LG QNED91T6A vs Samsung S90F QD-OLED

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.

The biggest difference between the 65-inch S90F and the other versions is brightness. The QD-OLED panel can reach up to 1700 nits in laboratory tests, which is over 500 nits more than the variant with a WOLED matrix. This translates to a decidedly stronger and more engaging HDR effect. In most scenes, bright parts of the image look fantastic, and we must admit that we were positively surprised, as we expected results more similar to the WOLED version, but we got an effect that makes a great impression even in films. Just like with every OLED, there are moments when the panel needs to limit its brightness a bit. This mainly refers to full-screen, very demanding scenes – for example, in the last test frame from the film "The Meg," the brightness drops to around 800 nits. However, it is hard to consider this a disadvantage, as it is still an excellent result, unprecedented in OLED televisions in this price range. Everything suggests that the 65-inch S90F could be one of the best choices this year for those looking for a strong OLED at a reasonable price. Another advantage of the QD-OLED matrix in HDR content is its colour gamut coverage. Thanks to quantum dots, the television achieves almost a full 100% of the DCI-P3 colour space and nearly 90% of the BT.2020 colour space. These values place it alongside much more expensive models and make it exceptional in its class.

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.

Samsung S90F, like most modern televisions, offers several picture modes, but in line with our tradition, we tested it in the most important one, which is Filmmaker. This setting makes the image look much more natural than in the default, often overly saturated modes. It is neither excessively vivid nor artificially subdued – just closer to what one should actually see. However, this does not mean it is perfect. The S90F had noticeable shortcomings in white balance, mainly in the blue range, which gave a slightly yellowish filter effect on most scenes. One might argue that it looks more "filmic" because it is warmer, but let’s not kid ourselves – George Lucas didn't shoot Star Wars in sepia 😉 (a comparison with the scene can be found, as always, below). In HDR materials, there was also an issue with brightness management. The EOTF curve clearly showed that the television brightens the picture more than it should, leading to some effects appearing too intense and deviating from the reference. Fortunately, a large part of these shortcomings can be eliminated through professional calibration – we will discuss the effects of this procedure further on in the test.

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.

Calibration quickly revealed that the S90F has a significant margin of capability. The image in SDR immediately gained a natural quality – classic films no longer looked as if someone had applied a yellowish filter to them, and the colours regained their proper character. It is a return to the atmosphere of the original, without the impression that someone tried to "age" it forcefully. In HDR content, the difference was even more pronounced. The EOTF curve was managed almost to a reference level, and any deviations are so subtle that most viewers won't even notice them. In practice, the S90F shows an image very close to perfection after calibration. Compared to the WOLED version, it performs even better – mainly due to the wider colour gamut coverage, which makes the colours appear fuller and more intense.

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.

The S90F performs really well here, although there are some comments that recur with most Samsung televisions. The noise reduction feature can effectively smooth out unwanted colour transitions in poorer materials, such as television or YouTube, making them simply look better. However, it should be noted that it operates quite aggressively and can also soften elements we wouldn't want to touch, like facial details. Therefore, if we want to use it, it’s best to set it to 'medium' and be aware of the compromise it entails. The upscaling itself is at a high level – low-quality materials are upscaled towards a 4K-like image. The only caveat is that the S90F can still struggle with so-called overscan, meaning it slightly trims edges with very poor materials like 576p and lower.

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.

S90F is an OLED with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, but in practice, it primarily indicates how it performs at 120 Hz, as this frequency is most significant when watching sports. The QD-OLED panel is no different in this regard from WOLED panels – the response of the pixels is nearly instantaneous, so motion is rendered with surgical precision. The result is predictable. The image is virtually devoid of motion blur, making gaming on consoles, matches, or other sports broadcasts incredibly enjoyable on the S90F.

Fans of films and series have not been overlooked either. Like every Samsung television with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and above, the S90F features a proprietary motion smoothing technology called "Image Clarity." Here, we find two sliders – blur reduction and judder reduction – which allow for improved fluidity of materials recorded at 24 frames and tailoring the effect to personal preferences.

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.

The S90F is a television that truly brings a lot of joy when gaming. To start, we have four full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, which means you can connect all consoles and PCs without worrying about which device has priority. This is a convenient and practical solution that is by no means a given with other manufacturers. Additionally, there are key features such as automatic game mode (ALLM), which automatically switches the screen to low-latency settings, and VRR frame synchronization that operates in a wide range from 48 to 144 Hz. As a result, the picture remains smooth regardless of whether we're playing fast-paced online shooters or more leisurely narrative titles. The Game Bar also deserves a mention – a panel that allows quick access to several useful additions. For example, you can enable an additional crosshair in the centre of the screen, enlarge the minimap, or, in the case of PC, change the aspect ratio. Lastly, there is also the unique Game Motion Plus mode from Samsung. Its purpose is to smooth out older or poorly optimized titles, and it actually works pretty well. Thanks to this mode, even less polished games can look better and provide a more enjoyable gaming experience than on other televisions that theoretically offer the same technical specifications.