Samsung DU8002 (IPS) vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

The HDR effect on the DU8002 television leaves much to be desired. A brightness level of 300 nits cannot provide a true high dynamic range experience, which makes the viewed content resemble more of a standard SDR than impressive HDR. Scenes that should dazzle with brilliance and detail appear muted and lacking in depth. Nevertheless, the television deserves praise for its high coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 92%. This means that colours are vivid and saturated, which may satisfy viewers who prefer rich tones, even if the HDR effect does not fully meet expectations.

If you are counting on HDR in the NANO81A to bring tears to your eyes, I must disappoint you. This television is simply too dark to truly show what this format is all about. With a brightness of only 250 nits, HDR exists here mainly on paper. In practice, during viewing, it is very difficult to distinguish whether we are watching high dynamic range content or regular SDR – it simply lacks that ‘punch’ of light in the bright parts of the image. However, to give credit where it’s due, we do have a glimmer of hope here – and quite a clear one at that. It concerns the colour gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it is not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. This is a really solid result that places this model significantly higher than typical budget options based on standard white LEDs without any filters. Of course, it still falls short of the level of quantum dot (QLED) TVs or advanced panels with PFS filters, but for this price point, the colours are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It's just a shame that this low brightness prevents them from fully ‘spreading their wings’ with the Nano filter.

The DU8002 offers a Filmmaker mode, which is intended to provide an authentic image reproduction in line with the creators' vision. Unfortunately, despite the promising name, the results are far from ideal. The white balance in this mode shows significant drops in blue, leading to a noticeable yellowing of the image, as seen in our comparison photo. Colour Checker tests confirm these errors. As for brightness, the gamma characteristic is too low compared to the reference line of 2.4, resulting in excessive screen brightness. A similar issue occurs with 4K content – the EOTF responsible for brightness in 4K material shows significant increases above the reference line, leading to excessively bright small light elements. As a result, the Filmmaker mode in the DU8002 does not meet expectations and instead of offering high quality, presents an image full of tonal and colour inaccuracies.

For every film fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. Its aim is to display images as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements". Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left something to be desired. The main issue turned out to be the white balance. Measurements showed a distinct deficiency of blue colour, which in practice meant that many scenes had a slightly yellowish, even "yellowed" tint. The white was not perfectly pure, which detracted from the freshness of the image. Additionally, brightness management was also not ideal – the factory-set gamma was too low. The picture often appeared oversaturated, as if overly lifted from the shadows, which caused it to lose naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price category, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration possibilities of this model are enormous, which is a big plus for those who enjoy "digging" in the menu. We decided to approach the topic in our own way and see how much we could squeeze out of this panel with professional calibration.

Samsung is one of those companies that offers advanced tools for improving picture quality in its televisions, including a 20-point white balance adjustment. Even in the budget model DU8002, with the right adjustments, surprisingly good results can be achieved. The white balance, especially for HD content, is really good – tests on the Colour Checker palette confirm accuracy levels of 2–1.5, which speaks to this television's considerable capabilities in colour reproduction. In 4K content, although not as perfect as in lower quality materials, the overall picture looks significantly better.

The gamma brightness has also been heavily adjusted, meaning the picture is not overly bright and looks more natural. What about the EOTF curve? At first glance, it seems fine, but upon closer inspection, especially in film tests, it is clear that the television, due to its low contrast matrix, struggles. The EOTF also drops below the reference line. Nevertheless, the DU8002 is an example of a budget model where calibration is worth investing in. Although construction flaws, such as the type of backlighting, cannot be completely eliminated, colour accuracy is surprisingly good, especially given its price.

After calibration, the NANO81A is a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools even in such an affordable model deserves a big plus. We managed to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colours natural, vibrant, and simply "true". In SDR content (that is, regular television, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks worlds better – it is clear, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It is clear that this panel has significant potential, which is simply wasted by poor presets out of the box. However, we do have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it concerns brightness management in HDR mode. LG's algorithm in this model is constructed very conservatively. The television intentionally dims the HDR picture to avoid overexposing the already weak blacks of the IPS panel. The programmers faced a choice: either to provide more light and accept that the blacks would become light grey or to reduce the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Nevertheless, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is significantly better.

Smoothing tonal transitions on the DU8002 television leaves a mixed impression. Although the menu features an option for smoothing tonal transitions, in practice it yields no results and may even generate unwanted side effects.

Nevertheless, the television performs excellently with upscaling, or digital image processing. The test pattern with the model looked really good – the image is not excessively jagged, and the overall presentation is decent and pleasant to the eye. This is definitely good news for those planning to watch traditional television on this model.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels mercilessly bring to light all the "dirt" and imperfections of lower-resolution content. However, with the LG NANO81A, the situation is quite different. This is truly a solid performer when it comes to handling content that is far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A significant advantage is the gradation reduction feature that you will find in the settings. It is extraordinarily effective in combating colour banding, which is a lifesaver when watching materials with a low bitrate, for instance, from some streaming services or older files from the web. However, it is worth maintaining a certain level of caution. Since we are dealing with a less powerful chip than in LG's top models, setting this option too aggressively may sometimes result in minor artefacts or slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimenting with this feature - in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

The DU8002 with a 60 Hz panel is a television that performs better for watching films than for intense gaming. The motion smoothing feature acts as a fluidizer, smoothing out movement and giving scenes a more fluid appearance, which is helpful for movie screenings. In the context of gaming, this model is more suited for casual entertainment.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a hard time. The television is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. If you are looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast action games, you may feel a bit disappointed. With such a low native refresh rate, fast objects on the screen will always be a little blurred.

DU8002 is a television that is primarily suitable for casual gamers. The 60 Hz panel does not provide the highest motion smoothness, so in dynamic games, there may be a lack of that extra fluidity in the picture. On the plus side, it features ALLM and HGiG functions, which automatically adjust the picture settings for HDR gaming, enhancing the gaming experience. Unfortunately, the television is equipped only with HDMI 2.0 ports, so we will have to forget about more advanced features like VRR or support for 4K at 120 Hz. With this equipment, we will have to settle for less if we expect a full set of gaming features.

NANO81A is unfortunately not hardware designed for e-sports. The lack of support for a 120 Hz signal is a fact that users planning to purchase this model simply have to come to terms with. Nevertheless, LG's engineers have made an effort to maximise the potential of this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience. Firstly, the television supports VRR technology (within the range of 48-60 Hz) and ALLM. As a result, the image remains stable and does not "tear", and the device automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from a console. Managing these settings is extremely simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay, which allows for quick viewing of parameters without leaving the game. A very significant advantage is the support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles because it enables the television to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown-out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which is unfortunately a common issue in budget LCD televisions.