Dreame Q100 vs Samsung R85H / R86H

Unfortunately, the Dreame Q100 is too basic and, above all, too dim to be said to deliver a true HDR effect. Our measured brightness reaches a maximum of about 300 nits, which is definitely too low for bright parts of the image to truly pop. In fact, that’s a level we more often associate with SDR material than with HDR. It therefore lacks the brightness headroom offered by more expensive TVs that makes highlights, reflections, or the sun look noticeably more impressive.

HDR Colors

Fortunately the Q100 makes up for it a bit elsewhere. The manufacturer calls it a QLED TV, though in practice color gamut expansion is handled by a PFS filter. Our measurements showed roughly 92% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and about 67% of BT.2020. These aren’t top-tier numbers, but they are still clearly better than basic LCD TVs without an additional gamut-expanding layer. As a result, HDR content can at least offer more saturated and varied colors, even if the peak brightness itself still doesn’t allow us to speak of a fully fledged HDR effect.

If it’s about brightness, the R85H performs really well. In most of our test scenes the TV reaches around 800 to 900 nits, and with larger bright elements it can break 1000 nits. These aren't, of course, levels on par with the most expensive Mini-LEDs, but they're more than enough for watching movies and TV series in HDR, and the effect can be quite noticeable. The problem shows up again in more demanding scenes where there's a small bright element on a very dark background. Here the TV can significantly reduce its brightness so it doesn't illuminate too much of the screen. In our measurements such small highlights dropped to around 200 to 250 nits, so you can see that a limited number of local dimming zones combined with the specific behavior of the algorithm has its consequences. Fortunately, it's not something that bothers you all the time. In typical mixed HDR scenes the R85H looks good and can deliver appropriate image dynamics. You just can't expect the same punch from very small points of light as you get with TVs that have many more zones or with OLEDs.

For testing we chose the "Film" mode and in our opinion it is by far the best of the available presets. There are no heavily boosted, unnatural colors you can see in the Vivid/Dynamic mode. The picture already looks quite reasonable out of the box, though it falls a bit short of perfect. In SDR material the most noticeable issue was a slight warming of the image. The white balance had too much red, so whites leaned toward a warmer tone, and a similar tint was visible in shades of gray. In HDR the situation was a bit different. Here blue had a slight edge, making the image a touch cooler. These are not major faults, though. For such an inexpensive TV, the factory settings on our unit were pretty decent and the "Film" mode delivers a relatively natural image without much fiddling with the settings.

In Filmmaker mode our R85H sample performed adequately in SDR, but a few things immediately showed up in the measurements. In the white balance, as brightness increased more red crept in while blue decreased. As a result, the brighter parts of the image had a slightly too warm tint. On top of that, gamma only held to the target value at the start. It then gradually fell, making most of the image a bit too bright. The combination of the two also affected colors — errors grew especially in the brighter, more saturated samples. It didn’t look bad, but for Filmmaker mode we expected a bit more accuracy. Interestingly, in HDR our unit handled things noticeably better. White balance was much more even and, for most of the range, the individual RGB components stayed close together. Only in the brightest areas did red begin to fall short, causing the white point to shift slightly. The EOTF curve looked very good, tracking the target luminance values across almost the entire range. That doesn’t mean HDR colors were perfect. The ColorChecker still shows some deviations, particularly in some of the more saturated hues, but the errors are clearly smaller than in SDR.

Contrary to appearances, the Dreame Q100 is quite well equipped for image calibration. The menu contains plenty of advanced picture settings that let you adjust its characteristics fairly precisely. In our case most work was needed on the white balance in both SDR and HDR. After calibration, SDR content looked very good. We managed to achieve an almost neutral white balance and natural colors, and the main remaining limitation was the black level itself, caused by the panel design and the lack of local dimming.

In HDR we were also able to improve white balance and color reproduction, but here the TV's electronic limitations become apparent sooner. Even after very precise EOTF curve adjustments, the Q100 doesn't always follow it correctly during real scenes. In some content it can also brighten the image, making certain parts look lighter than they should, and in bright areas some detail can be lost in the process.

After calibration the R85H shows it has impressive color reproduction capabilities. It performed best in SDR, where the white balance was brought almost perfectly into line and the gamma stays very close to the target across most of the range. That also translated into very low errors in the ColorChecker, so there's really little to fault here. HDR also shows a clear improvement, although some issues can't be corrected as well. At peak brightness the character of the backlight itself starts to show and the individual components of the white balance begin to diverge. The same goes for the most saturated colors, which don't always land exactly where they should. Despite these limitations, overall the image is significantly more accurate than on the factory settings, and the biggest difference is clearly in SDR. However, there's one thing calibration can't fix. With highly saturated elements, color can subtly bleed onto adjacent bright parts of the image. It's easiest to notice this on white, which can pick up a slight tint from a neighboring hue. It doesn't occur in every scene, but when the content is demanding the effect can be visible. This is more a characteristic of the way the RGB backlight works than an issue with picture settings.

The weakest point of the Dreame Q100 is its digital image processing capabilities. The processor used does a rather mediocre job of improving weaker sources, and the menu doesn't include any function that effectively smooths unattractive tonal transitions or reduces visible posterization. Upscaling itself also fails to impress. With low-resolution content the image is fairly soft and lacks strong detail reproduction. Additionally, the Q100 tends to overscan, meaning it slightly crops the edges of the image with very poor sources, such as 480p content. In everyday viewing of HD or 4K content this won't be a major issue, but with older recordings the processor's limitations are already clearly visible.

In the R85H, image processing is handled by the Micro RGB AI Processor. The name is new, but in terms of upscaling lower-quality content, the TV’s behavior remains very similar to what Samsung has shown before. And that’s not a bad thing, since the company has handled this aspect quite well for years. Low-resolution material is displayed cleanly, edges don’t become overly soft, and the TV doesn’t try to artificially extract details at any cost. The result is simply balanced, and with regular TV or older recordings the R85H performs as you would expect from a Samsung at this level. The only minor drawback is overscan, which can’t be completely turned off at the lowest resolutions. A separate issue is the additional processing of weaker sources. The R85H can smooth posterization and tidy up heavily compressed footage a bit, but it’s worth stressing that it does so relatively aggressively. At stronger "noise reduction" settings it starts removing not only compression artifacts but also fine details and natural film grain. It’s best to use it only when the material actually needs it.

The VA panel used in the Dreame Q100 has a native 60 Hz refresh rate, so from the outset this isn’t a TV aimed at the most demanding sports fans or gamers. The manufacturer does note the possibility of running at 120 Hz, and that option is indeed available, but it mainly applies to a mode intended for gamers. In everyday use the Q100 should therefore be treated as a standard 60 Hz TV. During fast-paced sports broadcasts or quick gameplay this means less smoothness than models with 120 Hz panels or higher. On the plus side, the panel’s response time is decent. The VA panel doesn’t produce excessive smearing, so motion remains fairly clear and doesn’t leave heavy, blurred trails behind objects. For movies you can also use a simple motion‑smoothing system; the manufacturer has prepared several presets that help reduce the characteristic judder in material shot at 24 frames per second.

R85H has a 144 Hz panel, so motion is really smooth here. Just remember that the extra hertz above 120 will mainly be used when connected to a PC, so in this category we don't treat them as a particular advantage. For movies and TV, what's more important is that the panel is fast enough to provide access to an advanced motion-smoothing feature, "Motion Clarity", which lets us set motion from more film-like to very smooth. The panel's response time is a bit weaker. Because this is a VA panel, fast-moving objects can leave a slight trail. On bright backgrounds that's not very noticeable, but the darker the scene, the more visible the smearing becomes. That's a typical characteristic of this type of panel, and it's easiest to spot in dark scenes.

Dreame Q100 is not a strictly gaming device, but it delivers a pretty reasonable package for console use. You get VRR to eliminate screen tearing and ALLM, which automatically switches the TV to a low-latency mode when it detects a console signal. An interesting compromise is support for a 120 Hz mode. The panel won’t reach that refresh rate at 4K, but if you drop to 1080p you can play at 120 frames per second. If a given title prioritizes smoothness over high resolution (and the game itself offers such a mode), it’s worth using. There’s also a handy Game Bar on board that lets you quickly change screen settings, switch the refresh mode, or add a virtual crosshair. The HGiG implementation is admittedly weak, but credit is due for support of Dolby Vision Gaming on the Xbox Series X and S. This isn’t a panel for tech purists, but for casual console gaming, especially with the option to trade 4K for smoother Full HD, it performs flawlessly.

Samsung has been steadily expanding its gamer-focused features for several years, and the R85H really lacks nothing important in that area. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, so you can easily take advantage of the capabilities of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. HGiG also works correctly, so with the right HDR settings on the console games retain proper brightness and you don't unnecessarily lose detail in the brightest parts of the image. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung doesn't support on any of its TVs.

Game Bar is also very useful, a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. You can quickly check the frame rate, VRR operation, or change the most important picture-related settings. Samsung also adds a few less obvious features, such as the ability to change the aspect ratio or Game Motion Plus, which can further smooth games running at 30 or 60 fps. Of course, this comes at the cost of higher input lag (around 55 ms), but for slower-paced titles it may be an interesting option for some players.