Samsung Neo QLED QN70F / QN74F / QN77F vs Samsung The Frame 2025 (LS03F)

QN70F is a TV that can positively surprise when it comes to brightness. In ideal test conditions, it reaches even 800 nits, which – for this price range – is really solid. Of course, that's a result from measurement test patterns, so we decided to check how it performs in practice, with real movies. Here, the TV somewhat tones down its capabilities. In most of the tested scenes – for example, in "The Meg" – the actual HDR brightness was around 500 nits. That's still a good result that allows you to enjoy HDR effects, although it is far from perfect. On the other hand, we have a QLED screen with a quantum dot layer, which means very good color reproduction capabilities. The colors are vivid and saturated. QN70F covers about 94% of the DCI-P3 color space, and in the wider BT.2020 gamut, it exceeds 75%, so in this regard, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

The Frame LS03F is a television that can surprise with its brightness. The maximum luminance reaches around 650 nits, which already looks solid on paper. But as we know, lab tests are one thing, and real movie scenes tell a completely different story. When watching HDR content in natural conditions, The Frame 2025 maintains very good results. In most film scenes, peak brightness remained at levels of 550–650 nits. This is enough to feel the difference between standard image quality and that of HDR – bright highlights, reflections on water, and moonlight appear clear and impressive.

It’s also worth noting that the LS03F is a QLED television, which translates to solid color saturation. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color space reaches about 92%, allowing for vibrant, intense colors in HDR content. It may not be at the level of top premium models, but for a lifestyle screen, the result truly deserves recognition.

We tested the QN70F in the best default picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. It must be said that in this particular test unit, the factory settings performed quite well. The picture was calm, natural, and despite minor deviations, pleasant to perceive. The biggest flaw was a slight dominance of red in the white balance, which caused a slight pinkish tint to the entire scene. However, this was not a glaring flaw – rather subtle and only noticeable when directly compared to a properly calibrated screen. A somewhat larger issue appeared in the brightness characteristic. The television tends to understate the brightness of parts of the image that should be displayed more brightly. As a result, some details can appear slightly dimmed – not so much lost entirely, but not as clearly pronounced as they should be. Nevertheless, as far as a television in this category and in these settings goes, we consider the result to be a good starting point for further calibration.

When it comes to image quality right out of the box, even in Filmmaker mode, which is supposed to be the closest to reference, there were issues. In both HD and 4K HDR content, we noticed noticeable deviations in white balance. The image was heavily skewed towards red and blue, giving the screen a characteristic rosy tint. This effect was most visible in bright scenes – for example, in shots with a lot of white, where neutral light should naturally dominate. In such moments, the screen clearly leaned towards pink tones, which can also be seen in the attached comparison photo. As for brightness characteristics – it wasn't as bad as one might expect given such color inaccuracies. Analysis of the gamma curve and EOTF showed a slight brightening of the image compared to the reference, but not enough to drastically affect the perception of the material.

After calibration, the QN70F shows that it can offer a really high level of color reproduction. It nearly perfectly balanced the white point, and the values in the Color Checker test dropped below 3 – that is, below the threshold at which the average eye can perceive differences. The image looks natural, and the colors are accurately represented, without excessive saturation or the coolness known from factory settings. It must be said that Samsung provides very extensive calibration options – not only for enthusiasts but also for professionals. The QN70F takes advantage of this potential and, after proper adjustment, can come close to much more expensive models in terms of color accuracy. The only thing one could still criticize is the brightness characteristics. There is still a tendency to brighten the smallest parts of the image – particularly those that should remain darker. However, this is a design feature of this model, not a calibration error. Despite this, the final effect definitely deserves recognition.

After calibration, the movie mode gained a completely new quality. The issue of pink tint, which had previously been clearly visible, especially in bright scenes, was effectively eliminated. Colors began to look much more natural, and the white balance no longer dominated the rest of the image. It was no longer the same exaggerated “box picture” – everything gained coherence and a cinematic character. Additionally, the tendency of the television to slightly brighten scenes, previously visible in the EOTF curve analysis, was partially corrected. Of course, this was within the limits of what the design allows without local dimming – it’s hard to speak of perfect brightness management here. Nevertheless, the final effect was definitely closer to what one would expect from a mode called Filmmaker.

Samsung QN70F offers a distortion reduction feature that improves the smoothness of tonal transitions. In "Standard" mode, it works quite well - smoothing problematic transitions without significantly interfering with the image structure. Film grain is partially removed, but details such as texture or skin structure still remain visible. The "High" mode operates much more aggressively. The smoothing is stronger, but it comes at the cost of a noticeable loss of detail. Therefore, in practice, we recommend sticking with the "Standard" setting or completely turning off this feature. The improvement in gradation may be less spectacular, but the image retains more naturalness.

When it comes to scaling low-quality content, the QN70F performs very well. Tests with lower resolution images were really impressive. Despite slight aliasing of contours, everything looks clean and clear, even if the original content was very poor. It's just a shame that the TV has an overscan issue that cannot be completely turned off. As a result, the image from very low resolution may be slightly cropped, which is mainly visible on subtitles or the interface.

The LS03F is equipped with the NQ4 processor, which is responsible for improving image quality—especially in lower-quality materials. In practice, it works surprisingly well, particularly with older content and recordings with lower resolution. Activating the "noise reduction" feature yields noticeable effects. The television effectively smooths tonal transitions and removes digital noise that can appear in darker areas of the image. Compared to previous generations, there is a clear improvement—previously, this feature often smoothed everything too much, including details that it shouldn't have removed. In this year's model, the smoothing still occurs, but it is done in a much more acceptable manner. Textures of materials, skin, or fabric details are no longer so heavily muted as before—the image retains more naturalness. However, this does not change the fact that film grain is still removed by the television, which may not be to everyone's liking. On the other hand, it is no longer as aggressive an intervention as in previous models. It is also worth mentioning that the LS03F may struggle with very weak signals—such as recordings from VHS tapes or video in low resolution. In such cases, we noticed slight clipping of the image at the edges—so-called overscan. This can lead to situations where a small part of the image (e.g., subtitles at the bottom edge) gets cut off.

The QN70F is a television with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which puts it at the forefront in terms of image smoothness. Whether we are watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing on a console, the picture looks very good. There is no feeling of stuttering, chopping, or the typical "tearing" in fast motion that is common in lower-end models. Samsung also allows you to adjust the smoothness to your own preferences. In the picture clarity settings, we find options such as blur reduction and motion smoothing – each of which can be adjusted independently. This is especially useful when watching content with a lower frame rate and we want to give it a smoother, more cinematic character – or on the contrary, maintain the natural film "feeling" of 24 frames.

A novelty in The Frame for 2025 is the panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Yes – in a television primarily associated with displaying artwork, you can now not only watch Van Gogh but also comfortably play on a console or follow dynamic sports action. This is a definite step towards greater versatility. In the case of Samsung films, as usual in models with a 120 Hz panel and above, it allows you to adjust motion smoothness according to your own preferences. You can set a more cinematic representation while maintaining frame rate or opt for full motion smoothing. The range of options is wide, allowing you to tailor the effect to your taste – whether the viewing experience is meant to resemble classic cinema or a presentation on a modern theater panel.

*this part of the test refers to the model LS03FAU in sizes 55 and 65 inches, which is equipped with a 144Hz panel; the 43 and 50-inch sizes have 60Hz panels, and therefore perform much worse in terms of motion smoothness.

Samsung QN70F is truly a solid choice for gamers. Here we have as many as four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps, which means full support for gaming in 4K at 144 Hz refresh rate. In addition, we have all the basic features we expect today: auto low latency mode (ALLM), variable refresh rate (VRR), and a very well-designed, intuitive Game Bar with information about the mode, resolution, and frame count.

It's also worth highlighting the Game Motion Plus feature, which allows you to add artificial frames to games running at 60 fps or less. It works surprisingly well and in many titles – especially those where consoles struggle to maintain a stable framerate – it improves gameplay smoothness without significant lag.

Unfortunately, there are also some drawbacks. The lack of support for Dolby Vision mode is not surprising – it's a standard for Samsung. But the much bigger disappointment is the absence of the HGiG feature. What's worse, it was removed in a software update, leaving users who previously used it quite shocked. Without HGiG, you can't manually set the maximum HDR brightness from the console, which results in some games looking slightly washed out – especially if the TV misinterprets the tonal range. Why did Samsung, a brand that has set standards in gaming features for years, decide to take such a step? It's hard to say. At the time of writing this review, the tested TV was running on software version 1110 – and frankly, if you care about full support for gamers, it's better to temporarily hold off on updates.

As we mentioned earlier – although The Frame likely displays images and works of art most of the time, Samsung has recognized that a Van Gogh enthusiast can just as easily be an avid gamer. And it must be admitted that The Frame 2025 has almost everything it needs to become a fully-fledged gaming television.

On board, we find support for ALLM (automatic game mode) and variable refresh rate (VRR) thanks to the implementation of one HDMI 2.1 port. The television handles lower resolutions at higher refresh rates without any issues and features an expanded Game Bar – already known from other Samsung models – which allows for quick previewing and changing of the most important gaming-related settings. For this, it earns additional points from us. The proprietary motion smoother Auto Motion Plus Game also deserves special mention, which – and it's worth emphasizing – works without increasing input lag. Samsung remains the only manufacturer that has managed to implement this feature in a practically noticeable way in terms of delays. The result? Much better fluidity in games, especially those that struggle to maintain stable 60 frames. This solution can realistically improve the gaming experience in more demanding titles – especially on consoles that don’t always manage full fluidity, especially in AAA games.

As for the downsides – the lack of Dolby Vision is already considered standard in Samsung televisions, so there's nothing to particularly complain about here. However, the problem is something entirely different. In the latest version of the Tizen system, the HGiG option has disappeared. Literally – it's not there. This is a significant setback when configuring a console for proper HDR content display in games. It’s hard to understand why such a decision was made, but one thing is certain – this should be fixed as soon as possible. We are talking about a brand that has set standards for gaming on televisions for years. If HGiG comes back – and we hope that it will – The Frame LS03F can confidently aspire to be a true gaming television. Not just as a decoration on the wall, but as equipment that really provides joy in gaming.