Sony X75WL vs Samsung The Frame LS03D

The luminosity chart for the X75WL Sony television showed a maximum value of 350 nits, which is unfortunately not an impressive result. The television does not surprise with its brightness, and all the HDR scenes we tested lacked depth and the appropriate light effect that should accompany HDR content. Additionally, the poor coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut makes it difficult for the television to reproduce rich colours, which significantly affects the overall viewing experience of HDR content. The lack of adequate brightness and weak colour coverage mean that HDR effects are very limited in this model.

Samsung The Frame LS03D performs really well with brightness. Results of 700 nits make bright elements on the screen look striking and detailed, whether they illuminate the entire screen or appear as small points of light against a dark background. In more demanding scenes, like the fourth sequence from the film Sicario 2, the black levels are average, but we have already discussed this in the section on contrast. As for brightness – the television definitely excels here. An additional advantage is the quantum dot coating, which is QLED technology. Thanks to this, the colour palette coverage has been improved, although The Frame does not stand out in this regard compared to the competition.

Colour reproduction tests for the model Sony X75WL are carried out in movie mode, which offers the best image settings, but it also has its flaws. The biggest problem with the X75WL Sony is the white balance – for both HD and 4K HDR content – which is characterised by a dominance of blue. As a result, the entire image feels too cold. The colour checker confirms these errors, showing that the colours lean towards cooler tones. In terms of brightness characteristics, the contrast gamma is at a fairly decent level, however, the same cannot be said for the EOTF curve. There are significant issues with maintaining appropriate brightness – the image is either overly bright or too dim, which impacts the visual perception of content.

Samsung offers several picture modes on its televisions, but undoubtedly the Filmmaker Mode is the one that should provide the most natural representation of content. Unfortunately, as is often the case with mass production, the differences between units can be considerable, and our tested model was not free from a few issues.

In the case of SDR content, the white balance leaned heavily towards red, with a slight boost in blue. This effect was particularly noticeable in comparison images – for example, in a photograph of a boy whose face was unnaturally flushed. The gamma, or brightness characteristic, also did not perform perfectly – the image was slightly brightened, which detracted from its depth.

In 4K HDR content, the white balance was again dominated by red, this time in combination with green. Meanwhile, blue clearly lost intensity, which was easy to notice on the Color Checker palette, where colours began to "drift" in the wrong direction. The EOTF curve, responsible for brightness in HDR content, showed that the television has a tendency to excessively brighten the image, especially in the darkest elements of scenes.

Overall, while it did not look terrible, it definitely required adjustment. Fortunately, Samsung offers extensive calibration options, which provides the chance for a significant improvement in image quality. Therefore, we proceeded with professional calibration to extract the full potential from this television.

X75WL Sony is one of those cases where image calibration may not be highly spectacular, but it offers a very good improvement in the perception of colours. The white balance, for both HD and 4K materials, has been significantly improved – there is no longer a strong dominance of cooler shades. The gamma curve also appears more stable, which translates into better image quality. However, the biggest issue remains the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness in 4K materials. Due to the technological limitations of the television (IPS panel and lack of local dimming technology), it is hard to speak of a significant improvement, as we cannot extract more from this model. Despite these limitations, the tonal quality of the image has been significantly enhanced.

After professional calibration, the Filmmaker Mode shows its full potential. The white balance in HD content is exemplary – errors at the level of 0.5 indicate almost perfect colour reproduction accuracy. The image now looks natural, and the colours are precisely as they should be. In 4K HDR content, the effect is not quite as perfect, but it still maintains a really high level. The colours are vibrant, well-saturated, and the overall picture quality can be impressive.

So where does the problem arise, given our praise for colour reproduction? Unfortunately, the entire experience is marred by brightness characteristics. The gamma in HD content looks decent, but in 4K HDR it's not as good. The EOTF curve shows that the television excessively brightens certain parts of the image, which is a result of construction limitations. The lack of local dimming means that the television cannot accurately control the differences between the brightest and darkest areas of the screen. This is a barrier that simply cannot be overcome in this model.

Nonetheless, after calibration, Samsung The Frame LS03D offers excellent colour reproduction, particularly in HD content, and the overall appearance is considerably better than before the settings were corrected.

In the case of low-quality tonal transitions, the television Sony X75WL performs poorly. The lack of any feature to improve tonal transitions results in noticeable imperfections in colour gradation. However, one can credit the quite good digital processing – the image is displayed without overscan, and overall it looks relatively good thanks to the added slight sharpness, which some users may appreciate.

It’s time to check how Samsung The Frame LS03D performs with older, lower-quality materials. We already know that the fluidity of tonal transitions is at a very high level here, so we were curious to see how the television would handle smoothing them out.

The noise reduction feature in the "Standard" setting does its job well – tonal transitions are noticeably smoothed out, and at the same time, the image does not lose too much detail. However, it is worth noting that this effect also smooths out film grain, so its use will be a matter of individual preference.

When it comes to image scaling, the television also performed really well. The test chart turned out solid – the model was reproduced correctly, with clear details. The branches in the background, though slightly frayed in places, generally appear natural and do not stand out as imperfections.

The X75WL Sony television is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, making it more suitable for watching films than for dynamic gaming. This model features a motion smoothing function called Motionflow, which allows the user to adjust the picture on a 10-point scale. Smoothness is responsible for adding intermediate frames, thereby increasing the fluidity of motion, while the image becomes more theatrical, minimising the cutting effect. Clarity reduces motion blur, which is particularly useful in fast scenes such as sports or dynamic actions in films. With this feature, users can adjust the fluidity and sharpness of motion to their own preferences.

Firstly, it is worth noting that the model we tested in the size of 55 inches, like the 65, 75 and 85-inch versions, is equipped with a 120 Hz panel. Unfortunately, the 43 and 50-inch variants of this series only offer 60 Hz panels, which is worth keeping in mind when making a purchase. As for improving motion fluidity, the television offers a feature called “Picture Clarity”. This is a classic motion smoother that gives users the ability to adjust it using two sliders:

Motion blur reduction – this controls the sharpening of the image in dynamic scenes. The higher the value, the less blur during quick camera movements or moving objects. However, overly aggressive settings may cause the image to become unnatural, appearing like a “soap opera”.

Judder reduction – this slider influences the smoothness of frame playback, particularly in materials with a lower frame rate, such as films (24 fps). Higher settings can smooth motion but may also lead to excessive “plasticity” of the image.

Both sliders operate on a scale from 0 to 10, allowing for precise adjustment of the effect to one’s own preferences. It is worth experimenting with the settings to find the perfect balance between fluidity and a natural appearance of the image. We recommend setting them as shown in the picture.

X75WL is not the best television for gamers. It only has the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature and a basic Game Bar, which are not enough to satisfy more demanding users. In this price range, one could expect support for features like VRR or 120 Hz refresh rates - although in FULLHD, which are already standard - unfortunately, they are lacking here. This is a major downside for Sony, as the competition offers much more for gamers in a similar budget.

The Frame LS03D in the 2024 version has been equipped with four HDMI ports, but only one of them supports the 2.1 standard with a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s. This is important information if we plan to connect more than one device that requires a 4K@120 Hz signal – for example, two consoles or a console and a gaming PC.

In terms of features for gamers, The Frame truly has a lot to boast about. Here we find ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and HGiG. It is worth highlighting that HGiG has been very well implemented here, which is particularly important as the television does not support Dolby Vision in games (which is only available on Xbox consoles). In this case, HGiG turns out to be a better standard for gaming.

Samsung has also not forgotten about features that enhance gaming comfort. Game Bar is an advanced panel for gamers that allows for quick adjustment of screen settings without the need to dig through the television's menu. We can even change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to a panoramic 21:9, which may be a significant advantage for some gamers.

However, Samsung's biggest ace up its sleeve is the Game Motion Plus feature. This is a special smoothness enhancer dedicated to games that adds additional frames of animation without significantly affecting input lag. The effect is truly noticeable – the image appears much smoother, which fans of dynamic titles will particularly appreciate.

In summary – Samsung The Frame LS03D is a television that offers a solid set of features for gamers. While the limitation to one HDMI 2.1 port may be a downside, the rest of the solutions makes gaming on this television a truly enjoyable experience.