Samsung Neo QLED QN95D vs Samsung Neo QLED QN70F / QN74F / QN77F

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.