Sony Bravia 8 MK2 vs SAMSUNG OLED S95F (QD-OLED)

Thanks to its new QD-OLED panel, the Sony Bravia 8 II can achieve an astronomically high brightness of around 2000 nits, which translates into almost reference-quality performance in films and series mastered in HDR. In test material such as Life of Pi or Sicario 2 the effect is genuinely impressive: details in bright areas remain perfectly visible and night scenes charm with depth and contrast. It is not, however, perfect. Compared with its toughest rivals, the Bravia 8 II shows a noticeable drop in brightness on full-screen, very bright frames. If you compare peak point luminance with 100% white in HDR mode, the Bravia 8 II can appear two or three times darker than models such as the LG G5 or Samsung S95F. In a scene from The Meg this was particularly obvious, with the screen becoming noticeably dimmer than competing TVs. Despite this shortcoming, the Bravia 8 II still ranks among the market leaders. Its absolutely top-tier colour gamut coverage is praiseworthy: DCI‑P3 at almost 100% and BT.2020 close to 90%. These are the specifications that allow HDR content to be fully realised and deliver cinema-like experiences at home.

The new generation of QD-OLED matrices in the Samsung S95F shows its full potential, with brightness results that are truly stunning. In test film scenes like "Life of Pi" or "Sicario 2," where smaller light elements appear – stars, the moon, or headlights – the television managed to achieve over 2000 nits of brightness. This is a result that surpasses even most top-of-the-range Mini-LED models.

The secret lies in the technology itself – instead of a limited number of dimming zones like in Mini-LED televisions, here we have millions of emitting pixels, allowing the television to fully showcase its power without technological compromises. Of course, as this is still an organic panel, in full-screen scenes flooded with white – like in the final sequence of the film The Meg – the brightness drops to around 1400 nits. Nevertheless, the result remains excellent and clearly exceeds what any OLEDs, both QD-OLED and WOLED, have offered so far. The colour reproduction is also particularly noteworthy. Thanks to QD-OLED technology, the television achieves nearly 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space and about 80% in BT.2020. These values make HDR images not only dazzling in brightness but also captivating in the richness of colours.

Straight out of the box the Bravia 8 II performs really well. In its best IMAX® Enhanced mode the TV can reproduce colours in a pleasant, natural way, although "good" here does not mean "best in class". The white balance definitely needs adjustment, as skin tones tend to shift slightly towards pinkish/cool hues in both SDR and HDR content. We also noticed that the EOTF curve tends to brighten the darkest parts of the image. This is likely the manufacturer's attempt to reveal as much detail as possible even in deep shadows. Is that a good approach? It's hard to say definitively, but one thing is clear: it is not an ideal solution.

The best picture mode straight out of the box is undoubtedly Filmmaker Mode – a mode that Samsung has been using for several years, designed to faithfully convey the creators' intent. In SDR content, its implementation is not bad, although some imperfections can be observed. The image is slightly dimmed, and the screen has a subtle pinkish tint due to the dominance of red and blue in the white balance. Colour errors were maintained at a level of 3–4 ΔE units – and for those who are not familiar: a value above 3 is the threshold at which the average human eye starts to notice differences.

However, much greater problems arise in HDR content. Here, the white balance was not such a significant issue – a slight excess of blue did not significantly hinder the viewing experience. The problem became managing brightness. In practice, the television "blasted" the image too much, causing details in the blacks to completely disappear. The final effect was far from expected, and colour errors in this mode became quite pronounced. It's hard to say why such a design decision was made, but it was evident that the factory HDR settings did not allow this television to showcase its full capabilities.

After calibration we mainly managed to eliminate the excessive cooling of the image caused by an overly strong boost to the blue channel. Reds became deeper and skin tones acquired a natural, healthy look. Actors who previously seemed 'cold' now appear much more lively and convincing on screen. One thing has not changed, however: analysis of the EOTF curve still shows that the Bravia 8 II tends to brighten the darkest parts of the image. It is hard to say whether this is an intentional move by the manufacturer or a result of the panel design and software. In practice this means scenes that creators intended to remain in deep shadow can reveal more detail than intended. Despite that, image quality after calibration is clearly better, and the warm, natural colours and realistic skin tones simply make watching on the Bravia 8 II more pleasing to the eye.

After calibration, it was possible to make subtle adjustments to the white balance and significantly improve the image characteristics. In SDR content, the quality has become practically reference-level – most colour errors have fallen below a ΔE value of 1, which is the level at which the human eye can no longer discern differences. This is a result that places the S95F among the very best televisions available on the market.

In HDR materials, the calibration also brought about a significant improvement. The television's tendency to blow out highlights has been brought under control, as confirmed by the analysis of the EOTF curve. A slight tendency to brighten the entire scene or occasional loss of detail in blacks can still be observed, but this does not significantly affect the overall perception. After calibration, the S95F reveals its full potential and can be described as one of the best televisions on the market!

Upscaling and digital image processing are a real showcase of the Bravia 8 II's capabilities. Sony has long been regarded as a master in this field, and this only confirms that reputation. Sony's proprietary XR processor can pull almost all the detail out of lower-resolution sources, whether it's television or an old DVD movie the picture looks sharper, with more detail and greater depth. Of course, if you feed it exceptionally poor-quality material (such as our archival photo of the Model), it won't work miracles, but for everyday viewing there's little to complain about.

The gentle gradation function also performs excellently. On the 'Medium' setting it effectively smooths tonal transitions, eliminating banding in colour and grey gradients while not destroying film grain or fine image details. It is precisely this balance between subtlety and effectiveness that keeps Sony's TVs among the best on the market in this category.

The Samsung S95F offers a noise reduction feature that is responsible for smoothing tonal transitions. It works very effectively, but in practice, it can be overly aggressive. Materials of lower quality – e.g., older recordings or videos from YouTube – become soft and plastic when this feature is activated, resembling an image digitally smoothed in a graphic program. Unfortunately, the natural film grain, which often adds authenticity to the image, disappears in the process. Fortunately, the television does not lose too many fine details, such as in skin textures or elements of the surroundings. Therefore, this feature is best used with discretion – depending on preferences, one can achieve a smooth image that is less natural, or one that is truer to the original. In our opinion, the most universal choice is the “Standard” setting.

The image scaling performs significantly better. The television handles materials of lower resolution well – even content at 576p looks quite decent, although a slight blockiness can be noticed. Overall, the effect is very good, although it somewhat falls short of what Sony Bravia 8 (II) or LG G5 can achieve. It is also worth mentioning a minor imperfection of the S95F – in older materials, overscan may occur, causing a slight trimming of the left edge of the image.

Motion smoothness is, in the case of the Bravia 8 II, practically a closed matter. A 120 Hz OLED naturally delivers a very clean, sharp picture in fast-moving scenes, so there's little to complain about. Particular praise, however, is due to its motion-smoothing systems, which are among the best on the market. They let you precisely tailor the motion of films to your own preferences, ranging from subtle smoothing to an almost "theatrical" effect, without the risk of artificial judder, image tearing or annoying artefacts. It's one of those features you'll appreciate both during film screenings and when watching sport.

The Samsung S95F shows phenomenal performance in terms of motion fluidity. The panel operates at a native resolution of 4K with a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz, and combined with QD-OLED organic technology, it delivers incredible results. Sports and games look stunning – the image is fast, dynamic, and very natural. Additionally, the built-in motion smoother and motion blur reduction system allow you to tailor the character of the picture to your own preferences. You can opt for a more "frame-like" effect with visible film structure or a smooth, theatrical spectacle. Every viewer will find a setting that suits them.

The advantages of low motion blur and excellent motion fluidity characteristic of OLED panels are just the beginning, as the Samsung S95F has been designed with gamers in mind. The manufacturer has equipped it with four HDMI 2.1 ports – although limited to a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s, in practice this has no impact on compatibility with consoles or PCs. We get a full suite of gaming features: variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic game mode (ALLM), as well as a very well-implemented HGiG standard, which ensures that HDR titles look exactly as their creators intended. Completing the package is the Game Bar – a clear settings hub where we can preview and change all key image parameters with one motion. The proprietary motion smoother, Game Motion Plus, also deserves commendation, as it can smooth out animations, which is particularly useful in productions running at 60 frames, where stability is not always exemplary. While support for Dolby Vision in games is lacking, it’s hard to view this as a serious drawback – Samsung compensates with other solutions. This is one of the best, if not the best, gaming televisions available on the market today.