Samsung Neo QLED QN95D vs LG UT8100 (IPS)

The Samsung QN95D excels in HDR performance, achieving an impressive peak brightness of approximately 2000 nits. In tested movie scenes with fully lit screens, the television delivers an intense and realistic representation of HDR content, significantly enhancing the viewing experience. However, as with its handling of contrast, the dimming algorithm occasionally reveals limitations.

Despite the large number of Mini LED zones, the television doesn’t consistently provide extraordinary brightness. For instance, in scenes from "Life of Pi," featuring a bright moon against a dark background, and excerpts from "Sicario 2," showcasing intense light effects on dark backdrops, the QN95D underperforms. In such instances, the television mitigates halo effects by dimming the image to a level closer to SDR quality. While this ensures deep and uniform blacks, it comes at the cost of losing some detail in bright areas. This compromise is intended to preserve black quality but can detract from the image’s dynamism.

Despite these occasional shortcomings in the local dimming algorithm, the QN95D deserves commendation for its wide coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. Thanks to the quantum dot coating, also known as QLED technology, the television produces vibrant and richly saturated colours, adding to its appeal for HDR content.

The LG UT8100 television unfortunately does not meet expectations in the HDR effect category. The peak brightness of only 300 nits on the luminance graph is significantly below the required value to fully enjoy HDR effects. In practice, the image resembles SDR quality more than true HDR, which is particularly evident in demanding high-contrast scenes. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is only 82%, which further limits the ability to present vibrant and rich colors. Instead of impressive visual experiences, we get a muted and washed-out image. For those looking for a television to fully utilize HDR content, the LG UT8100 model proves to be highly disappointing.

The Samsung QN95D was evaluated for factory colour reproduction in Filmmaker mode, which provides the manufacturer’s optimised settings. While this mode delivers good performance, it is not without shortcomings. For HD content, notable colour deviations were observed, particularly in white balance, where a red tint dominated the chart. Improvements were noted with 4K HDR content; however, significant deficiencies in blue colour reproduction persist. This is evident in scenes such as those from Star Wars, where the main character appears in tones that are warmer than intended.

Regarding contrast, the gamma chart reveals an initial steep rise, demonstrating the television’s capability to emphasise brighter image areas effectively. However, the chart also shows a clear dip at the lower end, suggesting a potential loss of detail in darker tones. This gamma curve shape could impact the clarity of dark scenes, where details may appear overly blurred or obscured. Additionally, the brightness curve (EOTF) was mostly accurate, aside from an initial drop.

Despite these minor issues, the QN95D boasts impressive features and cutting-edge technology that solidify its position as one of the top televisions on the market. However, refinements in colour accuracy and contrast are needed to maximise its potential fully.

The Filmmaker Mode on LG UT8100, although theoretically the best for watching movies, has significant flaws. The biggest issue is white balance – drops in blue color cause noticeable yellowing of the image, visible in both HD and 4K content. These errors are confirmed by the measurement results in the Colour Checker test, which indicate significant deviations in color reproduction.

As for brightness characteristics, both HD and 4K content feature a high tonal boost. The gamma curve in both cases remains well below the reference value of 2.4, leading to excessive brightening of darker elements in the image. A similar problem is evident in the EOTF curve – in the case of 4K content, the TV struggles with proper brightness management, resulting in issues with screen brightness. This means that the factory settings of this model require significant adjustment to achieve better image quality.

After calibration, the Samsung QN95D delivers truly impressive results. The white balance is perfectly aligned, with error readings rarely exceeding 2, indicating faithful colour reproduction. Most samples from the Colour Checker test fall well within an acceptable error range, confirming the television's excellent performance in accurately displaying colours. Contrast has also improved significantly, and the gamma curve has become more stable, ensuring better visibility of details in both dark and bright scenes.

However, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) curve still shows a slight divergence in film tests. While the television performs well in most scenarios, some details in black may still be lost in extreme cases due to the aggressive dimming algorithm.

Despite these minor imperfections, the overall image quality remains outstanding. After calibration, the Samsung QN95D impresses with its visual performance, offering an exceptional experience that will satisfy anyone seeking a top-tier television.

After calibrating the Filmmaker Mode, the gamma has been aligned to practically ideal, reference values, which significantly improved the overall tonal characteristics in HD content. 4K HDR content also looks better, although some issues are still visible at the end of the graph, where the curve deviates from the ideal. The EOTF curve performs worse, as the television struggles to maintain appropriate brightness values. As a result, the image in some scenes may be overly bright or slightly dimmed, which stems from the device's design. Nevertheless, the calibration has brought significant improvements, especially in the case of HD content, where tonal balance and color reproduction are now at a much higher level.

The Samsung QN95D television handles tonal transitions even in lower-quality materials, thanks to the noise reduction feature that works like a gentle gradation. This function is extremely effective, smoothing out the image and eliminating unwanted noise, thus significantly improving the quality of the displayed material. However, as is often the case, overly good effectiveness can lead to unintended side effects. In the case of some materials, this feature may also blur elements that should remain clear, such as film grain.

Despite this, the television performs well in terms of image scaling, eliminating larger jagged edges. In a scene where branches are visible, they are not overly artificially sharpened, which allows for a natural look, and the model does not have an artificial outline. Overall, even in more challenging conditions, the footage is presented satisfactorily on the Samsung QN95D. The only downside when watching HD/SD content (such as regular terrestrial television) is the fact that the image is slightly cropped - this is caused by the so-called overscan, which cannot be turned off.

The fluidity of tonal transitions is also correct, although the effect depends on the settings. The update improved the functionality of smooth gradation, smoothing transitions better than before, but introduced minor issues with loss of detail, e.g., on textures.

Image scaling on LG UT8100 performs very well. The image presents itself decently, without major issues with edge aliasing. Details are preserved at a satisfactory level, which makes lower-resolution materials look really solid on this TV. As a result, users can enjoy watching older content without obvious quality flaws.

The Samsung QN95D panel excels in motion blur and fluidity, offering a 120 Hz refresh rate along with features designed to reduce blur and judder. This allows users to adjust the picture settings to their liking, whether for movie watching or dynamic sports broadcasts. The television provides a 10-point scale for adjusting image smoothness, ranging from a frame-like appearance reminiscent of traditional film to a smoother, more cinematic effect, which is especially beneficial for sports broadcasts. This level of customization enhances the viewing experience across various types of content.

LG UT8100, equipped with a 60 Hz display, will be especially suitable for people watching movies. The television offers the TruMotion system with de-judder effect adjustment, allowing users to customize the fluidity of the image – from more choppy to exceptionally smooth, reminiscent of a soap opera effect, depending on user preferences.

The Samsung QN95D offers several features that gamers will appreciate. First, the TV supports a variable refresh rate (VRR), which eliminates screen tearing and provides smoother gameplay, especially in dynamic scenes. It also includes an automatic game mode (ALLM) that switches the TV to low latency mode when a connected console or computer is detected, resulting in more responsive controls.

Additionally, the QN95D has a game mode that reduces input lag to an impressively low level, which is vital for games where quick reflexes matter. With a high refresh rate of 120 Hz, the image remains exceptionally smooth, enhancing the experience of fast-paced action games and sports. The TV also supports G-Sync and FreeSync technologies, further improving gameplay and user comfort. An interesting addition is the 'Game Bar' – a special menu that provides easy access to all gaming-related settings, allowing users to quickly adjust the image and other parameters without interrupting gameplay.

While the Samsung QN95D does not support Dolby Vision, which is typical for Samsung models, it does feature HGiG functionality, ensuring that HDR games are displayed with the appropriate image quality in line with the creators' intentions.

LG UT8100 offers basic features for gamers, such as ALLM and Game Bar, which makes access to settings easier. The TV also supports HGiG, which improves image quality in HDR games. Unfortunately, the lack of support for Dolby Vision and VRR limits the capabilities of the device, as does the 60 Hz panel, which excludes support for 120 Hz resolution. This model will be more suitable for less demanding gaming applications.