Samsung OLED S95D vs Samsung S90H (WOLED)

Samsung S95D offers excellent HDR performance, delivering consistent effects across all scenes exceeding values of 1500 nits, except for the fifth, where brightness drops to 800 nits. Despite this, the television maintains a high level of picture quality. A significant advantage of QD-OLED technology is its ability to maintain high brightness even in the smallest elements against a black background, which is rare in LCD and mini LED televisions. As a result, every scene dazzles with strong lighting effects, regardless of the size of the illuminated area. Only in the brightest scenes with large light areas does brightness slightly drop, which is typical even for standard OLEDs produced by LG. Additionally, the quantum dot coating has achieved an unprecedented high coverage of the BT.2020 colour gamut at 88%.

Samsung S90H in the WOLED variant is still an exceptionally bright TV for its price bracket, although compared with the QD-OLED version it is slightly dimmer. The difference is not as significant as in last year’s F series, where the gap could reach as much as 500 nits. Here the parameters of both panels are very similar, and differences in peak brightness are only in the order of 100–150 nits. In small-area measurements the S90H on the WOLED panel easily reaches levels close to 1500 nits. Such a reserve of power allows HDR dynamics to be reproduced phenomenally; all highlights, light reflections and explosions have the necessary punch, exactly as the creators intended in the editing studio. As with most OLED displays, when a very bright scene fills the whole screen protection systems activate and brightness naturally falls to around 700 nits. It is worth emphasising that this is still an excellent result on the market. Often noticeably better than many Mini LED screens in the same segment.

Colour gamut coverage

The biggest difference between the two S90H variants lies in colour reproduction and saturation. This results directly from the different construction of the WOLED panel, which uses an additional white subpixel. As a consequence, colours at very high brightness do not reach the same intense saturation, and the volume of the wide gamut is somewhat more limited than in QD-OLED. That does not change the fact that in everyday use these differences will be hard for most viewers to spot. The DCI-P3 space we measured reaches nearly 99% on the WOLED panel, which means that in the vast majority of real film scenes both variants will present an almost identical picture. The true distance only reveals itself in rarer, exceptionally demanding productions that use the ultra-wide BT.2020 gamut. Due to the specifics of the WOLED panel’s construction, coverage of that standard is about 15% lower compared with the S90HAT with a QD-OLED panel, so the brightest, heavily lit colours in HDR may appear slightly less vivid.

On the Samsung S95D, the mode that best reproduces colours is the Filmmaker mode. We conduct all our tests in this mode. Although initially, the picture in this mode may appear slightly warmer to the viewer, it provides significantly more detail compared to the standard or dynamic mode, which is always oversaturated and artificial. The Filmmaker mode is therefore the most closely aligned with the vision of filmmakers and ideal for watching high-quality content. It is worth noting, however, that the factory settings are not perfect, despite dealing with premium segment equipment. The image may contain certain errors that affect the overall quality of the displayed scenes. An example is drops in red colour in the white balance, both in HD and HDR content. Colour Checker tests showed that the hues lean towards cooler tones. The image is dominated by blue hues, and the entire colour spectrum is distorted. As can be seen in the picture below, the little boy from the film appears in cooler tones, making him look less natural. When it comes to the brightness characteristics for HD content, it is quite accurate, although there are minor errors. The biggest problem arises when displaying 4K HDR content. The EOTF curve, which seems appropriate at first glance in test patterns, shows that the television sometimes "messes" with the image in real film scenes. This causes the picture to be slightly brightened in some scenes and darkened in others.

Samsung S95D offers quite good factory colour reproduction, but it has some shortcomings that may require calibration to fully utilise the potential of this television. The process is recommended to achieve the most natural and immersive image possible.

In Filmmaker mode, which we strongly recommend switching on straight out of the box, the S90H offers very good factory colour tuning. Colours are natural and faithful to the creators' intent, without the irritating oversaturation found in more aggressive presets. However, as is often the case without full calibration, no two units are identical. In our test the white balance was slightly lacking in blue, causing the image to lean a little towards warmer, yellowish tones. This was most noticeable in bright scenes, such as the snowy sequences from Star Wars. Additionally, the gamma curve was slightly low at 2.2, which produced a minor lift in shadow detail. In HDR mode the tuning was somewhat better, showing only a slight undersaturation in the red region.

How much can the picture quality of a television change after calibration? After performing calibration on the Samsung S95D, the white balance was significantly improved, eliminating any major errors, which allowed for a more natural and harmonious colour reproduction. In the case of 4K content, there are only minor imperfections, which do not affect the overall picture quality. Thanks to calibration, viewers can now enjoy more balanced tones, allowing for a better representation of the filmmakers' intentions. The contrast has also improved, and the gamma shows even better results. This means that the differences between the light and dark areas of the image have become more pronounced, translating into better depth and detail in scenes. As a result, shadows gained more detail, and bright areas are no longer overwhelming, providing a more realistic visual experience. However, it should be noted that the EOTF curve is slightly below the expected level, which may affect how the television handles dynamic scenes. Nonetheless, after calibration, the overall picture quality has significantly improved, and viewers can now enjoy a visual experience that is more in line with the filmmakers' intentions. The television handles subtle tonal transitions and contrast better, making it more suitable for watching films and high-definition programmes. Ultimately, the picture after calibration is closely aligned with reference quality, making the visual experience even more satisfying.

After a full calibration it’s fair to say the S90H in WOLED guise looks almost perfect. In SDR mode colour inaccuracies drop to ultra-low levels and Delta E values very rarely exceed 2. That’s a phenomenal result, so if you care about perfectly faithful colour reproduction it’s definitely worth considering calibration. The calibrated HDR mode also performs very well, with the white balance stabilised and earlier deviations eliminated. After professional fine-tuning it’s really hard to find anything to criticise, because the TV delivers an image with almost reference-level naturalness and three-dimensionality. The slightly lower score in this category compared with the QD-OLED variant is solely due to the aforementioned limitation in saturation in extremely bright scenes; the tuning options and colour fidelity themselves are at the highest level.

How does the television handle tonal transitions in lower-quality materials? Generally speaking, the S95D performs exceptionally well. On the screen with the light bulb, there are virtually no transitions between shades of grey, making it one of the best televisions we have tested in this regard.

Regarding digital processing, the entire image — from branches to model figures — has been well rendered, without any jagged edges or heavily visible contours. However, we must draw attention to one issue: the image is slightly cropped. Nevertheless, the television performs excellently, and details in lower-quality materials are still noticeable and well-defined.

In terms of posterisation reduction itself, Samsung has kept the solutions known from last year’s models. The dedicated gradient-smoothing function performs quite well and can effectively mask unwanted tonal banding, which is useful on a WOLED panel that is slightly more prone to banding. However, you should be aware of its aggressive behaviour. This mechanism, alongside the artefacts themselves, can clean up fine film grain and gently soften detail. Ultimately it is a matter of compromise, but if you want an absolutely faithful reproduction, it is safer to leave this option off.

Similarly, in the area of scaling it is difficult to call this a breakthrough. The S90H uses the same NQ4 Gen3 processor as its predecessor, so the upscaling quality was almost identical. The chip sharpens lower-resolution material very well, extracting a satisfying level of detail. Samsung still has not dealt with the longstanding overscan issue, though. With some older recordings or archive footage the edges of the image can be slightly cropped. It’s a minor flaw, but it’s a pity the manufacturer still hasn’t eliminated it.

The Samsung S95D television, equipped with a refresh rate of 120 Hz (and even 144 Hz in the appropriate PC configuration), offers excellent motion smoothness. Samsung provides a variety of image sharpness settings on a ten-point scale, allowing users to adjust the display according to their preferences - whether the image should be more cinematic/frame-like or more theatrical/smooth. In UFO tests, the OLED matrix shows its advantages, eliminating any blurring. The lightning-fast pixel response means that dynamic movements are reproduced with unparalleled precision.

In terms of motion handling, the S90H is simply excellent. This year's panel offers a boosted refresh rate of up to 165 Hz, though in practice the benefit will mainly be for gamers connecting a high-end PC. For films, series or sports broadcasts such a high refresh rate makes no difference and the picture looks exactly the same as at the standard 120 Hz. Regardless of the source, however, the OLED panel's lightning-fast response time does its job, so motion is clean and the ghosting or smearing familiar from LCD screens simply does not occur here.

The Samsung S95D TV is perfectly suited to the needs of gamers, offering four HDMI 2.1 ports that support key features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and HDR Gaming Interest Group (HGIG). The HDMI 2.1 ports do not provide full bandwidth of 48Gb, but they are still sufficient for achieving appropriate resolution and smoothness. Thanks to these technologies, gamers can enjoy smoother and more responsive gameplay, which significantly impacts comfort and performance during intense gaming sessions. One of the biggest advantages is the Xbox app, which allows for cloud gaming without the need for a console. Through it, gamers can access a wide range of titles directly on the TV, enjoying high image quality and smooth gameplay. Additionally, the S95D offers a Game Bar feature that enables easy management of game settings, including quick adjustments of parameters such as changing the aspect ratio, which can be extremely useful in various games and gaming modes. It is also worth mentioning the support for G-Sync and FreeSync, which is a huge plus for users of Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. Despite the lack of support for Dolby Vision, the TV still offers excellent features that make it an ideal choice for console gaming enthusiasts. Overall, the S95D combines modern technologies with outstanding picture quality, creating a complete package for any gamer.

Players should feel at home with the S90H, because Samsung has left few reasons to complain in that respect. The TV has four HDMI 2.1 ports, each of which supports VRR, ALLM and high refresh rates. There’s also the Game Bar, a handy menu that lets you quickly check key parameters and change settings without leaving the game. Importantly, Samsung has also improved HGiG mode. In last year’s models it could cause problems when used with a console, but on the S90H it now works as it should. What really stands out against the competition is the Game Motion Plus feature. It’s a special motion smoothing mode for games that works best with titles running at 30 or 60 fps. Motion becomes noticeably smoother, while latency remains at a reasonable level. In our measurements it was under 50 ms, so gaming is still comfortable. That’s important, because on many TVs enabling a similar smoothing feature causes such a large increase in input lag that controls become noticeably sluggish. Samsung has managed to find a good compromise here. There’s still no Dolby Vision Gaming, but in practice Game Motion Plus may prove to be a much more useful feature.