Samsung DU8002 (IPS) vs Samsung R85H / R86H

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.

When it comes to brightness, the R85H performs really respectably. In most of our test scenes the TV reaches around 800 to 900 nits, and with larger bright elements it can exceed 1000 nits. These are not, of course, levels on a par with the pricier Mini-LEDs, but they are more than enough for watching films and TV shows in HDR, and the effect can already be quite noticeable. The problem reappears in more demanding scenes where there is a small bright element on a very dark background. Here the TV can significantly limit its brightness so as not to light up too large a portion of the screen. In our measurements such small highlights fell even to around 200 to 250 nits, so it is clear that a small number of zones combined with the particular behaviour of the algorithm has consequences here. Fortunately, this is not something that disturbs viewing all the time. In typical mixed HDR scenes the R85H looks good and can deliver appropriate image dynamics. It's just that with very small points of light you shouldn't expect an effect as strong as on TVs with many more zones or on OLEDs.

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.

In Filmmaker mode our R85H sample performed acceptably in SDR, but a few things stood out immediately in the measurements. In the white balance red increased with rising brightness while blue decreased. As a result the brighter parts of the picture had a slightly too warm tint. Gamma only held to the target value at the start. It then gradually fell, which left most of the image a little too bright. The combination of these two effects also showed up in the colours, with errors growing particularly in the brighter and more saturated samples. It did not look bad, but for Filmmaker mode we had expected a bit more accuracy. Interestingly, in HDR our sample fared noticeably better. The white balance was much more even and, over most of the range, the individual components stayed close together. Only in the very brightest areas did red start to be lacking, causing white to shift subtly. The EOTF curve, by contrast, looked very good and followed the target luminance levels across almost the entire range. That does not mean HDR colours were perfect. The Colour Checker still showed some deviations, especially for some of the more saturated hues, but the errors were clearly smaller than in SDR.

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 R85H shows it has genuinely substantial capabilities in colour reproduction. It performed best in SDR, where the white balance could be brought almost perfectly into line and the gamma stays very close to the target value across most of the range. This also translated into very low errors on the Colour Checker, so there is really little to pick fault with. HDR also shows a clear improvement, although some things can no longer be corrected as well. At the highest brightness levels the character of the backlight begins to make itself felt and the individual components of the white balance start to drift apart. The same applies to the most saturated colours, which do not always land exactly where they should. Despite these limitations the overall image is much more accurate than with the factory settings, and the biggest difference is definitely seen in SDR. There is, however, one thing calibration cannot fix. With heavily saturated elements the colour can slightly bleed onto adjacent bright areas of the image. It is easiest to notice this on white, which can pick up a faint tint of a neighbouring colour. It does not appear in every scene, but when the material is demanding the effect can be visible. This is more a characteristic of the way the RGB backlight works than a matter of picture settings.

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.

In the R85H image processing is handled by the Micro RGB AI Processor. The name is new, but when it comes to upscaling lower-quality material the TV’s behaviour is very similar to what Samsung has shown before. And that’s not a bad thing, because the manufacturer has dealt with this aspect quite well for years. Lower-resolution content is displayed cleanly, edges do not become excessively soft, and the TV does not try to artificially extract details at any cost. The result is simply well balanced, and with regular broadcasts or older recordings the R85H performs as you would expect from a Samsung in this class. There remains only a minor drawback in the form of overscan, which cannot be completely turned off at the lowest resolutions. A separate matter is the additional processing of weaker sources. The R85H can smooth posterisation and somewhat tidy up heavily compressed footage, but it is worth emphasising that it does this relatively aggressively. At stronger noise reduction settings it begins to remove not only compression artefacts but also fine details and the natural film grain. It is therefore best used only when the material truly needs it.

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.

The R85H has a 144 Hz panel, so motion is really smooth here. Just bear in mind that the extra hertz above 120 are mainly used when connected to a PC, so in this category we don't treat them as any particular advantage. For films and TV, what's more important is that the panel is fast enough to provide access to an advanced motion-smoothing feature, "Motion Clarity", which lets you set motion anywhere from more film-like to very smooth. The panel's response time is a bit worse. Because it's a VA panel, fast-moving objects can leave a slight trail. On bright backgrounds this isn't very noticeable, but the darker the scene, the more pronounced the smearing becomes. This is a typical trait of this type of panel and it's easiest to notice in dark shots.

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.

Samsung has been steadily expanding its gaming features for several years, and the R85H really doesn't miss anything important here. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, so we can easily take advantage of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. HGiG also works correctly, so with HDR properly set on the console, games retain the correct brightness and we don't unnecessarily lose detail in the brightest parts of the picture. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung does not support on any of its TVs. The Game Bar is also very useful — a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. We can quickly check the frame rate, VRR status or change key picture settings. Samsung also adds a few less obvious features, such as the ability to change the aspect ratio and Game Motion Plus, which can further smooth games running at 30 or 60 frames per second. Of course this comes at the cost of higher input lag (around 55 ms), but for slower-paced titles it may be an interesting addition for some people.