Samsung DU7192 (IPS) vs LG UT8100 (IPS)

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.

Unfortunately, the LG UT8100 television does not meet expectations in the HDR effect category. With a peak brightness of only 300 nits on the luminance chart, it is well below the required value to fully enjoy the HDR effects. In practice, the image resembles SDR quality more than true HDR, which is particularly evident in demanding high-contrast scenes. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette is only 82%, further limiting the ability to present vibrant and rich colours. Instead of impressive visual experiences, we receive a muted and lacklustre image. For those looking for a television to fully utilise HDR content, the LG UT8100 model proves to be quite disappointing.

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.

The Filmmaker Mode in LG UT8100, although theoretically the best for watching films, has significant flaws. The biggest problem is the white balance – drops in blue colour cause a noticeable yellowing of the image, evident in both HD and 4K content. These errors are confirmed by the measurement results in the Colour Checker test, which indicate significant deviations in colour reproduction.

Regarding brightness characteristics, both HD and 4K content feature a substantial tonal boost. The gamma curve in both cases remains significantly below the reference value of 2.4, leading to excessive brightening of darker elements of the image. A similar issue is noticeable in the EOTF curve – for 4K content, the television struggles with properly managing brightness, which results in problems with screen brightness. This means that the factory settings of this model require significant adjustments to achieve better image quality.

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.

After calibrating the Filmmaker Mode, the gamma has been aligned to practically ideal, reference values, which has significantly improved the overall tonal characteristics of HD content. 4K HDR content also looks better, although certain issues are still visible at the extreme ends of the graph, where the curve deviates from perfection. The EOTF curve performs worse, as the television has difficulty maintaining appropriate brightness values. As a result, the image in some scenes may be overly bright or slightly dimmed, which is due to the very design of the device. Nevertheless, the calibration has brought considerable improvement, especially for HD content, where tonal balance and colour reproduction are now at a much higher level.

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.

The fluidity of tonal transitions is also correct, although the effect depends on the settings. The update has improved the performance of the smooth gradation function, smoothing transitions better than before, but it has introduced minor issues with detail loss, e.g. on textures.

The image scaling on LG UT8100 performs very well. The image looks decent, without significant issues with edge aliasing. Details are preserved at a satisfactory level, which makes lower resolution materials look truly solid on this television. This allows users to enjoy watching older content without noticeable flaws in quality.

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.

LG UT8100, equipped with a 60 Hz panel, is particularly suited for those watching films. The television offers the TruMotion system with de-judder effect adjustment, allowing you to customise the smoothness of the image – from more choppy to exceptionally smooth, resembling a soap opera effect, depending on the user's preferences.

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.

LG UT8100 offers basic features for gamers, such as ALLM and Game Bar, which makes access to settings easier. The television also supports HGiG, which improves image quality in HDR games. Unfortunately, the lack of support for Dolby Vision and VRR limits the capabilities of the device, as does the 60 Hz panel, which excludes support for 120 Hz resolution. This model is more suitable for less demanding gaming applications.