Sony X85L vs Samsung Q6F (IPS)

The Sony X85L television offers solid HDR performance with a brightness level of 750 nits, which is sufficient to enjoy vivid effects. In scenes of moderate difficulty, such as the first, third, or fifth test scenes, a brightness of around 600 nits allows one to fully experience the HDR effect. Unfortunately, in more demanding segments, like the scene from the film Sicario 2, the television reveals its limitations. Drops in brightness to 250 nits cause the HDR effect to lose its impressive quality, resembling rather ordinary SDR. Nevertheless, it is worth highlighting the very good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette at 95%, which definitely deserves praise and positively impacts the overall image quality.

The Samsung Q6F is, unfortunately, a very dark model. Its peak brightness in HDR does not exceed 250 nits, which is a value that is decidedly too low to even talk about any effect of “high dynamic range,” or HDR. In practice, it’s better to stick to content in SDR format, which simply looks more predictable on this television. Another problem is the global dimming technique – in scenes with a lot of black, the television drastically dims the entire panel to artificially improve the black levels. This causes the image to become even darker, and the brightness can drop below 100 nits. The only consolation is supposed to be the QLED technology, but even here it is average. The layer of quantum dots used is not of the highest quality, as the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette does not exceed 90%. As a result, the colours in HDR content may simply appear under-saturated.

The television Sony X85L was tested in IMAX Enhanced mode, which, although associated with world-class cinema, does not guarantee an image that aligns with the director's intention. The main problem is the white balance – there is a noticeable strong dominance of blue colour and significant shortcomings in red. As a result, the picture becomes unnaturally cool and looks artificial. Errors in colour reproduction were confirmed by the Colour Checker test, which showed considerable discrepancies – the colours were "scattered" like shots from a rifle, and only a few samples hit the target values. This clearly demonstrates that the accuracy of colour reproduction leaves much to be desired.

The brightness of the image is one of the positive features of the television. The gamma for HD content is at an acceptable level, although there are minor errors, but generally it is quite good. However, the characteristic of brightness for 4K materials remains a problem, controlled by the EOTF curve. It is evident here that very small, bright elements of the image are too dim, which is the result of the limited number of backlighting zones due to the design of the television.

We tested the television in Filmmaker mode, which showed us two completely different facets of this model. Looking at SDR content, we were genuinely shocked at how good this television looks straight out of the box. It was really difficult to find fault with anything here. Despite a slight 'muddiness' in the white balance or somewhat brightened details in the blacks (which directly stem from the design of the IPS panel), the colour errors hovered around a level of '2'. This result is not only surprisingly good but downright amazing, considering the price of this device.

On the other hand, what the Q6F displayed in terms of colours after switching to HDR mode was a very unpleasant surprise. The errors in colour reproduction and palette were so enormous that our charts literally ran out of scale. Of course, since Samsung even in such an affordable model offers very extensive calibration options, we decided to approach the issue professionally and see what could be done during calibration.

Thanks to the application of calibration tools offered by Sony X85L, the image quality has been significantly improved. After calibration, the white balance for HD content is much more stable, making colours appear more natural and enhancing the authenticity of the image. Although it is not perfect, these changes allow viewers to enjoy a more realistic colour reproduction, eliminating the previous cool tone. The gamma, which was already decent, has been adjusted to an even better version. As a result, tonal transitions and brightness are more consistent, positively affecting the depth and detail of the image.

As for 4K content, despite efforts, the white balance still struggles with a lack of red, which can lead to overly warm colours in some scenes. Synthetic tests showed that the EOTF curve in HDR is quite stable, with a slight enhancement in mid-bright scenes. However, in actual film material, the television can still be too bright with fine, light details, which is a result of the limitations of large local dimming technology.

Nevertheless, calibration has brought significant benefits, particularly in terms of colour accuracy, improving the overall image quality and providing a more natural and cohesive directorial vision.

After our calibration, the colours in SDR mode looked even better – the result is truly surprising, as colour errors at the '1' level are something generally seen in devices costing several thousand pounds. In this regard, the Q6F is really an excellent screen for everyday television, less demanding series or films. Unfortunately, our intervention in the HDR mode did not bring a noticeable improvement. The television, due to its poor blacks and low coverage of a wide colour gamut, still has significant issues with proper colour saturation, especially reds. This is an example of a device where HDR exists mainly as a label on the box – for everyday use, we definitely recommend watching content in SDR format.

In terms of smoothing tonal transitions, the Sony X85L television does not offer any dedicated enhancement options, which is a certain drawback. On the other hand, the image scaling performs quite well – the television adds a bit of artificial sharpness, which may make details such as tree branches more pronounced, although sometimes with noticeable jagged edges. This type of effect may appeal to some viewers who prefer a more detailed image.

Q6F performs very well in upscaling lower-resolution content to native 4K. The scaling here is surprisingly good, even for such an inexpensive television from the QLED series. The only downside is the situation where we are watching very low-resolution materials, such as 576p (typical for old DVD players) – in which case the image may be slightly cropped. This is due to the fact that the television does not allow the Overscan function to be turned off, which is a typical issue with Samsung devices.

The situation is completely different when it comes to digital processing, specifically the attempt to smooth the image of unwanted artifacts. Here the television completely fails. Although there is a function in the menu called "Noise Reduction," it yields no visible results regardless of the slider setting. The only thing it manages to do is introduce undesired errors in the image. Despite its presence in the system, we definitely do not recommend using it.

Sony X85L, equipped with a 120 Hz panel, will meet the expectations of a wide range of users – from sports and gaming fans to movie enthusiasts. Movie buffs will certainly appreciate the presence of one of the best motion smoothing systems, known as Motionflow. This system offers adjustment through sliders for smoothness and clarity – smoothness is responsible for motion fluidity, eliminating judder, while clarity improves the sharpness of fast scenes, reducing blur.

The 60 Hz panel in the Samsung Q6F is standard for this price range, making it rather average for dynamic sports or gaming. However, when it comes to films, the television performs quite well thanks to the motion smoothing feature. The "Motion Reduction" option allows you to adjust the smoothness of movement to your own preferences – from maintaining a cinematic character to complete fluidity.

Sony X85L offers a quite solid set of features for gamers, making it an attractive choice for gaming enthusiasts. First and foremost, the television has a 120 Hz panel, which translates to smooth and dynamic image display, ideal for both fast-paced action games and more demanding sports titles. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, allowing for the full utilisation of next-generation consoles. Additionally, Sony X85L supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) technology, which helps reduce stuttering and artifacts during gameplay, providing a smooth experience. The television also supports G-Sync, which is particularly beneficial for gamers using NVIDIA graphics cards, allowing for the synchronisation of the screen refresh rate with GPU performance, eliminating screen tearing. It is worth mentioning the Game Bar feature, which facilitates quick access to the most important gaming-related settings, such as VRR, brightness levels, and display modes, which is convenient and useful during gameplay.

However, there are certain limitations. The television does not support HGiG, which may be a downside for some gamers, as HGiG optimises HDR effect rendering in games, providing a more authentic visual experience. Additionally, while the Dolby Vision mode is available, it is not practical for gaming due to the very high input lag.

We're not going to beat around the bush – the Q6F is not a television designed for gamers. Although it features additions like ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR frame synchronisation for consoles, the list of advantages basically ends there. Aside from these basics, the television offers nothing more that would satisfy those who spend a lot of time in front of a console. It’s a great shame that such a useful tool as Game Bar, which allows for quick control of game parameters in Samsung's higher models, is missing here. In terms of gaming, this model is absolutely basic and is only suitable for "casual" gamers.