Samsung Neo QLED QN90D / QN92D vs LG OLED G5

During synthetic tests, Samsung QN92D displayed its incredible capabilities in terms of brightness. The graphs clearly indicate that the television can achieve an impressive 2000 nits, giving it a solid power base to compete with the best models on the market. Such a result places it at the forefront, especially in the context of displaying HDR content, where brightness plays a crucial role. However, what happens when we transfer the tests to real film scenes? Under favourable conditions, such as the first scene from the film Life of Pi or the last scene where the image is entirely flooded with light, Samsung QN92D can achieve nearly laboratory results, impressing with its brightness. The situation looks different, however, when small, bright objects appear on a dark background, as in the fourth scene from the film Sicario. In such cases, the television does not perform as well – brightness drops several times, and the maximum values under the best conditions are around 600 NITS. Similar to the case with contrast, these limitations arise from the use of an aggressive local dimming algorithm. This algorithm aims to reduce the 'halo' effect around bright objects on a dark background, but often at the expense of overall brightness. As a result, while the television excels in brightly lit scenes, its ability to display full brightness is limited when it comes to small, vivid elements.

LG G5 with the new Tandem OLED matrix brings the biggest change in terms of the brightness of the television. And it's substantial. This is truly an astronomically bright OLED. In every scene tested – whether it was point lights or full-screen whites from the film The Meg – the brightness on the G5 exceeded 2000 nits. Just a year ago, such values on an OLED were simply unimaginable. And here we are – the G5 is approaching, and at times even surpassing, the best Mini-LEDs on the market. A new feature of the Tandem OLED matrix is also the expanded colour gamut – and here the LG G5 performs almost perfectly. DCI-P3 reaches a full 100%, and BT.2020 is maintained at around 83%. These are some of the highest values currently available on the market – it's hard to find any other television that comes close to such results, unless we are talking about the best displays with QD-OLED panels. The G5 has nearly reference-quality HDR – both in terms of brightness and colour saturation. This is an OLED that can truly shine – and not just figuratively.

The best mode that consistently reproduces colours on the Samsung QN92D is, as it has been for years, the Filmmaker mode. Although it generally offers decent colour quality, it is not without significant issues. Let’s start with the analysis of images in HD/SDR quality. The biggest challenge here is white balance – the graphs show considerable instability, with a pronounced red dominance, making the image too warm. This distortion causes shades to be unnaturally shifted towards warmer tones, which can negatively affect the perception of materials with natural colours. The contrast, based on the gamma graph, although not the worst, remains far from ideal, impacting the overall image quality, especially in darker scenes.

This problem persists with 4K materials, such as series or movies of higher quality. In this case, the white balance also proves faulty, with noticeable deficiencies in blue and red colour, leading to tonal shifts. Tests using the Colour Checker tool confirm these issues – all colours tend to shift towards yellow tones, further distorting the natural appearance of the image. Although the Filmmaker mode is one of the best available modes for watching cinematic content, it still requires improvements, especially concerning colour accuracy and white balance.

Our test unit, the LG G5, struggled with certain issues in the factory Filmmaker mode. And although most people might have found the picture acceptable, we knew that this television was capable of much more. This mode had a clear excess of blue tint in the white balance, resulting in a significantly cooled image – particularly in HDR modes, where there was additionally a lack of red. The picture appeared cold, and its sharpness was artificially boosted and unnatural. Another significant issue was the brightness characteristics. In SDR content, the situation wasn't the worst, aside from a slight dimming of the entire image. However, it performed much worse in HDR materials – due to improper brightness management, the smallest details could completely disappear from the image, while larger, bright elements looked overexposed and lacking in gradation. Fortunately, the G5 supports calibration using 3D LUT (a tool for professionals for colour calibration), so we decided to make use of its professional capabilities and see what it could really do. Because although it wasn't tragic even before calibration, the potential of this television definitely deserved more.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN92D television shows significant improvement, particularly in terms of SDR content. The white balance has been greatly enhanced – the previous colour misalignment and dominance of red have been eliminated, resulting in a more natural colour reproduction. In terms of brightness, although the gamma chart did not require significant adjustments, it has been stabilised, which affects overall picture quality.

Regarding high-quality materials, the white balance has also improved in this case. However, it is important to note the contrast. The EOTF curve, which illustrates values in this area, initially seems correct. However, when we look at the details, the television struggles to maintain appropriate contrast in film materials. The EOTF curve reveals certain discrepancies, suggesting that despite advancements, there are still areas needing improvement in this aspect. The television still strives for excellence in contrast reproduction. One advantage of this television is colour saturation. Skin tones are rendered very well, and although some colours can be slightly oversaturated, the final effect looks truly appealing – the colours appear rich and vibrant.

Despite some shortcomings in contrast, after calibration, the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung QN92D offers excellent picture quality, with natural colour reproduction, making it a great choice for watching films.

After performing the calibration process using professional tools, we can confidently state that the LG G5 offers nearly reference-quality image. Most of the errors related to white balance and the ColorChecker test are below a value of 2, which is a phenomenal result, practically imperceptible to the human eye. And while one could still nitpick that in HDR films the television still has a tendency to slightly dim the smallest elements of the image, in practice this does not negatively affect the overall impression. Kudos to LG, as once again they provide the user with enormous possibilities for adjusting their display – and this, combined with the very good parameters of the panel itself, results in an image that is truly hard to beat.

Let’s check how the Samsung QN92D television performs with tonal transitions in very poor quality materials. The noise reduction feature demonstrates good effectiveness, improving the smoothness of tonal transitions even in challenging conditions. However, it should be noted that, as with other Samsung televisions, the effectiveness of this feature may lead to the removal of desirable elements, such as film grain, which can sometimes affect the authenticity of the image.

Regarding digital processing, the Samsung QN92D television also performs excellently. During testing, the image was presented very well, with the model shown in a natural and correct manner. Details such as branches in the background were reproduced with great precision, highlighting the television's ability to enhance the quality of low-resolution materials.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the LG G5 are quite impressive. The television handles lower quality content very well, especially when the "Smooth Gradation" feature is set to a low level. In this mode, it effectively removes unwanted artifacts and issues with visible tonal transitions. It may also slightly smooth out some desirable details, such as the subtle texture of clothing or skin, but importantly – it does not remove film grain, so it's difficult to speak of a serious compromise here. This is one of those options that is definitely worth enabling.

The G5 also performs well with upscaling, which improves the quality of older materials. The test image with the model looked really solid – slight jaggedness was visible, but that's an effect that cannot be completely avoided. Additionally, there were no problems with overscan, which – contrary to appearances – is not at all obvious, even in 2025.

The Samsung QN92D television is equipped with a 144 Hz panel; however, when watching content using the smoothness feature, the maximum refresh rate is 120 Hz. This means that both gamers and those who watch a lot of sports will be satisfied with the picture quality. It is also worth mentioning the available image enhancement options, such as the "blur and judder reduction" feature, which allows users to adjust the smoothness to individual preferences on a 10-point scale. Blur reduction is responsible for increasing the sharpness of quickly moving objects, while judder reduction smooths motion, eliminating the "stutter" effect. Thanks to these advanced settings, optimal visual experiences can be achieved, making the Samsung QN92D ideal for both dynamic scenes and intense gaming sessions.

In terms of motion blur, the television performs really well, and it is hard to find anything to criticise. The only comment we might have is a slight overshoot effect noticeable on dark backgrounds during our test with "Ufoludkiem". Nevertheless, with the advanced smoothness settings, the Samsung QN92D is perfect for both dynamic scenes and intense gaming sessions.

The motion smoothness on the LG G5 is simply phenomenal. The television is equipped with a 165 Hz refresh rate panel, and this, combined with the instant response time of the OLED matrix, delivers incredible results. The image does not tear or stutter like on traditional LCD televisions. Like most LG models, the G5 is equipped with a motion smoother, which can be useful when watching films – we are, of course, referring to the TruMotion mode. With the "De-Blur" and "De-Judder" sliders, we can adjust the smoothness of older materials according to our own preferences, whether we want to maintain the characteristic film stuttering or lean towards a more fluid, television-like effect.

The Samsung QN92/QN90 television is an excellent choice for avid gamers, worthy of the highest recommendations. This model offers virtually all the features available on the market in terms of gaming, making gameplay even more exciting. One of its key features is the 120 Hz panel, which provides exceptional motion smoothness, vital during dynamic action games. The television also has low input lag, ensuring lightning-fast responses to player commands. Additionally, technologies such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) adjust the refresh rate and automatically switch the television to game mode, enhancing the gaming experience even further. An additional advantage is the Xbox app, which allows playing favourite titles directly on the television, eliminating the need for a console. This is a typical feature of Samsung televisions, which makes them unique in the gaming world.

Auto Motion Plus Game is a feature that truly deserves praise for Samsung. It is a motion smoother that performs excellently in games, allowing for the perception of a higher frame rate – a 30 frames per second image looks like 45, and 60 Hz becomes close to 90 Hz. Importantly, this feature does not introduce significant lag (input lag does not exceed 25 ms), so it does not negatively affect gaming comfort, unlike many other motion smoothers available on the market. As a result, players can enjoy a significantly smoother image without compromising on responsiveness.

Features for gamers? Perfect. That should be sufficient for you to know what level we are dealing with here. The G5 is a television designed with gamers in mind, so we will find literally everything you could expect from a gaming screen. There is a Game Bar, there is support for high resolutions with high refresh rates – that is, 4K at 120 Hz, and even more, as the panel has a refresh rate of 165 Hz (which PC gamers will benefit from). The television supports variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic low latency mode (ALLM), and also correctly handles HDR in games thanks to the HGiG function. All of this adds up to one of the best sets of gaming features available on the market. Well done, LG.