Samsung DU7192 (IPS) vs Haier Q80FUX

The maximum luminance in HDR materials is 245 nits, which is often surpassed by even lower results. Such values will definitely not be sufficient for comfortable viewing of HDR materials due to the lack of appropriate image dynamics and colour inaccuracies caused by the low brightness of the unit. Although the manufacturer has equipped its device with HDR format offering dynamic metadata, HDR10+, which is what we are referring to, is very rarely used compared to Dolby Vision, which Samsung has not yet introduced in its televisions. It is also worth mentioning that Samsung DU7192 offers only 82% coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is another reason we should not supply a signal in wide dynamic range, as colour losses will be very noticeable. Samsung DU7192 provides high-quality images that will satisfy most users.

Alright, let’s move on to the topic that stirs up so much discussion, namely the capabilities of the television in HDR mode. Let’s state it clearly right away: the Haier Q80FUX is certainly not a brightness demon. The panel of this receiver can generate about 350 nits at peak, which in today’s terms is the absolute minimum to even talk about the presence of High Dynamic Range (HDR). On the positive side, this power is at least stable – regardless of which test pattern or film scene we used, the measurements consistently oscillated in the range of 300-350 nits. These are therefore results that are at best sufficient, definitely far from the dazzling display of capabilities we are accustomed to with more expensive models. Fortunately, there is one aspect in which the Q80FUX compensates for these shortcomings and does so impressively. After all, we are talking about a QLED television (more precisely PFS LED), which means that thanks to the quantum dot filter applied to the panel, it can generate really juicy, vibrant colours. These are not empty promises – a DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of nearly 95% is an impressive result and directly translates into colours that are very pleasant to the eye and saturated.

The best factory mode we used throughout the testing process was "Filmmaker". This, like the vast majority of modes, had its drawbacks. Starting with the most basic chart, which is the white balance, we can notice a pronounced dominance of red, both in SDR and HDR modes. Although there was also some green in the latter, it did not significantly affect the overall impression. A chart with such results, in both cases, gives us an image characterised by strong yellowing, clearly visible on whites and on the faces of the actors. Another important chart, if not more important, is gamma. This, which is meant to control contrast in materials with a standard colour palette, was quite good in factory mode with one caveat regarding the low end. In the darkest scenes, it was significantly lowered, which led to strong brightening, resulting in the film lacking contrast and all suspense. As we mentioned, HDR materials in terms of white balance remained at a similar level. The main change is the EOTF curve chart. At the very beginning, we can observe a bulge, which, just like in the case of gamma, significantly brightened the darkest scenes. However, the chart then changed its characteristics significantly and the measured result dipped below the reference line, causing the film to lose even more dynamics.

Factory settings for movie mode are rarely perfect, but in the case of the Q80FUX, we were confronted with a noticeable imbalance. In SDR content, the image was decidedly too warm, a result of excessive red in the white balance, giving the whole a slightly sepia tone. Ironically, in HDR materials, the television fell into the opposite extreme – an excess of blue caused an unnatural, cold effect in perception. However, it was not the capricious white balance that was the biggest problem with this television. The real culprit, responsible for the aforementioned issues, was hiding deeper. It turned out that the Q80FUX has completely miscalibrated gamma values and, crucial for HDR, a poorly executed EOTF curve. It was these erroneous factory settings that caused persistent clipping of the brightest parts of the image, overlaying them with that characteristic milky filter. Thus, we found the source of the problem. This state of affairs led to general, significant colour errors, which were easy to catch even for an untrained eye. Like every television we tested, we decided to calibrate this model as well, and the results of these adjustments can be found in the next paragraph.

Samsung has equipped even its lowest-end televisions with advanced tools for the calibration process. So we got to work, and the results of our efforts are more than satisfactory. The white balance, which previously had a strong yellow tint in both scenarios, now looks much, much better, even if there are slight deviations from the norm. The image will still look significantly cleaner than it did before the calibration process. We managed to model the gamma in SDR materials very well, ensuring that the image will be as contrasty as the television allows. The EOTF curve has also changed its face and no longer brightens or darkens the image in such a drastic way. However, it's worth mentioning that in the case of HDR materials, deltaE errors are still very high, but this is due to the insufficient brightness of the unit.

The results of our calibration procedures must, regrettably, be acknowledged as twofold. Generally speaking, the picture is undeniably better than before the corrections; however, the biggest winner of this process turned out to be SDR content. It is precisely there, after correcting the gamma and white balance graphs, that we achieved results that can confidently be called very good. After adjustment, the Q80FUX truly shines in standard dynamics, showing only slight errors in the most difficult skin tone reproductions. Unfortunately, the weakest link remains HDR content. Here lies the paradox: despite having calibrated the white balance to nearly perfection, the overall colour errors still remain at quite a high level. The reason is that the television continues to interpret static HDR10 metadata "in its own way," stubbornly enforcing that unfortunate image burn-out effect, which inevitably leads to significant distortions. Although we have successfully eliminated the factory excess of blue, it is precisely due to this interference of electronics that the screen still tends to stray into somewhat overly cold tones. That is just how this television is.

Let's return for a moment to the feature of smoothing tonal transitions. We can set it in only two ways - off and auto. As one can easily guess, the former causes significant problems with gradation. However, if we set the latter, both films and series will offer us smooth transitions of colours. It is worth mentioning, though, that this feature has its drawbacks. It greatly interferes with the director's intent, softens the film grain effect, and, what’s worse, often misinterprets small details, also blurring them. In light of this, we conclude that the feature does not exist and do not recommend using it, as this is exactly how the tests of smoothness of tonal transitions were conducted on the tested display.

The next thing we will check in this paragraph is the image scaling process, which is extremely important when watching materials in a lower resolution. Unfortunately, as this is the manufacturer's lowest model, this function does not work very well. All details are heavily blurred, and a characteristic white halo surrounds the characters.

If there is one area where Haier clearly shows it still has a long way to go compared to the market leaders, it is digital image processing. The upscaling, well... is just alright. And that’s really about all that can be said about it. It does what is expected of it: it ensures that lower resolution signals do not scare us with harsh pixelation on the screen and do not look like a forcibly enlarged postage stamp. However, it is far from the finesse and “intelligent” sharpening that more experienced players in this market have developed over the years. The biggest shortcoming of the Q80FUX software is the almost complete lack of any additional "cleaning" and smoothing functions for the image. The receiver does not offer any noise reduction or gradient improvement mechanisms. This means that with older or heavily compressed materials, we simply have to come to terms with the fact that any imperfections in tonal transitions or blending of colours, which we mentioned earlier, will continually accompany us during the viewing.

Despite the fact that Samsung DU7192 is the lowest model in the manufacturer's portfolio, it has been implemented with a motion smoothing system. Although it is quite limited in features compared to higher models, its existence is a considerable advantage in the context of competition from similar price ranges. The maximum refresh rate we will provide to the tested television is 60 Hz, which is entirely sufficient for movies and series, although not for sports. In the motion smoothing menu, we find two functions responsible for improving fluidity. These are "Motion Blur Reduction" and "Clear Motion (LED)". We will discuss the latter a bit later. Let us focus on the former, as it is quite puzzling. Unfortunately, despite its presence, we did not find any usefulness. On each of the settings, the image looked the same, with the characteristic judder known from materials recorded at 24 fps.

The matrix of Samsung DU7192 features an average response time. It is worth mentioning that due to this particular type of matrix, it is better than VA matrices in a similar price range. Therefore, it can be exceptionally said that it will not be the worst in the context of watching sports.

The issue of motion fluidity and blurring is largely predetermined by the use of a 60-hertz panel, which naturally makes it difficult to recommend this receiver to enthusiasts of very dynamic content. Fortunately, in the Q80FUX, we find a few options (although, as we shall see shortly, in reality only one) that are supposed to improve the experience with older film productions. There is a "De-Judder" slider available, which actually controls the smoothness of the image and allows us to adjust it to our preferences: from raw, cinematic frame rates to a more theatrical, smoothed presentation. However, a true surprise awaits us just beside it in the menu. There is also a second slider, supposedly dedicated to removing blur – a feature we typically encounter in 120Hz panels to combat motion blur in sports. However, as we expected, recalling memories from the tests of the K85F model, this slider here is merely a façade. Its adjustment does absolutely nothing to the image and it simply appears to be an oversight by the product engineers who left a non-functional option in the software for this type of panel.

The Samsung DU7192 television is equipped only with HDMI 2.0 ports, which is not surprising given the price of the device and its consumer profile. Therefore, it’s also logical that we won’t achieve maximum quality on the latest generation consoles. Thus, it only has the most basic feature for gamers, which is ALLM. It's a pity that the manufacturer didn’t implement at least GameBar, as it is currently a standard, even in lower-end televisions, and could introduce significant conveniences regarding quick changes to settings.

Stepping into the realm of gaming, the Haier Q80FUX proves to be quite a decent companion for the "casual gamer". Onboard, we find highly desired features such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode). However, the biggest surprise is something else altogether. Although we are not dealing with a 4K@120Hz panel here, the television is capable of accepting and displaying a 120Hz signal at a lower resolution (Full HD). This is a very useful feature that allows for a conscious switch of the console to a lower resolution mode in exchange for significantly higher smoothness, which is a compromise entirely acceptable in the gaming world.

We won’t particularly complain about the lack of extras like the "Game Bar", as it's merely a nice addition. The most concerning issues arise when we delve into the world of HDR in gaming. Due to the television constantly adapting the signal "in its own way", setting the brightness on the console according to the HGIG standard is nearly impossible to achieve as per instructions. Worse still, in the Dolby Vision mode for gaming, the input lag increases to around 50 ms, which is a value high enough to render this mode practically unusable. However, in general, we would not recommend gaming on this television in HDR mode, so these are not such grave shortcomings. What is most pleasing is the presence of 120Hz in Full HD, which makes the Q80FUX a rather nice television for the occasional gamer.