Samsung Neo QLED QN85D / QNX1D vs Philips OLED820

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.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Philips OLED820 uses the same class of WOLED panel that we find in its biggest competitors – LG C5 or Samsung S90F. This means we can count on truly solid performance. This year, mid-range OLED panels are capable of exceeding the threshold of a thousand nits, and the model tested reaches around 1300 nits in some films. This is an outstanding result that allows for an extremely precise depiction of the director's vision, as contemporary productions are mastered in such brightness ranges. Of course, there are situations where even the OLED820 has to compromise. Full-screen scenes flooded with white, like those in the movie The Meg, can drop brightness to 400–500 nits, which clearly weakens the effect. This is a characteristic of OLED technology that has not yet been fully eliminated. Despite this limitation, it is hard not to appreciate the HDR in this model – high luminance and wide coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut at 99% make the picture simply look great.

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 color reproduction in the factory settings really surprised us, and positively so. The Philips OLED820, switched to Filmmaker mode, immediately showed that it was quite well tuned in terms of color. The white balance was relatively accurate, though with a slight lack in the blue hue, which sometimes gave the image a slightly yellowish tint. However, this is not a flaw that particularly interferes with everyday viewing. A larger problem arose with the brightness characteristic. The gamma chart clearly deviated from the ideal, with the line being below the expected values, causing the image to be overly brightened, and the colors looked as if they were covered with a light milky filter. This effect was also noticeable in tests using the Colour Checker pattern, where more pronounced errors appeared.

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, both the Filmmaker mode and the game mode gained quite a lot. A slight adjustment of the white balance and an improvement in brightness characteristics resulted in excellent outcomes for SDR content – the image looked almost perfect, natural and very close to the reference. In the case of HDR materials, the situation was similar; the colors looked stunning and it was hard to find anything to criticize. However, we noticed a certain feature that we had already pointed out when comparing scenes from the movie Billy Lynn. An analysis of the EOTF curve revealed that the television has a slight tendency to dim details in the blacks, which means that the darkest sections are not always displayed exactly as the director intended. Nevertheless, the effect after calibration is remarkable, and the OLED820 stands out as one of the more interesting screens in its class. It just needs a little bit of fine-tuning, and there's really nothing to be afraid of.

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.

Fortunately, the earlier effects of the aforementioned posterization can be quite effectively mitigated. The "distortion reduction" feature set to medium handles unwanted color banding, improving the smoothness of tonal transitions. It does happen, however, that it works a bit too aggressively and smooths out some details – such as minor skin imperfections of the actors – but despite this, it can be considered worth using without major compromises. The upscaling in the OLED820 also performs well. The test image with the model is exceptionally soft, sometimes even too much so, although this can be alleviated by slightly increasing the sharpness in the picture menu – it’s a matter of personal preference. The lack of overscan issues with very low-resolution content is also commendable, meaning we don't have to worry that the image will be unnecessarily cropped.

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.

Motion fluidity is an area where OLEDs always shine, and the Philips OLED820 confirms this rule. The panel itself offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which will mainly benefit PC gamers, but even with standard television sources or consoles, where 120 Hz is used, the motion is fast, sharp, and simultaneously smooth, without traces of ghosting. This is thanks to the outstanding response time between pixels, which ensures the image retains clarity in every dynamic scene. The manufacturer has also added its own smoothing feature called "Motion Style." In the menu, we find two sliders – the first, responsible for fluidity, allows us to adjust the amount of artificially added frames in movies. This way, we can choose a raw, cinematic character with a clearly visible film frame or a more theatrical image with smooth motion. The second slider is for reducing blurring, especially useful in sports broadcasts. Here, we definitely recommend setting it to the maximum value, as the effect is truly excellent.

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.

Philips OLED820 is one of the most complete televisions for gamers. It practically has everything you could expect: two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps (too bad there aren't four), variable refresh rate VRR, automatic game mode ALLM, support for Dolby Vision in games, and a good implementation of the HGiG mode. The television also handles lower resolutions at 120 Hz without any issues, so you can count on great flexibility when choosing different picture modes on the console. Philips also adds Game Bar – a panel that allows you to change picture modes, add a crosshair, or view parameters. Although it looks quite clunky and is less polished than that of the competition, it serves its purpose. In practice, therefore, the OLED820, besides having a full set of four HDMI 2.1 ports, offers almost everything a gamer might need.