Samsung QN900F vs Sony Bravia 8 MK2

QN900F is truly a bright television – it can generate nearly 2000 nits, a figure that remains unattainable for most models available on the market. But the mere ability to achieve such brightness is not everything – it also matters whether the television can make good use of it. And here, it is not always perfect. Our tests on cinematic test patterns showed that in scenes such as those from Life of Pi or The Meg, the QN900F can truly shine – literally and metaphorically. In such moments, its greatest advantage, which is brightness, makes a huge impression. However, in more demanding scenes, challenges arise – similar to when assessing contrast. When smaller, bright elements appear on screen, the television often struggles with the decision: should it highlight them at the expense of black levels, or perhaps maintain deep blacks while toning down brightness. The result is situations where, for example, in the film Sicario 2, brightness dropped to just 200 nits, making details barely visible. Dimming algorithms could definitely be better for a television of this class.

Thanks to its new QD-OLED panel, the Sony Bravia 8 II can achieve an astronomically high brightness of around 2000 nits, which translates into almost reference-quality performance in films and series mastered in HDR. In test material such as Life of Pi or Sicario 2 the effect is genuinely impressive: details in bright areas remain perfectly visible and night scenes charm with depth and contrast. It is not, however, perfect. Compared with its toughest rivals, the Bravia 8 II shows a noticeable drop in brightness on full-screen, very bright frames. If you compare peak point luminance with 100% white in HDR mode, the Bravia 8 II can appear two or three times darker than models such as the LG G5 or Samsung S95F. In a scene from The Meg this was particularly obvious, with the screen becoming noticeably dimmer than competing TVs. Despite this shortcoming, the Bravia 8 II still ranks among the market leaders. Its absolutely top-tier colour gamut coverage is praiseworthy: DCI‑P3 at almost 100% and BT.2020 close to 90%. These are the specifications that allow HDR content to be fully realised and deliver cinema-like experiences at home.

Testing the QN900F in Filmmaker mode, the characteristic features of the image were quickly noticeable, even though this mode is designed to reflect the director’s vision. The white balance was not perfect – the television displayed distinct deficiencies in the blue colour. This made the entire scene take on a warmer tone, as if someone had applied a subtle filter in shades of yellow and orange. In films where bright shots dominate – for example, scenes in the snow or in strong daylight – this gave the impression of slight warmth that did not always convey the director's intent. The second noticeable element was the management of brightness. The QN900F could sometimes brighten the image more than necessary. It looked as though the exposure had been slightly 'pulled up', causing the scene to lose its naturalness. Shadows were sometimes too shallow, and the contrast slightly weakened. These are not disqualifying errors, but for a television in this price range, it is evident that Filmmaker mode has not been perfected one hundred percent. This is particularly noticeable when we compare its image with what was seen after the screen calibration.

Straight out of the box the Bravia 8 II performs really well. In its best IMAX® Enhanced mode the TV can reproduce colours in a pleasant, natural way, although "good" here does not mean "best in class". The white balance definitely needs adjustment, as skin tones tend to shift slightly towards pinkish/cool hues in both SDR and HDR content. We also noticed that the EOTF curve tends to brighten the darkest parts of the image. This is likely the manufacturer's attempt to reveal as much detail as possible even in deep shadows. Is that a good approach? It's hard to say definitively, but one thing is clear: it is not an ideal solution.

After calibration, we managed to eliminate errors in white balance and adjust them to a level that can be considered acceptable. It is not perfect, but it is definitely better than the factory settings. Most colour errors now lie within the deltaE 2–3 range, so in practice, they should not be noticeable during everyday viewing. However, the most significant improvement is evident in how the television manages brightness in SDR content. Shadows and details are no longer flattened, which gives the image depth and naturalness. As for 4K HDR material – colours themselves are no longer an issue, but some imperfections of Mini-LED technology can still be observed. The QN900F tends to dim the smallest bright elements too much, causing them to sometimes disappear from view. However, it should be noted that this is a much better solution than boosting the entire screen, which would spoil the contrast. This is more of a characteristic of this technology than a typical flaw, but it is worth keeping in mind. The effects of calibration are truly very good.

After calibration we mainly managed to eliminate the excessive cooling of the image caused by an overly strong boost to the blue channel. Reds became deeper and skin tones acquired a natural, healthy look. Actors who previously seemed 'cold' now appear much more lively and convincing on screen. One thing has not changed, however: analysis of the EOTF curve still shows that the Bravia 8 II tends to brighten the darkest parts of the image. It is hard to say whether this is an intentional move by the manufacturer or a result of the panel design and software. In practice this means scenes that creators intended to remain in deep shadow can reveal more detail than intended. Despite that, image quality after calibration is clearly better, and the warm, natural colours and realistic skin tones simply make watching on the Bravia 8 II more pleasing to the eye.

If we want to eliminate jarring tonal transitions that can be irritating, for example, while watching YouTube, we can use a feature called noise reduction. It works really effectively – it removes issues with colour blending when we set it to Standard level. However, as with most Samsung televisions, this does involve some compromises. Although we did not notice this feature significantly affecting the structure of objects in the image, it unfortunately reacts quite aggressively to film grain. Most people will likely appreciate this effect – the noise is simply removed – but if someone is looking for an image as close as possible to reference settings, we definitely recommend turning this option off.

When it comes to scaling, or dealing with very low-quality content, the QN900F performs really well. On the test card with the model, the image appeared clear, with only slight aliasing that shouldn't bother most viewers. However, it is worth mentioning one issue – the television sometimes has problems with so-called overscan, which can cause older content to be slightly cropped. This might manifest, for example, in subtitles disappearing from the bottom of the screen.

Upscaling and digital image processing are a real showcase of the Bravia 8 II's capabilities. Sony has long been regarded as a master in this field, and this only confirms that reputation. Sony's proprietary XR processor can pull almost all the detail out of lower-resolution sources, whether it's television or an old DVD movie the picture looks sharper, with more detail and greater depth. Of course, if you feed it exceptionally poor-quality material (such as our archival photo of the Model), it won't work miracles, but for everyday viewing there's little to complain about.

The gentle gradation function also performs excellently. On the 'Medium' setting it effectively smooths tonal transitions, eliminating banding in colour and grey gradients while not destroying film grain or fine image details. It is precisely this balance between subtlety and effectiveness that keeps Sony's TVs among the best on the market in this category.

There really is nothing to complain about here – the QN900F looks very good in terms of motion. With a 165 Hz panel in 4K, it can confidently be said that this television is suitable for both watching sports and gaming. The motion enhancer plays a key role here. It works brilliantly – not only during sports broadcasts, where it can eliminate blurring and image shaking, but also in games, where the animation becomes clearer and smoother. And of course, if someone likes to experiment with films – they also have that option. At lower settings, a slight graininess and cinematic character can be seen, while at higher settings, it takes on a soap opera effect. In other words, everyone can adjust the picture to their preferences, and the television has the power to handle it.

Motion smoothness is, in the case of the Bravia 8 II, practically a closed matter. A 120 Hz OLED naturally delivers a very clean, sharp picture in fast-moving scenes, so there's little to complain about. Particular praise, however, is due to its motion-smoothing systems, which are among the best on the market. They let you precisely tailor the motion of films to your own preferences, ranging from subtle smoothing to an almost "theatrical" effect, without the risk of artificial judder, image tearing or annoying artefacts. It's one of those features you'll appreciate both during film screenings and when watching sport.

[UPDATE] We have updated our 2025 Samsung TV reviews following the release of firmware version 1131, which officially restores the essential HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) support.

It really is nice here. The QN900F offers a full set of features that we would expect from a top-end gaming television – we have VRR, ALLM, Game Bar, and also cloud gaming applications. However, the biggest standout is the proprietary motion smoother, which also works in games and – importantly – does not introduce noticeable lag. This is something we won't find with its other competitors. Unfortunately, there is also something concerning. This year, Samsung has evidently messed something up with its televisions. During the testing of the QN900F before its update, it had the HGIG feature, which allowed for perfect adjustment of HDR settings for the console. However, according to our procedures, we always update the equipment to the latest version – in order to give the manufacturer a chance to fix any shortcomings. And here… it turned out the opposite.After the update, the HGIG feature disappeared from the menu, making the correct configuration of the console for HDR practically impossible. It was supposed to be complete – 165Hz, four HDMI 2.1 ports, a full gaming package… but unfortunately, it turned out to be a small blunder. What a shame.