Sony A95L vs Samsung QN900F

Sony A95L offers an incredible HDR effect, achieving an impressive brightness level of 1500 nits in scenes such as those from Life of Pi or Sicario 2. These results are truly remarkable – the bright elements in these films practically come to life on the screen, providing the viewer with immersive visual experiences. The only thing that can be noticed is minor issues with maintaining brightness in a scene from The Meg, where the entire scene is flooded with light. However, this is a natural effect associated with OLED technology. The wide coverage of the BT.2020 colour palette at 89% also deserves high praise, placing A95L Sony among the top televisions in terms of colour reproduction. All this is made possible by the QD-OLED panel from Samsung Displays.

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.

The best factory mode for colour reproduction in the Sony A95L is IMAX Enhanced. This mode appears to be well calibrated at first glance, but upon closer examination, several areas requiring improvement can be identified. Firstly, the white balance for both SDR content and 4K HDR is affected by an excess of blue and red, leading to a subtle pinkish hue, particularly noticeable on neutral tones. As a result, skin tones are distorted, impacting the realism of the displayed image. This is clearly visible in the comparison image below. Additionally, the Colour Checker test confirms the presence of these errors – colour samples often deviate from their reference values, indicating some inconsistencies in the factory colour reproduction of the A95L Sony. Maximum deltaE error values reach up to 5.8, which is a clear indicator that colours are not always reproduced as precisely as they should be.

Regarding brightness characteristics, gamma for HD/SDR content is generally quite accurate, maintaining an appropriate balance between brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, a significant jump is visible at the end of the graph, leading to a strong brightening of the image when the screen is entirely flooded with white. This can make scenes with a very bright background, such as snowy landscapes or bright daylight, appear too harsh and lose detail. For HDR content, the EOTF curve, which controls luminance, is slightly boosted compared to reference values. This, in turn, causes the image to appear somewhat brighter than it should, which can affect the viewing of more subtle details in the darker parts of the frame.

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.

Sony A95L offers excellent tools for professional screen calibration, which allows users to unlock the maximum potential of the IMAX Enhanced mode. We utilised these tools to achieve a picture quality that will satisfy even the most demanding viewers. After calibration, the white balance for both 4K HDR and SDR content looks simply superb – almost perfect. The Colour Checker test confirmed that deltaE errors do not exceed the value of "2", which means that colour reproduction is incredibly accurate, and any deviations are practically unnoticeable to the human eye.

Calibration also brought significant improvements in terms of brightness – gamma is now perfectly balanced, eliminating the previous issue of excessive lightening in scenes with very bright backgrounds. As a result, even the most vibrant moments, such as snowy landscapes or intense daytime scenes, appear natural, without any risk of overexposure. The EOTF curve, responsible for controlling luminance in HDR content, has also been improved – it now reaches reference levels, both in synthetic tests and during practical movie watching.

As a result of the calibration, A95L Sony offers outstanding experiences, whether you are watching content from regular television or your favourite films. Every detail is reproduced exactly as the creators intended – without unnecessary brightening, with perfectly rendered colours and appropriate depth. This demonstrates that this television, after professional tuning, is capable of competing with the best screens on the market, delivering a picture that truly delights.

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.

The tonal transition smoothing feature in Sony A95L works really well and is worth noting. We recommend setting it to "Medium" because at this level, you achieve the perfect compromise – no artifacts appear, and the image looks incredibly natural and pleasing to the eye. As a result, the transitions between different shades are smooth while maintaining the detail of the scenes, which further enhances the viewing comfort.

When it comes to upscaling, you can see the full power of the XR processor here. Sony A95L handled our test material featuring a model exceptionally well – the image is remarkably clear, there are no excessive jagged edges, and details in the background are perfectly preserved. The XR processor effectively improves low resolution, delivering very good results that allow you to enjoy materials in almost high quality, even if their source is not ideal.

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.

Sony A95L is a television that should satisfy both gamers and cinema lovers. When it comes to watching films, this model is equipped with the Motionflow feature, which allows you to precisely adjust whether you want the image to be more "cinematic," like in traditional cinema, or exceptionally smooth, like in cinema-style TVs. The "Smoothness" slider lets you regulate the level of fluidity – from subtle changes to a more noticeable effect, while the "Clarity" slider is responsible for reducing flicker and artifacts, helping to achieve a more natural and clear motion. As for gaming and watching sports, the A95L Sony television offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, making every dynamic action look incredibly smooth. Gamers will appreciate the lack of blur, while sports fans will see every movement in full clarity. Overall, the television performs excellently – both with fast-paced games and emotionally charged film sequences.

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.

Sony A95L is a television that will truly satisfy gamers, thanks to several key features that set it apart from the competition. To start with, the 120 Hz refresh rate – this is something everyone who loves fast action games, racing, or dynamic shooters will appreciate. As a result, the image is exceptionally smooth, and the gameplay is more satisfying, without annoying stuttering. The A95L Sony also has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically engages low latency mode when we turn on the console. What does this mean? Above all, faster response on the screen, which in games where every second matters is simply invaluable. Additionally, there’s VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which adjusts the image refresh rate to the number of frames generated by the console. The effect? No tearing of the image, and everything looks smooth and cohesive – even with variable FPS.

It is worth mentioning the support for Dolby Vision with low input lag in games – something we don’t often encounter in televisions, and here we have it onboard. Thanks to this, the image in games that support HDR is incredibly vibrant, with rich colours and excellent contrast. Both the brightest and darkest details are visible, making everything look as the game creators intended. And then there's the "Game Bar" – a small but very practical feature. With it, we have all the most important gaming-related settings at our fingertips, such as VRR or latency information. There’s no need to interrupt gameplay to adjust parameters – everything is right at hand.

However, it should be remembered that the A95L offers only two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is designated for eARC. This may pose a limitation if we plan to connect multiple devices – for instance, a next-gen console and a soundbar simultaneously. In such a case, the eARC occupying one of those ports can be somewhat problematic, blocking the possibility of connecting a second console.

[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.