LG UA75006LA (IPS) vs Samsung U8000F (VA)

The version with an IPS panel looks even more modest, where the peak brightness barely reaches 250 nits. In practice, this means that a real sense of HDR effect is out of the question, and the materials viewed resemble rather ordinary SDR. Similar to VA panels, the image behaves stably on most test patterns, but in demanding scenes with fine details, the television has a tendency to slightly dim the image. This allows for slightly better blacks; however, this comes at the expense of losing detail in bright elements. The absence of additional colour filters is also noticeable here. The UA7500 with an IPS panel does not belong to QLEDs or PFS LED panels, and the DCI-P3 colour gamut is limited to 80%, meaning that HDR films lack significant colour depth and appear quite flattened.

While the U8000F with a VA panel can still be praised for decent blacks, there is no longer any reason to be enthusiastic about brightness – especially in HDR scenes. The television achieves a maximum of just under 250 nits, which is simply too low to speak of any impressive light effects. Bright elements appear pale, and scenes that should sparkle look rather flat. We observed an interesting situation during the test of a scene from the film Sicario 2 – the screen became noticeably darker, as if the television was trying to hide its limitations in displaying blacks. One might get the impression that the device artificially darkens the image to enhance contrast, but in practice, the effect makes very little difference, other than the fact that we see less on the screen. Furthermore, there is the issue of colours – the U8000F does not support a wide colour gamut, so one cannot count on the vibrant, saturated hues known from better models. The HDR image here resembles slightly brightened SDR and... perhaps that is even a good thing. With this model, it is not worth expecting a cinematic experience – it is better to treat HDR as a modest addition.

The Filmmaker mode on the LG UA7500 performs better than one might expect from such a budget television, but let's not get carried away with praise. The picture is quite well put together and does not irritate at first glance, but its weaknesses soon start to show. This is most evident in scenes with bright points – lamps in the background or reflections of light on the skin are distinctly overemphasised. Characters' faces often appear unnatural, as if they have been 'overexposed'. Additionally, the default gamma setting brightens even the smallest details, causing the image to lose subtlety in darker areas. However, it remains true that for its price bracket, the UA7500 in factory mode offers a fairly decent starting point. It is clear that without additional adjustment, it will not be possible to avoid these issues, which is why – as with other televisions – we decided to see what could be achieved after calibration.

The Samsung U8000F has been tested by us in the best picture mode it offers out of the box – the Filmmaker Mode. This profile is theoretically meant to provide a neutral, cinematic image devoid of unnecessary enhancements and artificial beautifications. In the case of SDR content – primarily in HD or SD resolution – the television performed surprisingly decently right out of the box. The only noticeable flaw was brightness management. The gamma chart showed some deviations – slight brightening or dimming of certain tones – but in practice, this did not significantly affect the viewing experience. Considering the television's segment, it performs quite well.

However, the situation is much weaker in HDR mode. While the white balance was still acceptable, the colour inaccuracies were very apparent. In the Color Checker test, almost every sample was outside the target point, and the image itself appeared unnatural – the colours were shifted, sometimes too cool, other times simply dull and lifeless. The main problem lies in the hardware limitations – the U8000F does not support the wide colour gamut of DCI-P3, so it is physically incapable of reproducing the colours that the HDR standard anticipates. Unfortunately, this is evident in almost every more demanding scene.

The greatest improvement we noticed was during the calibration of the mode intended for everyday SDR content. We managed to smooth out the white balance in an acceptable way and control the issue of excessive brightening of fine details due to the gamma characteristics. As a result, the image gained the consistency and naturalness that was lacking in the factory settings. After this correction, we can confidently state that for everyday television content, programmes, or materials from YouTube, the LG UA7500 performs really well – especially after professional calibration. The situation is somewhat different for HDR content. Here, calibration allowed us to tame the white balance and slightly improve brightness management, but the limitations of the design are immediately evident. The lack of additional filters expanding the colour palette means that the most vibrant colours appear flat, and the image does not have the intensity one would expect from good HDR. Therefore, in SDR, the UA7500 performs quite well, but in HDR – despite the corrections – it remains far behind, and this is a feature one must accept when choosing this television.

Right out of the box, the U8000F offered quite a decent image in SDR for its price class. However, we managed to enhance it slightly – we reduced a subtle purple tint and improved the gamma characteristics, giving it a more natural curve. Despite these adjustments, the television still tends to overly brighten the brightest details – the gamma chart shows a clear inflection that cannot be completely corrected.

In HDR mode, however, it is noticeably weaker. It is hard to speak of any significant improvement here – despite attempts to adjust the settings, the image still presents considerable colour inaccuracies. A Delta E exceeding 7 signifies noticeable deviations that could not be effectively reduced. Unfortunately, this is a limitation of the construction itself – the U8000F simply was not designed for serious HDR. In everyday viewing in SDR, it performs quite well, but when it comes to HDR content... it's best not to have overly high expectations.

The version with the IPS panel performed noticeably worse here. Image scaling was uneven – this was particularly evident in lower quality materials, where edges became jagged and the image appeared less detailed. At times, there was also a slight blur that diminished sharpness and made the overall impression seem less refined than in the VA version. The solution proved to be the tonal transition smoothing function. On the medium setting, it worked very well – it did not spoil the image with excessive softening, while simultaneously smoothing colours in such a way that everyday content gained coherence. The difference was particularly noticeable with television programmes or streaming materials with poorer compression quality, where the television with the function on presented itself much better. This is one of those additions that are worth keeping active, as they significantly enhance the experience of daily content.

When it comes to how the Samsung U8000F handles lower quality materials, we must admit that Samsung has made progress compared to its predecessor from last year – the DU7192 model, which theoretically occupies the same position in the lineup. This year's model has been equipped with a feature to improve the fluidity of tone transitions, which has been implemented much better than last year. Indeed, the television still utilizes quite strong algorithms that can distort details or remove film grain, but nonetheless – it can confidently be said that it works effectively. However, not everything has gone perfectly. The U8000F has noticeable issues with slightly cutting the image when watching very old content in very low resolution. If someone plans to play their old VHS tape, they must reckon with the fact that the image may appear slightly "cut off".

LG UA7500 is a television with a 60 Hz panel, so it is difficult to expect much excitement in this category. It is rather a screen designed for everyday content or an evening film screening rather than for following dynamic sports events or playing action games. It is clear that the manufacturer aimed this model at this group of consumers – and in this regard, it performs adequately. We have the TruMotion function available, which is a motion smoother. It is simple, has only one slider, but can make a noticeable difference. At the lower range, the picture looks more raw and cinematic, while at higher values, the motion becomes smoother and more pleasant to the eye.

The Samsung U8000F is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, so it's clear right from the start that one shouldn't expect miracles. This is simply the standard in this class – adequate for everyday viewing, but without any fireworks. The television offers a single motion smoothing slider – a feature called "Motion Blur Reduction," which allows us to adjust the smoothness of the image in films. Higher settings produce a more "theatrical" and smoothed effect, while lower settings help retain the film's original character with a slight 24p effect. An interesting feature is "Clear Motion LED," which is the BFI mode – inserting black frames between image frames to improve motion clarity. In practice, however, the screen flickers heavily when this feature is activated and should rather be considered an experiment than something that genuinely enhances gaming comfort.

LG UA7500 is a television that can be confidently recommended to "casual" gamers. While it lacks a 120 Hz panel and HDMI 2.1 ports, so fully utilising the potential of modern consoles is out of the question. However, the manufacturer has included a few features that can enhance the gaming experience. Noteworthy is the Game Bar – a very well-designed panel where you can quickly preview and change the most important settings. From this panel, we have access to various features, including the ALLM mode (automatic switching to game mode) and frame synchronisation, namely VRR. The range of VRR is limited – it operates from 48 to 60 Hz – but the mere presence of this feature in such an affordable television leaves a positive impression.

Additionally, there is support for HGiG, which is the HDR calibration mode for gaming. This sounds good, but from our testing experience, we know that in the case of the UA7500, this option is not particularly useful. The television does not perform very well with HDR, so paradoxically better results were achieved with this mode turned off. This is another signal that the UA7500 is more of a screen for occasional gamers who value simplicity and convenience rather than for those seeking a full immersion experience with the latest consoles.

[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.

Samsung U8000F offers a basic set of features for gamers, which may still be sufficient for less demanding users. It includes an automatic game mode – when a game is launched on the console, the television automatically switches to low latency mode, significantly improving response times. There is also a VRR feature, or variable refresh rate, which operates in the range of 48 to 60 Hz. This means that both Xbox and PS5 will not produce the "tearing" effect – as long as we stay within this range.

Unfortunately, that’s about it for the advantages. Additions like Game Bar or higher refresh rates are reserved for higher-end Samsung models from the 2025 line. In theory, the television also supports the HGiG feature, which should adjust HDR imagery to the creators' intentions. Unfortunately – despite the fact that this feature appears in brochures and promotional materials – its configuration on the Xbox console turned out to be... impossible in practice.