Samsung DU8002 (IPS) vs LG NANO81A / NANO80A

The HDR effect in the DU8002 television leaves much to be desired. A brightness level of 300 nits is not able to provide a true high dynamic range experience, making the content viewed resemble more of a standard SDR than impressive HDR. Scenes that should dazzle with brightness and detail appear muted and lacking in depth. Nevertheless, the television deserves praise for its high coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette at 92%. As a result, the colors are vivid and saturated, which may satisfy viewers who prefer rich hues, even if the HDR effect does not fully meet expectations.

If you're counting on HDR in the NANO81A to bring tears to your eyes, I have to disappoint you. This TV is simply too dark to show what this format is really about. With a brightness of just 250 nits, HDR here essentially exists only on paper. In practice, during a viewing session, it's very hard to distinguish whether we're watching high dynamic range content or regular SDR – it simply lacks that "punch" of light in bright areas of the image. But, to not have all criticism, we do have a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel – and it’s quite clear. It's about color gamut coverage. Here, the NanoCell filter shows that it's not just marketing nonsense. Our measurements indicated that the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 88%. This is really a solid result that positions this model significantly above typical budget models based on regular white LED lights without any filters. Of course, it's still a bit lacking compared to the level of quantum dot TVs (QLED) or advanced panels with PFS filtering, but for this price range, the colors are surprisingly saturated and vibrant. It's just a shame that this low brightness doesn’t allow them to fully "spread their wings" with the Nano filter.

DU8002 offers a Filmmaker mode, which is supposed to provide authentic image reproduction in line with the creators' intentions. Unfortunately, despite the promising name, the results are far from ideal. The white balance in this mode shows significant drops in blue color, leading to a noticeable yellowing of the image, which can be seen, for example, in our comparison photo. Colour Checker tests confirm these errors. As for brightness, the gamma characteristic is too low compared to the reference line of 2.4, resulting in excessive screen brightness. A similar problem occurs with 4K content – the EOTF responsible for brightness in 4K material shows significant increases above the reference line, leading to excessively bright small light elements. As a result, the Filmmaker mode in DU8002 does not meet expectations and instead of offering high quality, presents an image full of tonal and color inaccuracies.

For every movie fan, the natural choice in LG televisions is the Filmmaker Mode. This mode is designed to display the image as the director intended – without unnecessary "enhancements." Unfortunately, in the case of our test unit NANO81A, the factory settings left something to be desired. The main issue turned out to be white balance. Measurements showed a clear deficiency of blue color, which practically translated to many scenes having a slightly yellowish, almost "too yellow" tint. The white was not perfectly clean, which detracted from the freshness of the image. Additionally, brightness management was not ideal either – the factory-set gamma was too low. The image often appeared oversaturated, as if it had been pulled too much from the shadows, losing its naturalness and depth. Fortunately, LG, even in this relatively low price segment, does not block access to advanced settings. The calibration capabilities of this model are immense, which is a big plus for those who like to "dig around" in the menu. We decided to approach the topic in our own way and see how much we could extract from this panel with professional calibration.

Samsung is one of those companies that offers advanced tools for improving image quality in its televisions, including a 20-point white balance adjustment. Even with the budget model DU8002, with the right adjustments, surprisingly good results can be achieved. The white balance, especially for HD content, performs really well - tests on the Colour Checker palette confirm accuracy at the level of 2–1.5, which demonstrates the significant capabilities of this television in color reproduction. In 4K content, although not as perfect as in lower quality material, the overall picture looks much better.

The gamma brightness has also been heavily adjusted, ensuring that the image is not overly brightened and looks more natural. What about the EOTF curve? At first glance, it seems fine, but upon closer inspection, especially in film tests, it becomes apparent that the television struggles due to its low contrast panel. The EOTF drops below the reference line. Nevertheless, the DU8002 is an example of a budget model where investing in calibration is worthwhile. Although structural flaws, such as the type of backlighting, cannot be completely eliminated, color accuracy is surprisingly good, especially considering its price.

After calibrating the NANO81A, it's a completely different television. What LG offers in terms of image enhancement tools even in such an inexpensive model deserves a big plus. We were able to completely eliminate that annoying yellowing of whites and make the colors natural, juicy, and simply "true." In SDR content (such as regular TV, YouTube, or older films), the picture now looks infinitely better – it's clear, well-balanced, and no longer strains the eyes with strange hues. It's evident that this panel has considerable potential, which is simply wasted by poor presets out of the box. However, we have one serious reservation that calibration cannot fully overcome – it's about brightness management in HDR mode. The algorithm LG uses in this model is designed very conservatively. The television deliberately dims the image in HDR to avoid overexposing an already weak black from the IPS panel. The developers faced a choice: either provide more light and accept that black will turn light gray, or reduce the brightness to maintain any contrast. They chose the latter. Nevertheless, after our adjustments, watching anything on the NANO81 is significantly better.

Smoothing tonal transitions on the DU8002 television leaves mixed feelings. Although the menu offers an option for smoothing tonal transitions, in practice it yields no results and can even generate unwanted side effects.

Nevertheless, the television handles upscaling, or digital image processing, excellently. The test chart featuring a model looked really good – the image is not overly jagged, and the overall presentation is decent and pleasing to the eye. This is definitely good news for those planning to watch traditional television on this model.

It often happens that cheap 4K panels mercilessly bring all the "dirt" and imperfections of lower resolution materials to light. However, in the case of the LG NANO81A, the situation is quite different. It’s a really solid performer when it comes to handling content that is far from ideal. The built-in processor does a great job with upscaling. Even older recordings look quite decent on this screen – the image is coherent, cleaned of digital noise, and simply pleasant to the eye. A big plus is the gradation reduction feature that you will find in the settings. It is exceptionally effective in combating color banding, which is a lifesaver when watching low bitrate materials, for example from some streaming services or older files from the internet. However, it is worth maintaining a certain vigilance. Since we are dealing with a less efficient chip than in LG's top models here, too aggressive an adjustment of this option can sometimes result in minor artifacts or a slight blurring of details. Despite this risk, I definitely encourage experimentation with this feature – in many cases, it can save the viewing experience and make low-quality material fully watchable.

DU8002 with a 60 Hz panel is a television that performs better for watching movies than for intense gaming. The motion smoothing feature acts as a fluidizer, smoothing out motion and giving scenes a more fluid appearance, which is useful for movie screenings. In the context of gaming, this model will rather be suitable only for occasional entertainment.

In terms of motion fluidity, the NANO81A unfortunately has a few drawbacks. The TV is based on a panel with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. If you're looking for perfect sharpness in dynamic football matches or fast-paced action games, you might feel somewhat unsatisfied. With such a low native refresh rate, fast-moving objects on the screen will always be a bit blurry.

DU8002 is a television that will mainly serve as equipment for casual gamers. The 60 Hz panel does not provide the highest motion fluidity, so in dynamic games there may be a lack of that extra smoothness of the image. On the positive side, it features ALLM and HGiG functions, which automatically adjust image settings for HDR games, enhancing the gaming experience. Unfortunately, the television is equipped only with HDMI 2.0 ports, so we have to forget about more advanced features like VRR or support for 4K at 120 Hz. When choosing this equipment, we will have to make do if we expect a full set of gaming features.

NANO81A is unfortunately not a device designed for e-sports. The lack of support for a 120 Hz signal is a fact that users planning to purchase this model must simply come to terms with. Nevertheless, LG engineers have worked hard to squeeze the maximum capabilities out of this 60 Hz panel, offering a set of features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience. Above all, the television supports VRR technology (in the range of 48–60 Hz) and ALLM. As a result, the image remains stable and does not "tear," and the device automatically switches to low-latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from the console. Managing these settings is incredibly simple thanks to a dedicated system overlay that allows for a quick overview of parameters without leaving the game. A significant advantage is the support for the HGiG format. This solution is crucial for owners of modern consoles, as it enables the TV to correctly "understand" the intentions of game developers regarding HDR tone mapping. In practice, this helps avoid the effect of "blown out" bright spots, such as clouds or light sources, which unfortunately is a common issue in budget LCD televisions.