Samsung Neo QLED QN95D vs Samsung DU8002 (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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.