Samsung Neo QLED QN85D / QNX1D vs Samsung OLED S95H (S99H) (QD-OLED)

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 brightness alone, the S99H is an astronomically bright TV. Its peak brightness in film scenes can exceed 2800 nits. Whatever the scene, you can count on powerful HDR effects that are almost blinding, exactly what you expect from a top-tier screen. It is the nature of OLED panels that they cannot sustain the same extreme brightness in very bright, full‑screen frames as they can with small highlights, but the results are still excellent. In a bright scene from the film The Meg, the sun still exceeded 2200 nits. That means the S99H managed to sustain higher brightness than most Mini LED displays on the market. In terms of brightness, the S99H is currently the best OLED TV we have tested.

Colour gamut coverage

The S99H also handles colour extremely well, which is a direct result of the QD-OLED panel used here. Whether the test scenarios were synthetic test patterns or measurements taken with film material playing in the background, the results remained at a very high level. The S99H easily covers almost 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut, and for the more demanding BT.2020 colour space it reaches nearly 90%. That is absolute top-tier performance. These results match what we have seen in the new SQD-Mini-LED screens, and in real film scenes even outperform RGB Mini LED displays.

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.

Samsung offers a whole host of picture modes and features, but as usual we recommend choosing Filmmaker Mode, especially if you want the most faithful rendering of the filmmakers' intent. Out of the box the TV is tuned very well, although it has minor shortcomings. These are mainly a slight drift in the white balance in SDR content and a slightly low gamma. As a result, in darker viewing conditions the picture can be a little too bright compared with the reference gamma of 2.4, which is the standard for watching films with the lights off. These are, of course, minor points, because overall colour reproduction remains at a very good level and the errors in the ColorChecker measurements are not large. However, we know that with a screen of the S99H's class you can, and arguably should, expect even more, which is why we carried out a professional calibration.

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.

After professional calibration, FILMMAKER mode looks practically perfect. Because Samsung offers a rich set of advanced calibration features, we were able to fine-tune the colours to an almost perfect level. Above all, we managed to even out the white balance and the gamma curve, which resulted in noticeably improved contrast and proper image modelling. In this tuned picture profile there really isn't a single thing to criticise or call a flaw. After calibration, the S99H can deliver an essentially reference-quality image.

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.

The proprietary Samsung NQ4 Gen3 processor is responsible for upscaling and digital image processing. It handles upscaling lower-resolution material to 4K very well. The picture is clear without looking artificial or overly sharp. The only rather specific drawback appears with very old material recorded at 480p or below. In such cases the TV can slightly crop the edges of the picture.

The processor also copes quite well with artefacts visible in lower bit-rate material, for example heavily compressed YouTube videos. The noise reduction function effectively smooths the image and reduces posterisation, but it operates quite aggressively. It can remove not only unwanted artefacts but also some fine detail, and even natural film grain. Wanting to preserve the source material as faithfully as possible, we decided not to use it. However, if someone prefers a clean, as-smooth-as-possible picture over retaining every detail, it may prove useful.

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.

Another major advantage of organic OLED panels is their excellent motion handling. Thanks to the pixels' virtually instantaneous response time, the Samsung S99H exhibits virtually no motion blur. Fast-moving objects do not produce visible halos or trailing outlines, so the television performs very well for both watching sport and gaming. One characteristic of OLED screens compared with LCDs, however, is the way they render low-frame-rate material. With very slow camera movement the image can appear noticeably more 'choppy'. This can, however, be fairly effectively mitigated using a frame-interpolation system. Samsung lets you adjust judder reduction and blur reduction separately, so it's easy to find a compromise between smoother motion and preserving the cinematic character of the content.

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.

The Samsung S99H is also a great TV for gamers. It offers almost every possible and useful feature... well, except for the obvious lack of Dolby Vision for the Xbox console. It's equipped with four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports that offer the full 48 Gbps. This lets you use VRR frame-rate synchronization and the automatic game mode (ALLM) without any problems. This year Samsung also has no issues properly supporting HGiG, so HDR setup on a console is quick and straightforward. Samsung's TVs are also known for interesting extras. In the Game Bar menu you'll find options to add an on-screen crosshair, enlarge the minimap or change the displayed image's aspect ratio (PC).

Particularly noteworthy is Samsung's Game Motion Plus feature. It's Samsung's proprietary motion-smoothing system that uses interpolation to increase smoothness in games. Input lag then rises to around 40 to 50 ms (depending on the strength of the setting), which is an excellent result compared with the competition. The system makes gameplay noticeably smoother. So if someone has their eye on a demanding game (e.g. GTA 6 😉) that runs on a console at only 30 frames per second, the S99H can display it much more smoothly than competing models.