Samsung S85D vs Philips MLED920 / MLED910

Brightness is a key parameter in televisions, and the S85D Samsung model offers levels comparable to other OLEDs from a few years ago. Although it does not impress in this regard, its enormous advantage is the very competitive price. A peak brightness of 600 nits ensures good image quality in HDR conditions, giving users a taste of cinematic experiences in the comfort of their home. However, as with many budget OLED models, the biggest issue is very bright, full-screen scenes – in such moments, like the final scene from the film “The Meg,” the television can lose even half of its brightness, which is noticeable compared to more expensive OLED models. Despite this, the television offers impressive coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at 99%, allowing for vibrant and accurate colours to be displayed.

Philips MLED920 in our measurements in static tests even reached around 900 nits, which is really a solid result for a mid-range model. In practice, this translates to a lot of satisfaction during viewing sessions – in scenes rich in bright light, such as the first, third or fifth test slide, the screen managed to generate about 700 nits, which is sufficient to feel the true "HDR effect." However, it cannot be denied that the limited number of dimming zones and the compromises typical of mini-LEDs in more demanding scenes reveal their nature. In sequences with small light sources – like the moon or a scene from the film Sicario 2 – the television clearly prioritises maintaining deeper blacks at the expense of the brightness of these small elements. For most viewers, this is still a reasonable compromise, as the dark background looks significantly better, though it is important to be aware that the details themselves may not impress with their intensity. There is also a certain sense of dissatisfaction regarding the colours. Although the applied PFS filter (the equivalent of quantum dots known from QLEDs) does its job and the colours appear quite vivid, the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette reaches “only” 90%. In everyday viewing, this will be sufficient, but in extremely colourful productions – like the latest Disney animations – one can notice that some tones are not as vibrant as they could be in other setups.

The Filmmaker mode on the Samsung S85D does offer quite good factory settings, but it is not free from errors, particularly evident in colour reproduction. The white balance chart for HD and HDR content shows clear issues – both red and blue colours are significantly weakened, leading to a dominance of green. The result is an unnatural yellowish hue that can affect the perception of realistic scenes. The Color Checker test clearly shows that the colour samples deviate from expected values – for HD material, the colours can be overly saturated, with a noticeable shift towards green, which is also evident in the white balance chart. Conversely, for 4K HDR content, the colours appear too dull, lacking depth, making the image less appealing and natural. This effect is particularly noticeable in delicate scenes where colour precision plays a key role, which can be disappointing for discerning viewers who expect faithful reproduction of details and colour intensity.

As for brightness, the gamma chart for HD content looks quite good; however, there is a noticeable jump at the end, exceeding a value of 2.4. While this is not a major issue in most scenes, in more demanding sequences it may affect the clarity of bright details. For 4K content, the EOTF curve, responsible for delivering brightness, turns out to be problematic. The initial part of the chart shows a small jump. This phenomenon can result in excessive boosting of brightness in the brightest areas of the image, leading to loss of detail in very bright scenes.

Although Samsung S85D offers quite decent factory settings, especially in Filmmaker mode, it is worth considering manual adjustment of settings to improve some imperfections, particularly in colour reproduction.

Like every Philips television we tested, we primarily assessed the MLED920 in Filmmaker mode – this is meant to be the "most honest" mode, designed for films and to faithfully convey the intentions of the creators. Indeed, in terms of colour reproduction, it performs the best among all the modes available on the television, but it is not without flaws. The first thing that catches the eye is the white balance. The image has a slight tendency towards purple-pink tones, which gives it a somewhat unnatural character. An even bigger problem, however, turned out to be what we mentioned earlier – image blooming. Just looking at the gamma or EOTF charts reveals that the line significantly deviates from the norm, dropping below a value of 1.8. In practice, this means "bleeding" of the brightest whites, where the image becomes almost milky. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected – the MLED920 responds well to calibration, and with a few adjustments, one can significantly improve the viewing experience.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode on the Samsung S85D truly impressed. The white balance, regardless of the type of content, has significantly improved, resulting in more natural colours. The Color Checker test shows that colour reproduction errors are now minimal and rarely exceed acceptable values, which indicates accurate colour rendering. The factory colour reproduction left much to be desired, but the situation has now significantly improved – the colours are natural, precise, and look as if they were rendered exactly according to the creators' intentions. This is a huge step forward compared to previous generations, where colours were often distorted or too intense.

The brightness characteristics also benefited from the calibration – it is now more vivid and precise. The gamma, although fairly good previously, has become even more stable, providing a deeper, more natural image. The EOTF curve has been aligned, allowing details in dark areas to be more visible and the contrast more balanced. With all these improvements, the television delivers an image close to reference quality, greatly enhancing the enjoyment of watching films and HDR content.

After calibration, we managed to largely tame the white balance – to the extent that the average viewer will not be able to detect distortions in colours. The characteristic pink-purple haze that previously disrupted the naturalness of the image has also disappeared. The colour palette has been organised, and the colours appear more coherent and neutral. The gamma in SDR content post-calibration looks really good – there is no longer any mention of the previous 'bleeding' effect in bright scenes. The image has become more contrasty and devoid of that milkiness which had previously greatly harmed the viewing experience. In the case of HDR content, the improvement is also noticeable, although here it is still evident that the television is going 'its own way'. The EOTF curve cannot be fully shaped, as Philips simply does not offer the tools to allow precise control over this parameter in its settings. In many films, the television still exposes the image 'in its own way'. Despite these limitations, the calibration has delivered quite a bit of good – most of the colour distortions have been minimised, and the overall balance of the image has significantly improved. However, it must be noted that certain barriers stem from the very design of the hardware and simply cannot be overcome.

Samsung S85D performs excellently in scaling images and smoothing tonal transitions. Like in other Samsung models, the television offers three noise reduction modes: off, standard, and high. Although it effectively improves gradations, it unfortunately also removes film grain, which many viewers desire to give the image a cinematic character. This grain often adds authenticity and a certain rawness to films, which is lost after smoothing. Removing the grain can make the image look too sterile and smooth, which detracts from the charm of the original film material. When it comes to scaling images, the Samsung S85D handles lower resolution content beautifully – the model in the picture and the branches in the background were displayed correctly, with no major issues with edge aliasing. The only noticeable drawback is the presence of overscan, which can sometimes cut off parts of the image, which may not please everyone.

The manufacturer has equipped this model with several features that improve signal quality, and although we usually approach such "enhancements" with caution, here they prove to be really helpful. The key option is called "distortion reduction" – it works best at a medium level, as on one hand it effectively smooths out unwanted stair-stepping and colour banding, while on the other it does not excessively cut out details, allowing the image to still look natural.

Things are a bit worse with upscaling. Lower quality materials – such as the test video with the model – appeared soft and lacking in sharpness. Indeed, it can be partially corrected with the sharpness slider in the menu, but the effect remains far from what competitors in a similar price range offer. Philips therefore still needs to work on this element, as compared to the successful improvement of tonal transitions, the upscaling simply falls short.

As befits an OLED television, Samsung S85D offers excellent motion fluidity. Equipped with a 120 Hz panel and fast response time, the television provides very smooth playback of dynamic scenes without visible ghosting. For movie enthusiasts, there is a feature called "Image Clarity Settings," which allows adjusting the fluidity of the image to individual preferences on a 10-point scale. Motion blur reduction enhances the sharpness of rapidly moving objects, while motion smoothing smooths out movement, eliminating the "judder" effect. This way, every user can set the appropriate level of clarity that best suits their taste, from a more cinematic effect to sharper, smoother movements.

The Philips MLED920 features a 144 Hz panel, which immediately suggests that we shouldn't complain about motion smoothness. And indeed – the motion blur is relatively low for a VA panel, and although slight issues can sometimes be noticed on darker backgrounds, they are not something that would stand out to most people during regular viewing.

Another significant advantage is the presence of a motion smoother called “Motion Style.” It allows you to adjust the sensation of smoothness to your own preferences – if someone prefers a more “theatrical,” almost television-like image, they can increase the sliders, whereas if they prefer to maintain the natural “jumps” of cinematic frames, it’s enough to set lower values. This way, everyone can find their golden mean.

Samsung S85D OLED is an excellent choice for gamers, thanks to its many modern features that facilitate and enhance gameplay. The television has four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, allowing you to connect the latest consoles without worrying about image quality or frame rate limitations. This means support for 4K resolution at 120 Hz, which is ideal for modern titles. Additionally, the Samsung S85D has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature that automatically activates low latency mode when it detects a gaming device. This means you don’t have to manually switch settings – the television takes care of ensuring a fast response time, which is crucial in games where every second counts.

The VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) feature and G-Sync support are additional elements that make gameplay smoother. VRR adjusts the refresh rate to the number of frames generated by the console or computer, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering. This is particularly useful in dynamic games where the frame rate can fluctuate. Auto Motion Plus Game is a feature that Samsung has introduced with gamers in mind, and it is worth appreciating. With it, the image in games becomes smoother – 30 frames per second look like 45, and 60 Hz gains in fluidity, creating an effect close to 90 Hz. At the same time, there is no significant increase in input lag, which remains below 25 ms, making this feature stand out among others available on the market. Gamers can enjoy a smoother image without worrying about a decline in responsiveness.

Samsung has also ensured something extra – the television has a built-in Xbox Game Pass app, which means you can play in the cloud without needing to own a console. This is a great solution for those who want to enjoy gaming without investing in additional hardware. All you need is internet access, and you have a huge library of games at your fingertips. This makes Samsung S85D a fantastic choice for both casual gamers and those who are more advanced.

For gamers, the Philips MLED920 is truly a complete tool. The manufacturer has taken care of everything that is considered standard in televisions designed for consoles and PCs today. It features ALLM, so the console automatically switches the screen to game mode, alongside VRR and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which guarantees smooth gameplay even in fast-paced titles. All key HDR formats are supported – including HGiG and Dolby Vision Gaming for Xbox – which means that regardless of what you are playing and on which console, the television will be able to extract the maximum potential from the image. The Game Bar also proves useful in daily gaming – a relatively simple implementation by Philips, but a functional panel where you can quickly check image parameters, enable VRR or adjust settings without leaving the game. It may not be as comprehensive as the competition, but it performs its task flawlessly. And finally, something that sets Philips apart from the competition – Ambilight. The three-sided LED backlighting can create a huge impression in games, especially in the evening. It's also a way to slightly 'extend' the screen and enhance the feeling of immersion. And as colourful LEDs have recently become almost a mandatory element of a gamer’s room, the MLED920 fits into this trend perfectly.