Samsung QN90F / QN92F vs Samsung QN80H

The Samsung QN90F can truly shine with brightness. In our measurements, it achieved over 2200 nits, which directly translates to the viewing experience. In practice, this means that when a film features a very bright scene – for example, a sunrise in The Meg – the screen looks as if it is actually lit by natural light. This is not just a number from a chart, but a real sense of image intensity! However, the television may not always deliver this full power. With smaller details like reflections or lamps, brightness drops to 500–700 nits. This is a deliberate decision by the algorithms – it allows for better control of the contrast between large and small elements, preventing the image from losing balance. Importantly, this is still a huge improvement compared to last year's QN90D, where similar details were often almost invisible, shining at just 200 nits. Here, the HDR effect is much more consistent and credible. The only downside is the colours. The DCI-P3 coverage has stalled at 91%, which in this price bracket can be considered a rather average result.

The Samsung QN80H is undoubtedly a bright TV. In synthetic tests it exceeds the 1000-nit mark, which on paper promises a solid HDR effect. In practice the screen really shows its teeth, although it can't fully spread its wings (or its backlight, if you will 🤔) in every condition. Bright, wide scenes make the best impression. Well-lit outdoor shots and brightly lit scenes look really good on it. Brightness then stays around 700 nits, which provides a noticeable step up in quality compared with standard SDR. Problems start in dark scenes with small, pinpoint highlights. The QN80H tends to dim these strongly, in order to protect black depth at all costs. On the one hand this gives better contrast, on the other... you lose dynamics and the brilliance of fine HDR detail. So the TV has considerable potential, but the dimming algorithm can be too restrictive.

Colour gamut coverage

When it comes to colours it's good as well. The QN80H uses quantum dot technology, and in our measurements it covered 93% of the DCI-P3 colour space and about 70% of BT.2020. Today those results aren't exactly jaw-dropping, but in real-world use they're more than sufficient to deliver a vivid, natural image for most films and TV series. Colours are suitably saturated, and after proper calibration they don't look artificial or overly aggressive.

The colour reproduction of the QN90F was tested in Filmmaker mode and, as is often the case with Samsung televisions, this mode proves to be the best starting point straight out of the box. However, this does not mean that the image is free from flaws. The white balance in both SDR and HDR content was surprisingly good – the colours did not drift in any direction and even in its factory settings, it looked solid. A problem arose with the gamma curves and EOTF, which dictate how the television manages brightness. Here, the QN90F significantly brightened the entire image, causing blacks and colours to lose their intensity, and the overall effect resembled that of an applied milky filter. Fortunately, Samsung, unlike many competitors in the miniLED world, provides the user with plenty of tools to control the settings that we do not find with other manufacturers, such as Chinese producers. Therefore, we decided to see if we could squeeze the full potential out of the QN90F because we know that such a high-end series is capable of much more.

The factory settings of the QN80H performed really well, especially compared with the majority of TVs we receive for testing. Of course, our measurements were taken in Filmmaker Mode, and that's the mode we recommend turning on immediately after the initial setup. For SDR material, our sample was set up surprisingly well. The white balance was very even, colours looked natural, and errors were so small they were hard to notice without measurement equipment. The only weaker point was the gamma. In the brighter parts of the image the TV brightened them a little too much, which at times made the picture lose some depth. Still, we'd like most TVs to look this good straight out of the box.

It fared a little worse in HDR. The white balance was still set correctly, so the problem was not with the colours but with the way the QN80H managed image brightness. This was immediately visible on the EOTF chart. The TV brightened large parts of scenes too much, causing the brightest elements to clip. Interestingly, very small points were often dimmed too much at the same time. As a result, some fine details simply disappeared. So the factory Filmmaker mode in HDR is not bad, but it is definitely not as well calibrated as in SDR.

After our adjustment of the settings, the QN90F displayed what it is truly capable of – and it must be admitted that this is one of the best images we have seen on a miniLED screen this year. As we mentioned earlier, the white balance was not a major issue even in its factory state, but only after gamma calibration did it manage to get close to reference values. The same is true for HDR content, where the EOTF curve post-adjustment presents mature and cohesive results. Indeed, in some films, it is noticeable that the smallest elements of the image are slightly brightened, and with a limited number of dimming zones, there is still a risk of halo effect. However, it should be remembered that such phenomena are characteristic of all miniLED televisions, and it is difficult to expect miracles even from the QN90F. The most important thing is that after calibration, the television delivers an image that, in terms of representing the director's vision, confidently competes with many OLED screens available on the market.

We saw the biggest difference after calibration in HDR Filmmaker mode. SDR was already very good out of the box, so we didn't have much work to do there. In HDR, however, we managed to get to grips with the way the QN80H handled brightness, as it had been over-brightening most scenes. After calibration the picture is calmer, more natural and much closer to how a faithful image should look.

QN90F handles upscaling very well. Materials in lower resolutions, even SD, are enhanced to a clear and sharp image, in which a lot of detail in the background can be seen. This is a significant advantage, as the television makes older content or everyday television look considerably better than on most budget screens. However, the issue of overscan remains, which is the trimming of the screen edges, and this cannot be turned off in Samsung TVs. This can cause some subtitles on the screen to disappear or Auntie's face from the wedding on the VHS tape to be slightly cut off. 😉

Digital image processing also works well. In the menu, we find a function called "noise reduction," which can smooth tonal transitions and improve the reception of lower quality materials, e.g. from YouTube. At the medium setting, the effect is most beneficial – it does not heavily interfere with details, while eliminating the problem of "stepping" in colours. However, it is worth remembering that the function can be quite aggressive and removes natural grain from older films, so it is best to use it in moderation.

Digital image processing in the Samsung QN80H is handled by the second-generation NQ4 AI processor. It's a chip we already know from the manufacturer's earlier models, and it still performs very well, especially with lower-resolution content. The image is effectively upscaled to 4K, but without excessive sharpening and without giving the impression the TV is aggressively trying to improve the source material.

The "Noise Reduction" function also proves useful. It can noticeably reduce posterisation and visible banding in lower-quality material, particularly in low-bitrate streaming. However, it's important to remember that it does not work without side effects. It can remove some film grain and slightly smooth the image. So with a high-quality source we'd leave this function switched off. If, however, someone is more bothered by banding and uneven tonal transitions than by the loss of some grain, "Noise Reduction" can be a really useful addition.

The QN90F is equipped with a panel that has a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz, and although this advantage will primarily be appreciated by PC gamers, it is still worth highlighting. In films or sports broadcasts, we are limited to the classic 120 Hz, but this is not a cause for concern. In practice, the additional motion smoother is of greater importance here. With the "Motion Clarity" setting, we can adjust the picture to our own preferences. The blur reduction option is responsible for fluidity and ghosting in sports. Meanwhile, the "judder reduction" function improves motion smoothness in productions shot at 24 frames, such as films and series. If we set it high, the film appears smoother and more fluid than it was actually shot. Lower values, on the other hand, preserve its cinematic "rawness" with a visible film frame.

Motion handling and motion clarity on the QN80H are really good, mainly thanks to the fast panel. In 4K the screen refreshes at up to 144 Hz, and when switched to Full HD and connected to a PC it can reach as much as 240 Hz. That's new for Samsung TVs and a useful addition for people who want to use the TV for PC gaming as well. We were more interested, however, in how the QN80H performs at 120 Hz, because consoles use that refresh rate. Here it performs very well. The panel does not suffer greatly from the smearing typical of VA panels, and light trails behind moving objects are mainly visible on dark backgrounds. That said, it's nothing that would interfere with normal watching of sport or gaming. The TV also has a motion smoothing system that Samsung calls "Wyrazistością obrazu". You can adjust judder reduction and blur reduction separately, so it's easy to tailor its behaviour to films, sport or your own preferences.

QN90F has almost everything to be the perfect television for gamers. There’s no need to remind anyone of features like four HDMI ports, VRR, ALLM, or refresh rates reaching even 165 Hz. The Game Motion Plus mode deserves great praise, as it is a unique motion smoother for games. Thanks to this, it adds a few “artificial” frames and makes the image generated from the console look smoother than it should. This is a very unique solution in the world of televisions – rival systems usually do not offer this – and that is why Samsung has had a strong selling point among gamers for years, even despite the lack of support for the still niche Dolby Vision in games.

[UPDATE] We have updated our tests of Samsung televisions from the 2025 lineup due to the release of software version 1131, which restored the crucial feature for gamers, HGiG.

So why do we say "almost" the perfect screen? Unfortunately, like in recent Samsung models, we noticed an issue with the lack of the HGiG feature. This solution allows the television to leave the control of tone mapping up to the console, so that games look exactly as intended by the creators. What's worse, this feature was previously present and disappeared after software updates. Instead of minor improvements, we got a step back. It’s a shame, because without this absence, the QN90F could truly be the ideal choice for gamers in the miniLED category.

The Samsung QN80H is a TV that stands out when it comes to gaming features. The biggest new addition for 2026 is DLG mode, which allows refresh rates of up to 240 Hz when the image is switched to Full HD. It's an option aimed mainly at PC users, but it also shows that Samsung is still heavily developing the gaming side of its TVs. However, the list of advantages doesn't end there. The QN80H has four full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, which is still not standard at this price point. So you can connect several consoles, a PC or a soundbar at the same time without having to wonder which port supports the full video capabilities. The TV also supports VRR, ALLM and HGiG, so it's hard to fault its basic feature set.

A downside is the lack of Dolby Vision, which may matter primarily to Xbox Series X owners. However, this is not a flaw that disqualifies the QN80H as a gaming TV. Samsung has a feature most manufacturers still lack: its proprietary motion smoothing, Game Motion Plus. It's a motion smoothing system that works in game mode too, allowing you to improve the smoothness of titles running at 30 or 60 frames per second without a drastic increase in input lag. In practice, Game Motion Plus can make a much bigger difference than the Dolby codec, especially in more demanding games that don't offer a 60 FPS mode. The image becomes noticeably smoother, while controls remain sufficiently responsive. So despite the lack of Dolby Vision, the QN80H remains one of the best-equipped gaming TVs in its class.