Samsung OLED S95D vs TCL A300W NXTVision

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%.

When it comes to brightness, the TCL A300W is definitely the darkest television among all frame-style models, such as Samsung The Frame or Hisense CanvasTV – and unfortunately, this is immediately noticeable. In our measurements, the peak luminance reached a mere 400 nits, and on test film patterns, this value dropped to 350 nits. This is definitely too little to experience the true “magic” of bright HDR effects. As a consolation – the television is equipped with a PFS LED coating (which is something like QLED), providing very good coverage of a wide colour gamut, both DCI-P3 and BT.2020. In addition, it has full support for all popular HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision – which somewhat compensates for the lack of brightness and helps improve the overall perception of content in this quality.

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.

TCL A300 offers several picture modes, but without a doubt, the best is the movie mode. Unfortunately, although it is the best option available, it is not free from errors. In both HD and HDR content, the image has a noticeably too warm hue - it leans slightly towards pink, which is particularly noticeable in scenes with snow. Instead of pure white, we get a pinkish tint that spoils the natural perception of colours.

The management of brightness is also not very good. In the case of older HD material, the image often seems too dark - which is confirmed by the inflated gamma value. Conversely, with HDR content, the effect is the opposite - the image is overly bright, which we observed in scenes from the film Pan. Such a lack of consistency also affects the accuracy of colour reproduction - a test with the ColorChecker showed that many samples clearly deviate from the reference values.

Fortunately, TCL allows for manual adjustment of settings, so we decided to check how the television would perform after our professional calibration. The effects of this adjustment are described below.

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 our professional calibration, the TCL A300 has literally received a new lease of life. The image has stopped being too warm, and the colours finally look as they should – which was confirmed by the ColorChecker test, where the colour samples finally started to hit their marks, at least to some reasonable extent. It was also possible to partially correct the brightness management – the image is now more balanced and less "wobbly" between different types of content. Of course, certain limitations cannot be overcome – a slightly noticeable blooming effect is still present, but that is a characteristic of the technology and not something that can be eliminated even after professional settings.

Generally speaking: after calibration, the A300 performs significantly better and gains a completely new quality.

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.

TCL A300 handles tonal transitions in high-quality films very well, but the question arises – how does it perform with weaker material? The television is equipped with a tonal transition smoothing function, but its effectiveness can be described in one word: "random." In one scene it could work and improve the gradation, but when turned off… the effect remains the same. There is a lack of consistency and predictability.

Image scaling is also not one of A300's strong points. On the test chart, the main character actually looked better than on the raw signal, but with thin lines – such as fonts or background details – there was noticeable jaggedness and aliasing. On the positive side, the television does not crop the image and has no problems with overscan, but the overall quality of scaling is rather average.

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.

The TCL A300 is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, which should immediately satisfy practically everyone – both gamers and sports fans. The motion is smooth and the image is clear even during fast-paced scenes. Additionally, the television offers motion enhancement functionality called "Motion," where we find two sliders on a 10-point scale. These allow you to adjust the effect to your own preferences – from a classic, cinematic look with visible frames to a very smooth (though somewhat unnatural) image reminiscent of soap opera effects. This way, everyone can find a setting that suits them.

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.

TCL A300 is a television designed not only to transport us to a digital art museum but also to a full-fledged gaming world. Here, we find practically everything one could expect from gaming equipment: two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz refresh rate, VRR support, and ALLM.

The proper implementation of the HGIG mode also deserves praise – something that competitor Hisense sometimes struggles with. The television easily handles lower resolutions (e.g., Full HD) while maintaining high refresh rates, which older console or PC owners will appreciate.

In addition, there is an attractive and clear GameBar that facilitates quick access to settings for gamers. The A300 is really well-prepared for top-level gaming – it's just a shame that issues with smearing slightly tarnish its overall image as a gaming device.