Samsung S85D vs TCL C75B

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.

During our test, the TCL C75B "spat out" around 380 nits of brightness. We recorded similar results while watching most of the films we tested. They can be considered average – the television does not perform poorly in this segment, but around 400 nits is definitely too low to fully experience the magic of HDR effects. Of course, these results are better than those of budget models, which can achieve almost half the brightness values. However, for HDR enthusiasts seeking stronger lighting effects and greater realism, the C75B may prove insufficient. On the positive side, it's worth mentioning the DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 95%. This is a very good result that easily suffices to enjoy a wide range of colours in content available on popular streaming platforms. Vivid and rich colours are definitely a strong point of this model.

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.

TCL C75B offers several picture modes, but in our opinion, the best choice is the “Film” mode. Although its settings are quite decent, the television struggles with some colour reproduction issues. In our tests, we noticed that the image had a noticeably pinkish tint compared to what could be considered accurate. This effect was particularly evident in skin tones, which appeared unnaturally flushed. The main culprit for this phenomenon turned out to be the white balance, characterised by an excessive amount of blue and red in both HD and 4K HDR materials.

An additional problem was the way brightness was rendered. The gamma, which is responsible for the visibility of details in darker materials, was definitely boosted, causing details in the darkest parts of the screen to be invisible, disappearing into complete blackness (e.g., the lower part of the screen in the comparison photo - around the actress's ear). Similarly, the situation was reflected in the EOTF curve, which was below the correct value, suggesting that we might encounter a similar problem in 4K HDR content.

Thanks to our experience and the right tools, we decided to take matters into our own hands and see how much we could extract from this model after professional calibration. We describe the details in the next section.

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 calibrating the TCL C75B, it has clearly improved in terms of colour reproduction. Although the television does not offer many options for adjusting the white balance, we managed to enhance its settings quite significantly. As a result, the image is no longer excessively pink, and the colours now look much more natural and harmonious.

The gamma jump, which was previously an issue, has not completely disappeared, but we have managed to reduce it considerably. This has made details in dark scenes more visible – both in HD and 4K HDR materials.

Unfortunately, the lack of local dimming is still noticeable. The "blooming black" effect remains, but that is a limitation of the display itself. Nevertheless, the colours after calibration look far better, and the image is much more enjoyable to watch.

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.

TCL C75B has a tone transition smoothing function, but unfortunately, we cannot commend it. Regardless of the selected level – low or high – tone transitions in older materials remained visible, as if the function wasn't working at all. It's hard to say anything positive about it, as in practice it seems completely useless.

The image scaling is better. The television performs quite decently, although on thinner elements, like branches in the background, you can notice slight jaggedness. However, this is not something that significantly interferes with daily viewing.

Unfortunately, a bigger problem turned out to be overscan, which is cutting off the edges of the image. In our tests, there were instances where news tickers or other elements near the edge of the screen were cut off. This is definitely something to pay attention to, especially if we use the television for watching news programmes or content with text on the screen.

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 TCL C75B definitely has something to offer gamers. The television is equipped with a panel that can display images with a refresh rate of 144 Hz in 4K, and even 240 Hz in Full HD. These are really impressive results, especially for a model from the entry-level range.

In addition, there are features for improving fluidity and reducing motion blur in films. The "Motion" option allows precise adjustment of the effect on a 10-point scale, which offers great personalisation possibilities - everyone can set the fluidity as they like.

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.

The TCL C75B is undoubtedly a television designed with gamers in mind. It offers nearly everything that even the most demanding console users could need. With the implementation of fully capable HDMI 2.1, the television supports features like ALLM (Automatic Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) – operating within the full potential of the television, up to 240 Hz in Full HD resolution.

Additionally, the television supports advanced HDR technologies, including Dolby Vision and HGiG, allowing for even better detail reproduction in HDR-optimised games. The C75B is also equipped with a very convenient interface for gamers in the form of Game Bar, where all key parameters such as refresh rate, input lag, and image settings can be checked – all within a single click.

In a nutshell: the C75B is a great choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that allow users to fully enjoy the capabilities of modern consoles and games.