark enough to be barely visible. The television deserves praise for covering 96% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and 75% of BT.2020. LG QNED91T leaves us with very mixed feelings, mainly due to the very aggressive dimming algorithms, which, while effectively eliminating the halo effect, negatively impact the brightness of smaller elements.

In terms of brightness, the Samsung Q8F performs surprisingly well for a television without local dimming. In measurements, it reaches up to 500 nits, which in practice means that most movie and series scenes look pleasing, and it cannot be accused of lacking the 'HDR effect'. In films such as Life of Pi or The Meg, the screen was able to burst with brightness and deliver a light effect at a satisfying level. It struggles more in difficult moments — during dark scenes with individual bright points. The global dimming used causes the television to dim the image to maintain deep blacks, but at the expense of detail brightness. This is clearly visible in the scene from Sicario 2, where the helicopter lights dropped to around 200 nits. This is a conscious design decision that gives the impression of deeper blacks, but somewhat takes away the brightness from individual elements, and one must simply keep this in mind. In terms of colour reproduction, the Q8F uses quantum dot technology, which widens the colour gamut. A coverage of the DCI-P3 palette at 91% can be considered a decent result, although it is not a record-breaking figure compared to other QLEDs.

All our tests are conducted in the best picture mode on each television. In this case, as usual, it is the Filmmaker mode. The name of the mode suggests ideal colour reproduction; however, there were noticeable deviations from the correct image here. Our unit, in terms of white balance, displayed quite a strong dip in blue hues - both in SDR and 4K HDR content - which resulted in a distinct yellowing of the image, visible in comparison scenes from the film with Tom Cruise. As we mentioned earlier, QNED91T has certain tendencies to brighten the screen. This is confirmed by gamma, which is quite significantly below the reference value of 2.4. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve, responsible for brightness in 4K content, showed some issues with the television's dimming in the darkest areas, which we could observe in the paragraph describing the quality of the HDR effect. Although the Filmmaker mode is quite a good "out-of-the-box" mode, it too requires some adjustments.

We decided to check out the Filmmaker mode, as it provided us with the best image straight out of the box. However, this does not mean it was perfect. The white balance had too much blue and red, resulting in the white taking on a slight mauve-pink hue. Such an imbalance affected the visibility of practically all colours, as can be seen in the comparison photo below. The brightness characteristics in SDR content were quite well adjusted, though in HDR material we noticed that the television did not always manage its global dimming effectively — at times the screen was too dim, while at other moments it could suddenly brighten. Fortunately, issues related to colours can be effectively corrected with calibration tools, so we decided to get to work.

LG offers advanced calibration tools in its televisions such as 65QNED91T6A, which we utilised. When it comes to white balance, we were able to significantly correct it in SDR content. The picture mode in 4K HDR quality posed greater challenges, which, although still not perfect, looks significantly better than before calibration. Errors on the Color Checker palette and colour gamut are much smaller than in the factory settings. Regarding brightness characteristics, gamma for HD content is practically ideal, with a slight exception at the end of the graph. However, the television had the most trouble with brightness in 4K HDR content. Analyzing the EOTF characteristics in films, we observed that the television manipulates brightness quite heavily, which we could see in previous tests. Brightness is significantly boosted compared to the graph in the static test, and the television lights up certain scenes to the point that some smaller elements lose detail. This is unfortunately caused by the average backlight zone management algorithm in this model. Nevertheless, calibration yields quite good results, especially when it comes to the precise reproduction of colours.

After calibration, we managed to correct the white balance to near perfection. Older SDR content looks fantastic — most errors fall within a value range of 2, which is well below the threshold of perceivability for the human eye. In HDR, we also brought the white balance to an acceptable level, but another issue arises here. So why are there still relatively large errors in colour reproduction? This mainly stems from the limited colour palette and the way the television manages brightness. The global dimming technique used does not give the user control in the settings, so when analysing the EOTF curve in HDR films, it is apparent that the Q8F can modify luminance independently. This can be regarded as a certain limitation, but despite this, the picture after calibration is still much more pleasant to view than in the factory version.

When it comes to tonal transitions in lower quality materials, the television offers a well-known feature from LG televisions - "Smooth Gradation". We can control it in three levels: low, medium, and high. We recommend using the medium option, as it does a good job of removing tonal transitions without causing noticeable problems with the removal of object structure or other artefacts.

As for image scaling (upscaling), LG's Alpha processor performs quite well in this regard. The image appears very plastic, with slight aliasing on some elements, which does not significantly affect the quality. It looks really okay, and the overall effect is very satisfactory.

Let’s check how the Q8F performs with older content, which often has poor quality. Let's start with the positives: the upscaling, or raising the image to a higher resolution, works really well. The television handles both traditional television and YouTube material quite competently, without giving the impression that we are dealing with something completely unattractive. It performs less well with very low resolutions, such as 576p — the image can be cropped, and unfortunately, the overscan issue cannot be turned off. Moreover, the digital processing itself appears less effective. The noise reduction feature, instead of eliminating unwanted disturbances, smooths out almost everything: film grain (which is desirable for many viewers) disappears along with the texture of the image, and the faces of the actors start to resemble characters from cheap Turkish soap operas. Therefore, it’s hard to consider this option useful — it’s best to leave it completely turned off. Perhaps Samsung will refine the operation of this function in future updates, but for now, it’s difficult to view it as anything other than an unnecessary addition.

The television has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which should satisfy most users in terms of motion smoothness. Additionally, QNED91T is equipped with the TruMotion feature, which allows for smoother image display in films. Within this feature, we can adjust the "De-Judder" and "De-Blur" sliders. The "De-Judder" slider is responsible for reducing judder in films, which is particularly useful when playing content with a lower frame rate, while "De-Blur" helps to reduce blur in fast scenes, which is important for sports or dynamic shots.

Due to the applied 60 Hz matrix, it is difficult to call the Q8F a television designed for gaming or watching sports. The panel is not particularly fast, which makes motion blur noticeably visible. If you were hoping for spectacular, even 'stadium-like' experiences during broadcasts, you may feel slightly disappointed. Fortunately, in the case of films and series, Samsung has not abandoned the motion blur reduction feature. This is nothing but a motion smoother that allows you to improve the fluidity of productions recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second. This way, you can decide for yourself whether you prefer a smoother, 'television' image or to maintain a cinematic character. It all depends on the viewer's preferences, and the ability to adjust this parameter is undoubtedly a plus.

The LG 65QNED91T6A television is equipped with HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, providing full support for all the standards needed for gaming on modern consoles. We can count on variable refresh rate (VRR) support and automatic low latency mode (ALLM). This ensures smooth gameplay without delays.

Thanks to support for all popular HDR standards in games, such as HGiG and Dolby Vision, we can fully utilise the potential of the PS5 and XBOX One consoles. The television also handles lower resolutions than 4K without any issues, so even older consoles look good on it. The Game Bar makes it easy to access gaming-related settings, allowing us to quickly and intuitively adjust picture parameters and features for gamers. Additionally, the QNED91T offers the NVIDIA GeForce Now feature, which allows us to play in the cloud without needing a console. However, it should be noted that this solution is quite costly and somewhat falls short of the Xbox Game Pass, which is available only on Samsung televisions.

QNED91T LG is an excellent choice for both less experienced and more advanced gamers looking for a versatile television for gaming.

[UPDATE] We have updated our 2025 Samsung TV reviews following the release of firmware version 1131, which officially restores the essential HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) support.

It is not entirely clear what Samsung has meddled with this year regarding its televisions, but the Q8F is not free from all the confusion surrounding updates and shortcomings. While its older cousin, the Q67D, could still be recommended to casual gamers with a clear conscience, it is difficult to find a reason to do so here. Apart from the automatic game mode and the attractively designed Game Bar, we receive practically nothing that could attract gaming enthusiasts. The lack of proper HGiG implementation is a significant issue, especially since after the 1126 update, the feature simply disappeared. The situation regarding VRR is even worse. Although it is listed in the manufacturer's brochures and appears in the Game Bar, we were unable to activate it. The Xbox Series X console did not allow activation at all, and the option remained greyed out and inactive. It is hard to praise such a television even to casual gamers, which is a pity, as Samsung had a strong bargaining chip in the gaming segment for years.