Samsung The Frame Pro vs IFFALCON U85X

Samsung The Frame Pro is one of the relatively bright televisions. In synthetic tests, we managed to achieve values around 900 nits, which is quite a respectable result for a lifestyle model. In full-screen scenes, such as the board from the film The Meg or the initial sequence in Life of Pi, brightness maintained a level of 700–800 nits. These values allow you to fully enjoy the HDR effects and convey their cinematic magic. However, the situation becomes complicated when smaller, point light sources appear on the screen. The edge lighting used here, equipped with the ability to locally dim entire strips, does not manage these well. Sometimes, small elements are overly dimmed, which weakens the effect, or conversely – they are significantly brightened, but at the cost of losing the depth of black in that part of the image. This can be compared to light beams reminiscent of a laser beam spreading in dense fog – the effect is noticeable and bright, yet at the same time, it is quite unnatural and distracting. Fortunately, the colour aspect performs better. Thanks to the use of a quantum dot filter (QLED), colours are saturated, and the reproduction of the DCI-P3 palette exceeds 92%. Generally, films or series watched in HDR on The Frame Pro showcase a rich colour palette, even if contrast and the functioning of the dimming algorithms can sometimes distract us.

iFFALCON U85 handles HDR in a rather twofold manner – on one hand, it can surprise with solid peak brightness of around 650 nits, which places it well above average in this price segment. This is especially evident in bright, full-screen scenes. Examples from films such as Life of Pi or the final test sequences from The Meg prove that the television can maintain the power and essence of HDR effect when the entire panel needs to "ignite," delivering truly satisfying experiences. However, problems arise in high-contrast scenes, where smaller, bright details appear on the screen; the dimming algorithms prioritize black depth to such an extent that they can stifle the brightness of small light points to just 100 nits, which drastically reduces image dynamics and deprives us of the true "bite" we expect from HDR standards. On a brighter note, however, the colours remain impressive, as the use of the PFS phosphor filter (marketed as QLED by the manufacturer) showcases them very well, achieving nearly 94% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, allowing for a vibrant and rich image in most content.

We achieved the best results, of course, in Filmmaker mode, which immediately showed that Samsung had put effort into the factory settings. In SDR content – the type most commonly viewed – The Frame Pro performed really well. The white balance and gamma were almost perfectly matched, giving the image a natural and cohesive appearance. Admittedly, there were some noticeable errors, particularly in skin tones and reds, which could be overly saturated, giving everything a slightly "warmed-up" character, but this didn’t significantly detract from the viewing experience in everyday use. For HDR content, the situation was similar regarding the white balance. This was at a good level; however, the biggest issue turned out to be brightness management. The EOTF curve was set in such a way that in many scenes, the image appeared blown out, with the brightest areas losing detail and turning into uniform patches of light. This severely undermined realism and caused the colours to appear overly sharpened. Fortunately, Samsung provides the option for manual adjustment of the curve in their televisions, so we opted for calibration, and its results can be seen below.

We tested the factory colours on the iFFALCON U85X model in 'Film' mode, which is definitely the most reliable among all available settings, although it is still far from perfect. The main issue that stands out in both SDR and HDR content is the incorrect white balance – an excess of blue and red components gives the image a slight purple tint, which disrupts the naturalness of the film scenes. An even greater challenge is the way the television manages its brightness. Analyzing the gamma chart for the SDR signal, we noticed significant instability: instead of adhering to the standard value of 2.4, the device oscillates around 2.2, only to suddenly make an unnatural jump towards 3.0. In practice, this leads to confusing effects – large, bright areas on the screen appear too dark, while smaller elements are unnecessarily brightened. A similar characteristic can be found in the EOTF curve, which makes the image unpredictable and loses its cinematic authenticity.

After calibration, the SDR mode looks absolutely perfect. We managed to eliminate the overly strong red saturation, which previously gave the image a somewhat excessively warm character. Colours have become more balanced, which resulted in a natural and pleasant reception of everyday content – from television to films and series from streaming or materials on YouTube. In HDR mode, the most work was required on the EOTF curve, which factory settings caused excessive brightening of the entire image. Calibration allowed us to largely "tame" this problem – the image stopped being overexposed, and details in bright areas became more visible. Of course, the limitations are set by the design of the television itself, as edge lighting reveals its constraints, and the smallest elements of light can still be overblown or blend into the background. However, this is a matter of technology, not just calibration. After the correction, The Frame Pro is significantly more enjoyable to watch, and it is certainly worth considering if you want to maximise the television's capabilities.

After professional calibration of the movie mode, we must admit that the result is more than satisfactory – the iFFALCON U85X undergoes a true transformation. Colour errors in SDR content have dropped to a level below 2, which makes them virtually imperceptible to the human eye. We have managed to set the white balance almost perfectly, and brightness management (gamma) has become nearly exemplary. As a result, with standard quality materials, the television simply looks perfect and it is difficult to fault it.

In the case of HDR signal, the situation has also significantly improved, although here the nature of the device becomes a bit more evident. Colour errors have been reduced to around 3, which is an outstanding result in this price range. However, it is worth taking a look at the EOTF graph (available on the right side of the screen in the filters: 4K HDR, gamma / EOTF) to notice what is not immediately visible regarding the brightness management by the U85. Although the reference line looks decent, in real film scenes, the television still interprets the signal “in its own way” due to very aggressive local dimming algorithms. Does this disqualify this model for watching HDR content? Absolutely not. It's simply a typical affliction of almost every Mini-LED, which must reconcile high brightness with the attempt to maintain deep blacks. One simply needs to be aware of these technical limitations, which are unavoidable in this segment.

Although the fluidity of tonal transitions in 4K HDR materials on The Frame Pro is not a problem at all, naturally, with a weaker signal - television, HD materials, or older Full HD films - imperfections may arise. Therefore, it is crucial how the television copes with these limitations thanks to its image processor. The noise reduction function works really effectively here. At the medium setting, it eliminates unwanted bands or artefacts, smoothing the image in a noticeable yet not excessive way. However, it's worth noting that Samsung tends to be aggressive in its approach - even at the lowest level of this function, it can "consume" film grain. So it's advisable to use it judiciously and adjust the settings to the material being viewed.

The upscaling itself is at a high level. The Frame Pro can effectively enhance older materials to a native 4K resolution while maintaining good sharpness and readability. Films and series in lower quality simply look better here. However, it should be mentioned that there is a minor drawback - typical for many Samsung televisions. With very old sources of poor quality, you may notice clipping of the image edges on the left side of the screen. It's not a problem that will ruin the viewing experience, but it's worth knowing that it might occur.

When it comes to upscaling the image to 4K resolution, the iFFALCON U85X performs well. The device efficiently enhances low-quality signals, making even older materials look clean and clear on the 4K panel. At extremely low resolutions, such as 480p, one can notice slightly jagged edges (especially on fine lines), but let's be honest – this is a scenario that you will encounter only when watching very old recordings, so in everyday use, it is not a real problem.

Much worse is the digital processing aimed at smoothing tonal transitions. Although in the menu we find the “Gradual Smoothing” function, its effectiveness is at least questionable. In practice, it does not effectively eliminate banding (colour banding), and worse, it can cause more harm than good. This filter can be too aggressive in areas where it shouldn’t, artificially smoothing details that should not be altered, such as the natural texture of the face or fine details of skin texture. Instead of improving quality, this function can give the image an unnatural, “plastic” appearance, so it is best to use it with great caution or, preferably, leave it switched off.

The smoothness of motion in The Frame Pro is not only due to the matrix, which operates with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, but also the image processor and the smoothing system. It is thanks to this that we can adjust the way films or sports broadcasts are displayed to our own preferences. There are sliders for reducing blurring and reducing judder – the first function improves the sharpness of fast movements, while the second helps to soften the effect of a "jumping" image during camera pans. So, everyone can choose between a cinematic motion character and a smoother, more "television" style.

In contrast to budget constructions, which in dynamic sports scenes can resemble a slideshow, the iFFALCON U85X is a heavyweight contender equipped with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 144Hz. However, it is worth noting that in the world of films, series, or sports, we will primarily operate at 120Hz due to the specifics of how image enhancement systems function. Such a fast panel is excellent news for gamers and sports fans as it opens the door to advanced motion settings that simply do not exist in cheaper 60Hz models.

We manage everything from the menu “Motion Clarity”, where instead of using pre-set, often overly aggressive modes, we definitely recommend our own configuration based on two sliders. The most important of these, motion blur reduction, is responsible for fluidity in films – here, it’s best to aim for a value of around 4, which will maintain a natural, cinematic character of motion without falling into the artificial “soap opera effect.” Meanwhile, the first slider, motion blur reduction, is the key to success in sports broadcasts. In this case, it’s worth going all out and setting it to maximum, ensuring that the image during fast actions on the field remains sharp, while troublesome trailing is eliminated.

Samsung The Frame Pro does not pretend to be just a “living room” television; here, gamers will also find something for themselves. The manufacturer has ensured a full range of gaming features: we have support for variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic low latency mode (ALLM), refresh rates up to 144 Hz, and compatibility with both G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro. Additionally, there is the well-known Game Bar panel, which is a quick menu where key parameters can be checked on the fly—from refresh rates to enabled image processing modes. Are there any downsides? Indeed, The Frame Pro does not support Dolby Vision in game mode, but this is hard to consider a serious issue—most gamers use HDR10 anyway... which means HGIG mode. Exactly. The biggest surprise turned out to be the latest software update. Samsung… completely removed this option from The Frame PRO. In practice, this means that the television independently interprets HDR tone mapping in games, and the user has no way to enable settings developed for consoles. This is a step backwards that may disappoint more knowledgeable gamers hoping for full compliance with HGiG guidelines. We can only hope that this issue will be resolved quickly.

An interesting feature of The Frame Pro is also the unusual arrangement of HDMI 2.1 ports. There are as many as five available—four are located in the One Connect box, and the fifth, in micro HDMI version, is directly on the television. This is quite an unusual solution, but rather practical. Samsung clearly suggests that this is the port to which you should connect your console or computer. Why? Because it minimises potential delays associated with communication through the wireless One Connect, and in the case of gaming, every millisecond matters. We have written separately about input lag, but it can already be revealed here that by connecting equipment directly to the television, we achieve the absolute maximum in response speed.

iFFALCON U85X is an outstanding piece of equipment for gamers that has just about everything one can expect from a modern screen for consoles or PCs. We find here two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which opens the door to key technologies such as VRR and ALLM, ensuring smooth gameplay without tearing the image and with minimal latency. The television handles high refresh rates in various resolutions without any problems, and a real curiosity is the mode that allows for achieving up to 240Hz when dropping down to Full HD quality. The whole thing is managed by the Game Bar (which is a faithful copy from TCL), allowing for instant switching of picture modes, customising the interface appearance, or even adding a virtual crosshair in the middle of the screen.