Samsung Neo QLED QN85D / QNX1D vs Panasonic Z95A

The HDR performance of the Samsung QN85D is a mixed bag. While it excels in synthetic luminance tests, reaching up to 1000 nits, and delivers impressive results in scenes with full-screen brightness – like in The Meg or the opening of Life of Pi – the limitations become apparent when smaller bright elements are introduced. In these cases, the brightness level noticeably dips, weakening the HDR effect and reducing its impact. When brightness hovers around 200-300 nits, the immersive “wow factor” of HDR tends to diminish, and visuals lose some of their intended brilliance.

That said, the QN85D still manages to deliver decent colour quality, covering 95% of the DCI-P3 colour space, which, while respectable, doesn’t set it apart from its top competitors. Colours appear accurate and vibrant, but the HDR experience could be more compelling if the brightness was consistently well-balanced across various content types.

Panasonic Z95A demonstrates class when it comes to HDR performance. In brightness tests, it reaches a level of 1800 nits, which has a real impact on watching movies. Scenes from Life of Pi or Gemini Man look great – the television effortlessly reproduces details and the intensity of bright spots, impressing with its power. In more demanding moments, like the final scene from The Meg, one can see how bright light floods the screen. In such moments, brightness drops, which is typical for organic matrices. Nonetheless, a result around 1000 nits can still be considered excellent, still providing very good picture quality. Additionally, the television offers excellent coverage of wide color gamuts – up to 98.6% for DCI-P3 and 74.5% for BT.2020. This ensures that colors are not only vibrant but also deeply saturated, allowing full appreciation of the richness of details, especially in HDR scenes. Such coverage makes colors appear more realistic, and the HDR effect gains in intensity and accuracy. All this impressive HDR effect is thanks to MLA technology, which enables achieving such high luminance and excellent image detail. Thanks to this, the Panasonic Z95A offers HDR at a level that truly makes a difference.

The Samsung QN85D, when tested in Filmmaker Mode, falls short of expectations for film accuracy due to several notable issues in colour and brightness reproduction. In HD content, the white balance is skewed by an excess of red and blue, causing a pinkish tint across the image. This effect, confirmed by Colour Checker tests, impacts the realism of skin tones and other details, becoming particularly distracting in complex scenes.

For 4K HDR content, while the white balance intially appears accurate, there is a pronounced shift towards blue tones at the upper end of the spectrum. This deviation results in colours that lack natural appeal, subtly detracting from the viewing experience. The gamma, although close to the standard reference, slightly dips below the ideal 2.4 level, reducing shadow depth. Moreover, the EOTF curve for 4K content is noticeably elevated above the reference line, leading to excessive brightness in certain image areas. This undermines the cinematic look Filmmaker Mode aims to deliver, creating a visual experience that feels over-bright rather than authentically nuanced.

In summary, while Filmmaker Mode on the QN85D initially presents a cinematic effect, the inaccuracies in colour balance and brightness are too significant to achieve the true-to-source quality that the mode promises.

The best picture mode in the Panasonic Z95A is undoubtedly the Filmmaker mode. It is a mode that offers quite good image reproduction, but it is not free from certain errors that need improvement. First of all, the white balance, both for 4K and HD content, tends to show a dominance of red and blue colors. This causes a slight pinkish tint in the image, particularly noticeable in bright, white scenes. Such deviations can be seen in the comparative photo below, which illustrates this problem well. The Colour Checker test also confirms these discrepancies, showing slight shifts of the dots towards the mentioned hues.

In terms of gamma brightness characteristics, it performs very well, with only minor issues when lightening small details. The EOTF curve, which is responsible for controlling brightness in 4K HDR content, poses greater difficulty. Here, a slight boost in brightness above the reference value can be observed, making the image sometimes too bright, especially in more demanding scenes. Although the Filmmaker mode is definitely the best choice in the Z95A, these aspects require refinement to fully exploit the potential of the television.

After professional calibration of the Samsung QN85D’s Filmmaker Mode, there's a noticeable enhancement in HD/SDR content quality. The calibration eliminates major issues with white balance, and adjustments to the brightness characteristics result in a more natural and lifelike picture. Regular HD content, like television broadcasts and YouTube videos, now benefits from well-balanced colours, free from the distracting hues that previously impacted image quality.

However, challenges remain with 4K HDR content. Despite calibration, improvements in white balance for HDR are minor, and more cosmetic than transformative. The EOTF curve initially aligns with reference standards in test conditions, but the television struggles to maintain consistent brightness during film scenes. As a result, dark elements appear overly boosted in mixed scenes, creating excessive contrast. In fully dark scenes, the image often becomes too dim, obscuring finer details and diminishing the overall viewing experience. This inconsistency in brightness affects the depth and accuracy of HDR performance, especially in more challenging scenes.

After calibration, Panasonic Z95A shows its full potential, offering an almost perfect image. The television provides great adjustment capabilities, which we have fully utilized. The white balance after calibration is presented almost perfectly, and errors in SDR content at the level of 0.5 fall within an absolutely reference standard. The same is true for 4K HDR content – any pink tint on the screen has been completely eliminated, and the white balance is now exemplary.

The color palette and Colour Checker test confirm the excellence of the calibration. Errors below 2 is a result that will satisfy both professional calibrators and enthusiasts of cinema-quality images. Significant changes have also occurred in brightness characteristics – the EOTF curve has been leveled, eliminating previous issues with excessive image brightness. And the small error in gamma has been reduced.

Before calibration, the image was acceptable, but now it is a completely different league. It is a true feast for the eyes, the quality of which is hard to compare to anything else. Panasonic Z95A, after fine-tuning the settings, becomes a true master of color reproduction.

When assessing the fluidity of tonal transitions in low-resolution materials on the Samsung QN85D, it's important to consider the noise reduction feature, which significantly improves problematic tonal transitions. However, this feature also has its drawbacks – it removes film grain, a crucial element in many productions that adds authenticity, and it can also soften the image. While this may appeal to those who prefer a smoother image, film enthusiasts who favour the authentic look of films may want to use this feature sparingly.

In terms of image scaling, the television performs very well. The model's figure is presented correctly, without noticeable distortions, and the branches in the background do not suffer from excessive artificial sharpness, a common issue when scaling lower-resolution content. The high capabilities of the image processor are evident, as it effectively handles lower-quality materials, ensuring a high-quality final image.

In the case of lower quality materials, the "Gradient Smoothing" function is responsible for smoothing tonal transitions. The best results are achieved with an intermediate setting – although they are not spectacular, the function works correctly and does not introduce unwanted effects into the image. It can be rated as average, but sufficient to improve the quality of tonal transitions.

As for digital processing, or upscaling, the image looks surprisingly good. It is vibrant and pleasant to the eye, making lower quality content, such as standard television or YouTube, look quite decent. However, minor issues can be noticed, such as "jaggies" on edges, e.g. branches in the background. Nevertheless, this does not significantly impact the overall viewing experience, and the television handles this material in an acceptable manner.

The Samsung QN85D’s display boasts a 120 Hz refresh rate, which should satisfy both gamers and sports enthusiasts, providing a smooth and dynamic viewing experience. There are options for further improving fluidity, including a blur and judder reduction feature that allows precise adjustment of motion smoothness on a 10-point scale. Blur reduction enhances the sharpness of fast-moving objects, making action scenes clearer, while judder reduction smooths motion to eliminate the "stuttering" effect. Ghosting is generally well-controlled, although minor drawbacks may be noticeable in more demanding scenes, particularly when an object moves against a dark background. Additionally, the television features a BFI (Black Frame Insertion) option at a 60 Hz frequency, which can significantly enhance motion smoothness, although it comes with the potential downside of flicker, which may be bothersome for some viewers.

Panasonic Z95A, with its 144 Hz panel, offers excellent image smoothness. For films, there is the "Intelligent Frame Creation" feature, which enhances fluidity and reduces motion blur. The user has two sliders at their disposal: "Motion Blur Reduction" – responsible for clearer and sharper details in fast-moving scenes. "Film Smoothness" – adds smoothness by creating additional frames between the originals, making the motion look smoother and more natural with a "soap opera" effect.

As a result, viewers can adjust the settings to their own preferences. Films and less dynamic materials appear smooth and natural, which should satisfy most users.

The Samsung QN85D is an excellent choice for gamers, offering a wide range of features that elevate gameplay quality and make it even more immersive. With a 120 Hz refresh rate, the image remains incredibly smooth, crucial during fast-paced action scenes in games. The TV also boasts low input lag, making player responses to commands almost instantaneous, enhancing control over characters and events on screen. Additionally, the Samsung QN85D supports VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (auto low latency mode) technologies, optimising image fluidity and reducing lag by automatically adjusting the TV to meet gamers' needs.

The Xbox app, which enables cloud gaming without requiring a console, is another significant advantage, offering a seamless gaming experience without the need for additional hardware – a feature that sets Samsung TVs apart. The Auto Motion Plus Game feature is another notable addition. This motion smoother simulates a higher frame rate, making 30 fps games appear smoother, akin to 45 fps, while games at 60 Hz are upgraded to a 90 Hz experience. Most importantly, this feature does not introduce significant lag, ensuring the comfort of gameplay remains intact. It allows gamers to enjoy a smoother image without compromising responsiveness.

Panasonic Z95A this year shows that the manufacturer has made a huge leap forward in terms of support for gamers. The television offers practically everything one could expect from a device in this category. Support for ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) ensures smoothness and no tearing in dynamic games. The 144 Hz panel allows for incredible fluidity, and the additional support for resolutions other than 4K provides greater flexibility, which is a significant plus for gamers using various setups.

Attention should also be paid to the unique and somewhat specific "Game Bar." Its intuitive interface stands out from the competition and allows quick adjustments to key settings such as VRR, brightness level, or picture mode without interrupting gameplay.

However, in this class of device, there is a slight disappointment – the Panasonic Z95A offers only two HDMI 2.1 ports, instead of four. This is definitely insufficient for a premium television, especially at a time when many people have more than one device requiring full HDMI 2.1 support, such as a next-gen console or a high-end computer. In this category, it is hard to accept, especially given the high aspirations of this model. Despite this, the television is an excellent choice for gamers, offering versatility and functionality at the highest level.