Philips OLED769 vs Samsung OLED S95H (S99H) (QD-OLED)

Philips OLED769 performs quite well, particularly in film scenes with small points of light. The television surprises with its brightness, reaching around 800 nits, which is an impressive result. As a result, fine sources of light, such as street lamps at night or stars in the sky, are sharp and full of detail. However, the biggest challenge for this model is the scene with a full-screen burst of sunlight. In such moments, the brightness drops to about 250 nits, which is not very impressive. This is a typical problem for cheaper OLED displays, which struggle to maintain high brightness across the entire screen surface.

When it comes to brightness alone, the S99H is an astronomically bright TV. Its peak brightness in film scenes can exceed 2800 nits. Whatever the scene, you can count on powerful HDR effects that are almost blinding, exactly what you expect from a top-tier screen. It is the nature of OLED panels that they cannot sustain the same extreme brightness in very bright, full‑screen frames as they can with small highlights, but the results are still excellent. In a bright scene from the film The Meg, the sun still exceeded 2200 nits. That means the S99H managed to sustain higher brightness than most Mini LED displays on the market. In terms of brightness, the S99H is currently the best OLED TV we have tested.

Colour gamut coverage

The S99H also handles colour extremely well, which is a direct result of the QD-OLED panel used here. Whether the test scenarios were synthetic test patterns or measurements taken with film material playing in the background, the results remained at a very high level. The S99H easily covers almost 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut, and for the more demanding BT.2020 colour space it reaches nearly 90%. That is absolute top-tier performance. These results match what we have seen in the new SQD-Mini-LED screens, and in real film scenes even outperform RGB Mini LED displays.

The "Film" mode proved to be the best factory setting in terms of fidelity to the source material, and it is on this that we based our tests. However, like other factory modes, it was not without flaws. Let us examine, therefore, what exactly went wrong in SDR and HDR materials.

In both cases, the white balance was disrupted by the excessive dominance of green and red hues. This phenomenon created a yellowish tint that spread across the entire image, leading to issues such as yellowed whites and unnatural skin tones. These problems were clearly highlighted on the "ColourChecker" palette, where each of the samples was shifted towards warmer tones.

As for contrast and brightness, in the Philips OLED769, we can look at two key graphs: Gamma for HD content and the EOTF curve for 4K HDR content. In the case of the first graph, the gamma value falls below the optimal level of 2.4, resulting in an increase in brightness of light areas of the image. This means that bright elements may be slightly overexposed, losing detail and depth. In contrast, the EOTF curve for 4K HDR content performs really well. The graph shows that the television effectively conveys details in both the brightest and darkest areas of the image, resulting in a realistic and dynamic representation of scenes.

Samsung offers a whole host of picture modes and features, but as usual we recommend choosing Filmmaker Mode, especially if you want the most faithful rendering of the filmmakers' intent. Out of the box the TV is tuned very well, although it has minor shortcomings. These are mainly a slight drift in the white balance in SDR content and a slightly low gamma. As a result, in darker viewing conditions the picture can be a little too bright compared with the reference gamma of 2.4, which is the standard for watching films with the lights off. These are, of course, minor points, because overall colour reproduction remains at a very good level and the errors in the ColorChecker measurements are not large. However, we know that with a screen of the S99H's class you can, and arguably should, expect even more, which is why we carried out a professional calibration.

After professional calibration, Philips OLED769 truly shines in terms of colour accuracy. The television has been completely stripped of any yellow tint in both HD and 4K content. The Colour Checker test confirms that deltaE errors are minimal, occasionally exceeding a value of 2, which means we can speak of almost perfect director's representation.

When it comes to contrast, the situation is equally impressive. With 4K materials, there wasn't much to improve initially, while the gamma chart has been significantly enhanced. This allows dark and light areas of the image to be represented with greater accuracy, resulting in a realistic and dynamic portrayal of scenes.

The calibration has allowed the full potential of this television to be unleashed, both in terms of colours and contrast. Philips OLED769 now offers vivid, natural images of high quality that will delight any user, whether they are watching films or using other multimedia.

After professional calibration, FILMMAKER mode looks practically perfect. Because Samsung offers a rich set of advanced calibration features, we were able to fine-tune the colours to an almost perfect level. Above all, we managed to even out the white balance and the gamma curve, which resulted in noticeably improved contrast and proper image modelling. In this tuned picture profile there really isn't a single thing to criticise or call a flaw. After calibration, the S99H can deliver an essentially reference-quality image.

When it comes to lower quality materials, the distortion reduction in the Philips OLED769 handles tonal transitions well, especially at the minimum setting. It is worth noting that at this setting, film grain is not blurred, which is a pleasant surprise, as such negative phenomena often occur with other manufacturers. Overall, it is quite a decent solution. However, it should be pointed out that this setting does not work in HDR mode, where gradation issues are much more pronounced. In HDR mode, the television struggles with smoothing tonal transitions and may present more noticeable distortions and noise, reducing picture quality in dynamic scenes.

Regarding digital processing, the Philips OLED769 performs well. The model in the photo is not overly jagged, and the branches in the background lack the characteristic jagged edges. The television achieves this effect thanks to the absence of artificial sharpness, which may be an advantage for some users. Others, however, may find this less attractive, as they prefer a more vibrant, sharper image instead of a subtle effect. This effect can be mitigated by using a higher setting for the "Sharpness" parameter.

The proprietary Samsung NQ4 Gen3 processor is responsible for upscaling and digital image processing. It handles upscaling lower-resolution material to 4K very well. The picture is clear without looking artificial or overly sharp. The only rather specific drawback appears with very old material recorded at 480p or below. In such cases the TV can slightly crop the edges of the picture.

The processor also copes quite well with artefacts visible in lower bit-rate material, for example heavily compressed YouTube videos. The noise reduction function effectively smooths the image and reduces posterisation, but it operates quite aggressively. It can remove not only unwanted artefacts but also some fine detail, and even natural film grain. Wanting to preserve the source material as faithfully as possible, we decided not to use it. However, if someone prefers a clean, as-smooth-as-possible picture over retaining every detail, it may prove useful.

Philips OLED769 features a multi-stage motion smoother called "Motion Style", which will satisfy users who appreciate the ability to customise the fluidity of motion in films. With this function, you can set the image to be more frame-like or smooth, resembling a theatrical effect. This is a great solution for those who want to adapt the displayed content to their visual preferences. Gamers will also not be disappointed, as the television, like most OLEDs, is equipped with a 120Hz panel. This provides exceptional fluidity and dynamism of the image. Unfortunately, Philips OLED769 does not have the BFI (Black Frame Insertion) feature, which could further improve motion fluidity and sharpness. Despite this limitation, the television still offers excellent visual experiences for both cinema lovers and gamers. This is definitely one of its strong points.

Another major advantage of organic OLED panels is their excellent motion handling. Thanks to the pixels' virtually instantaneous response time, the Samsung S99H exhibits virtually no motion blur. Fast-moving objects do not produce visible halos or trailing outlines, so the television performs very well for both watching sport and gaming. One characteristic of OLED screens compared with LCDs, however, is the way they render low-frame-rate material. With very slow camera movement the image can appear noticeably more 'choppy'. This can, however, be fairly effectively mitigated using a frame-interpolation system. Samsung lets you adjust judder reduction and blur reduction separately, so it's easy to find a compromise between smoother motion and preserving the cinematic character of the content.

Philips OLED769 has been designed with gamers in mind, offering full compatibility with consoles and the highest quality of gameplay. The television received the maximum rating in this category, providing everything that the heart desires. With HDMI 2.1 ports fully supporting ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), the television ensures smooth and hassle-free gaming. ALLM automatically switches the television to low latency mode, while VRR eliminates stuttering and screen tearing, resulting in fluidity and stability in gaming. The Dolby Vision gaming feature is another advantage, although it only works at a frequency of 60 Hz. Most casual gamers will likely not feel the lack of a higher frequency; however, more demanding users may have some reservations. This allows for enjoyment of a dynamic range of tones and realistic images, enhancing the gaming experience. PC gamers will also not be disappointed, as Philips OLED769 offers full compatibility with Nvidia graphics cards, thanks to support for G-Sync. This technology synchronises the refresh rate of the television with the graphics card, eliminating tearing and stuttering, resulting in excellent image fluidity.

Philips OLED769 is a television that perfectly meets the needs of gamers, offering a wide range of advanced features and technologies that significantly enhance gameplay quality and user comfort.

The Samsung S99H is also a great TV for gamers. It offers almost every possible and useful feature... well, except for the obvious lack of Dolby Vision for the Xbox console. It's equipped with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports that offer the full 48 Gbps. This lets you use VRR frame-rate synchronization and the automatic game mode (ALLM) without any problems. This year Samsung also has no issues properly supporting HGiG, so HDR setup on a console is quick and straightforward. Samsung's TVs are also known for interesting extras. In the Game Bar menu you'll find options to add an on-screen crosshair, enlarge the minimap or change the displayed image's aspect ratio (PC).

Particularly noteworthy is Samsung's Game Motion Plus feature. It's Samsung's proprietary motion-smoothing system that uses interpolation to increase smoothness in games. Input lag then rises to around 40 to 50 ms (depending on the strength of the setting), which is an excellent result compared with the competition. The system makes gameplay noticeably smoother. So if someone has their eye on a demanding game (e.g. GTA 6 😉) that runs on a console at only 30 frames per second, the S99H can display it much more smoothly than competing models.