Samsung Neo QLED QN85D / QNX1D vs Philips PUS8500

Samsung QN85D leaves us with mixed feelings regarding HDR quality. It can shine in synthetic brightness tests, achieving up to 1000 nits – which makes scenes like those from the film 'The Meg' or the beginning of 'Life of Pi', where the screen is entirely bright, look truly impressive. However, in practice, the device has its limitations – especially when smaller bright elements appear on the screen. In such moments, brightness noticeably drops, and the HDR effect loses its impact. At brightness levels around 200-300 nits, the magic of HDR simply fades away, failing to deliver spectacular effects. However, it's not the case that the television completely disappoints – a DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 95% is quite decent, although it does not stand out against the best competitors. Colours are well-reproduced, but it's clear that HDR could make a bigger impression if brightness were better controlled.

When it comes to the HDR effect on the PUS8560, it can fairly confidently be stated that it is very average. The panel brightness is around 350 nits, which we consider to be the absolute minimum for watching content in this format. However, this is not a result that will astonish a viewer searching for the best possible picture.

On the plus side, it is worth noting that the PUS8500 series – including the PUS8560/12 we tested – is advertised as a QLED television. And indeed, we can expect a wider colour spectrum here. This model is equipped with an additional filter (PFS), and a DCI-P3 colour coverage of around 90% should suffice for the majority of users. This filter works very similarly to quantum dots. As a result, the colours are quite well saturated. It is not an outstanding result, but it is entirely sufficient for watching films and series from streaming platforms.

Samsung QN85D TV has been tested in the best available mode – Filmmaker. Although one might expect that its name suggests a mode perfectly tailored for films, it unfortunately has several significant issues.

In terms of white balance for HD content, there is a clear dominance of red and blue, which causes the entire image to take on a pinkish hue – this is also confirmed by Colour Checker tests. This effect disrupts the naturalness of skin tones and many other elements, particularly noticeable in more challenging scenes. Initially, the white balance for 4K HDR content seems correct, but at the end of the graph, there is a significant spike in blue shades, which impacts the final image quality, making the colours appear unnatural.

The gamma brightness characteristics are also not ideal – although it generally stays close to the reference values, there is a slight drop below the 2.4 level, which can affect the perceived depth of shadows. The EOTF curve responsible for 4K content does not present itself any better. There is a noticeable boost relative to the reference curve, which leads to excessive brightening of the image in some areas, thereby losing the cinematic quality that the Filmmaker mode should provide. Although it might initially seem that the effect is cinematic, unfortunately, the number of errors in colour and brightness reproduction is too significant to call it flawless.

We tested the television with the best available factory settings, namely in Film/Filmmaker mode – this is the mode we recommend for everyday viewing. Unfortunately, it is not without its flaws. Both in HD and HDR content, the image had a noticeable tendency to a pink tint, caused by an excessive amount of red and blue in the white balance. Another issue turned out to be excessive brightness in the image, which was confirmed by both the gamma chart and the EOTF curve. This feature was responsible for loss of detail and washed-out colours in more challenging HDR scenes that we mentioned earlier. The overall result led to significant colour reproduction errors – in extreme cases, the delta E value exceeded 7, while the threshold for visible errors for the human eye is around 3. This situation can be improved with calibration, and you can read about its effects below.

After professional calibration of the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN85D television, a significant improvement is noticeable, especially for HD/SDR content. The white balance has been completely stripped of serious errors, and the brightness characteristics for this type of content have been significantly adjusted, allowing for a more natural and realistic image. Television, YouTube movies, and other HD materials now look much better, with appropriately balanced colours and without the excessive hues that previously spoiled the viewing experience.

However, the biggest issues concern 4K HDR content. Despite the calibration, it's difficult to speak of a serious improvement in white balance – the differences are cosmetic rather than crucial. Brightness, which is governed by the EOTF curve, appears to be set in line with the reference level in synthetic tests at first glance, but has its limitations during actual usage in films. When we analyse the EOTF curve in real film scenes, it becomes apparent how the television struggles to maintain brightness consistency. The effect is that mixed scenes still have lifted darkest elements, leading to exaggerated contrasts, while completely dark scenes remain too dark, negatively affecting the visibility of details.

The Dutch manufacturer offers quite a sizable amount of settings in its products, so as usual, we decided to tinker with them a bit. The effects are immediately noticeable – we managed to correct the white balance, which made the image stop appearing excessively pink. The brightness characteristic has also been partially evened out, of course, within the limits set by the television itself. The image is no longer overly exaggerated, and the overall reception after calibration is definitely better than in the factory settings of the Filmmaker mode.

One could only critique the EOTF curve characteristic, which still indicates that the image has a tendency to brighten HDR materials. Despite our efforts, the darkest parts of scenes are still sometimes too bright, and the brightest ones do not always achieve their full contrast potential. However, it must be clearly stated that we are dealing with a typically budget construction – one cannot expect reference-level reproduction of HDR content from it.

Calibration has definitely helped this model – it improved the balance, toned down the aggressive colour palette, and brought the image closer to what one might expect from a well-configured movie mode. However, there are certain limitations that cannot be overcome.

When checking the smoothness of tonal transitions in low-resolution materials on the Samsung QN85D television, it is worth noting the noise reduction feature, which significantly improves problematic tonal transitions. On the other hand, this feature also has its downsides – it removes film grain, which is an important element of many productions, giving them authenticity, and it can also soften the image. This may appeal to those who prefer a more smoothed image; however, for lovers of the authentic look of films, using this feature should be considered carefully.

As for image scaling, the television performs very well. The model's figure is presented correctly, without noticeable distortions, and the branches in the background do not have excessive artificial sharpness, which is often a problem when scaling lower resolution materials. You can see the high capabilities of the image processor, which can effectively process lower quality materials, ensuring good final quality.

Philips PUS8560 offers a function for reducing posterization, hidden under the name "distortion reduction". And although it indeed fulfills its role by smoothing out problematic tonal transitions, it works a bit too broadly. In practice, it affects not only colourful gradients but also softens faces, the textures of clothing, and the surfaces of furniture. This compromises the authenticity of the image – especially in films where natural texture is very important. However, if someone is looking for smoothing at all costs, it's best to set this option to "Low". For cinema image enthusiasts – we definitely do not recommend it.

On the positive side, the quality of upscaling older materials is noteworthy – the PUS8560 model handles them surprisingly well. The image retains its natural softness, without artificially boosted sharpness. It is also worth mentioning that the television correctly displays content with very low resolution, avoiding issues with image edge cutting (so-called overscan).

Samsung QN85D TV is equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate panel, which should satisfy both gamers and sports fans by providing a smooth and dynamic picture. There are options to enhance fluidity, such as the motion blur and judder reduction feature, which allows for precise adjustment of motion smoothness on a 10-point scale. Motion blur reduction increases the sharpness of fast-moving objects, making action scenes clearer, while judder reduction smooths movement, eliminating the "stuttering" effect. Smearing is generally well controlled, although there are occasional minor shortcomings that may be visible in more demanding scenes, particularly when an object moves against a dark background. Additionally, the TV offers a BFI (Black Frame Insertion) feature at 60 Hz, which can significantly improve the experience of motion fluidity, although at the cost of image flicker, which may be bothersome to some users.

The Philips PUS8560 is a television equipped with a panel featuring a refresh rate of 60 Hz, which immediately limits its capabilities in terms of displaying dynamic content. Watching sports or playing on a console is not particularly enjoyable. The situation is further worsened by the lack of any option to improve the smoothness of films. In the menu, we won't find settings that would allow us to enable a motion smoother or even a slight motion smoothing for films recorded at 24 frames per second. You can imagine the effect. The image can appear jerky, especially in shots with panoramic camera movements.

The Samsung QN85D television is an excellent choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that enhance the gaming experience and make it even more exciting. With a refresh rate of 120 Hz, the image is incredibly smooth, which is crucial during dynamic scenes in action games. The television also features low input lag, ensuring that reactions to the player's commands are nearly instantaneous, translating to better control over the character and events on the screen.

In addition, the QN85D Samsung supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) technologies, which optimise image fluidity and reduce delays by automatically adjusting the television to meet the needs of gamers. Furthermore, the Xbox app allows access to cloud gaming without the need for a console, which is a significant advantage for those who want to enjoy their favourite titles without additional hardware – a solution that sets Samsung televisions apart.

The Auto Motion Plus Game feature is another element worth highlighting. This motion smoother creates the impression of a higher frame rate – as a result, games running at 30 fps appear smoother, resembling gameplay at 45 fps, while games at 60 Hz come close to 90 Hz. Most importantly, this feature does not introduce significant lag, ensuring that the gaming experience remains undisturbed. This allows players to enjoy a smoother image without compromising on responsiveness.

Although the Philips PUS8560 is not designed with gamers in mind, the manufacturer has decided to equip it with a few features that may prove useful when connecting a console. On board, we find automatic switching to game mode (ALLM), as well as a simple connection status information bar – the so-called Game Bar. It does not make a particularly strong visual impression, but it serves its purpose. The presence of variable refresh rate (VRR), operating in the range of 48 to 60 Hz, may come as a surprise. While this is not a wide range, in the case of less demanding games or titles with unstable frame rates, VRR can help reduce screen tearing. However, this is the only element that could be considered beyond the minimum.

It must be made clear that the PUS8560 is not equipment for gamers looking for a responsive screen and full support for modern console features. It lacks HDMI 2.1 ports, the refresh rate is limited to 60 Hz, and the response time of the panel is not among the fastest. This model may be suitable at most for casual gamers who want to enjoy the Ambilight system.