Samsung OLED S85F / S84F (QD-OLED) vs Haier M90E

As an OLED, the Samsung S85F can really shine – literally. Under favorable conditions, it can generate brightness exceeding 750 nits. This is hugely significant because most movies are created with displays around 1000 nits in mind. In practice, this means that in scenes with moderately large bright elements, the image can look simply fantastic. However, it's not always so rosy. When there is a massive amount of light on the screen – whether it's a vast bright background or an entire screen filled with white – the S85F must tone it down. The brightness can drop by even four times in such scenes. This limitation is known to basically every OLED in this price range, so we don't consider it a particular failing. However, something that deserves praise is what sets this model apart from the competition – color gamut coverage. Thanks to the QD-OLED panel, our colorimeter showed values exceeding 100% DCI-P3 coverage and as high as 86% for the ultra-wide BT.2020 palette. Such results are hard to find even in televisions that cost several times more.

Haier M90E is a television that does not lack brightness. In most movie scenes, peak luminance exceeds 1000 nits, which gives the image a clear "kick" and high dynamics. In typical, bright HDR materials, this looks really good. However, one must take into account the previously mentioned dimming algorithm. In scenes that are not evenly flooded with light – for instance, when displaying individual stars in a black sky – high brightness underscores the imperfections of zone control. Instead of a precise light point, we often see a distinct halo effect around bright objects. Despite these shortcomings, the overall image presentation can be pleasing, largely thanks to color reproduction. The manufacturer applied a PFS phosphor coating, allowing for wide coverage of the color palette. In our measurements, the coverage of the DCI-P3 space was a solid 95%.

Samsung, as befits a manufacturer with ambitions, equipped the S85F with a mode called Filmmaker. Its task is simple: to make the colors on the newly purchased television as true to what the director wanted us to see as possible. Sounds great… but, as often happens, a great-sounding theory doesn’t always translate into perfect practice.

In the tested unit, it quickly became apparent that the image – due to an excess of blue and red – looked as if someone had overdone the saturation a bit. As a result, quite significant color errors appeared, particularly in 4K content. To make matters worse, there was a brightness issue – the S85F could brighten most scenes more than it should, taking away their intended mood.

Fortunately, Samsung televisions, including the S85F, offer an impressive number of settings for advanced calibrators. This means we could check what this panel is truly capable of when it gets into the right hands.

For the measurements, we chose the Film mode, which should ideally offer an image closest to the creators' intentions. Unfortunately, in the case of the M90E, its characteristics – besides the reduced brightness – do not differ much from the Dynamic mode. Both in SDR and HDR content, the image is clearly tinged with a cool blue hue. The white balance is heavily skewed towards blue, reminiscent of typical aggressive "store" settings. This results in an unnatural representation of skin tones and makes the image straining on the eyes during longer viewing sessions. The way brightness is managed also negatively affects color fidelity. The television struggles to maintain proper levels – small details are often too dim, while larger, bright areas of the image tend to get blown out. These deviations in the brightness curve, combined with the cool white balance, lead to very significant color reproduction errors (DeltaE) in the factory settings.

Thanks to the vast number of settings in the menu, we managed to bring the S85F almost to perfection. White balance in SDR content? Literally perfect – deviations do not exceed a value of "1". Thus, it can be confidently said that in materials with not very high dynamics, we have an image close to reference.

In HDR content, minor issues did arise, but they are of little significance in practice – most errors fall below the threshold of perception, which is a value of "3". We also managed to tame the S85F regarding brightness management – the EOTF curve, even in films, adheres to an almost perfect line. This is one of those cases where after calibration, you can comfortably forget about the settings and simply enjoy movies and series at the highest level.

Haier M90E clearly benefits from professional calibration, especially for SDR content. The TV menu offers a sufficient number of tools to effectively correct factory errors. We managed to "tame" the white balance and eliminate the dominant blue tint. We also adjusted, albeit to a lesser extent, the brightness curve (gamma), which allowed us to recover some details in the shadows that were too heavily muted from the factory. The end result for SDR is a picture that is definitely more natural and pleasant to watch. In the case of HDR mode, the success is only partial. Although it was possible to improve the white balance here as well, the color reproduction errors (Color Checker) remained at a high level. Analysis of the EOTF curve (responsible for brightness in HDR) points to the root of the problem: the TV imposes its own interpretation of the signal and does not provide tools to modify this curve. The source of the high errors is not the calibration itself, but the specifics of the device – aggressive and imprecise zone dimming interferes with measurements and is "stiffly" embedded in the characteristics of this model.

The tone transition smoothing feature in the S85F works really well – it can completely eliminate the problem of visible bands in very poor quality materials, even from YouTube. Unfortunately, even the lowest level of this option comes with compromises. Noise reduction is aggressive enough that it can smooth out film grain, which many of us consider an element of the cinematic atmosphere. At the "Standard" level, we did not notice that this feature removed anything significant from the image, so we can recommend this setting. On the other hand, the "High" level is a different story – it can smooth not only noise but also fine, desirable details such as the texture of objects.

When it comes to image scaling, the S85F performs very well. The material looks sharp, and the only minor imperfection is slightly visible contour jaggedness. And there’s the ongoing issue with Samsung televisions – overscan. This can cause some scenes to have their frames slightly trimmed, which is worth keeping in mind when watching very old content.

The evaluation of the image processor must be divided into two separate aspects, as the Haier M90E behaves inconsistently in this regard. The first issue is the upscaling itself, that is, scaling lower-resolution content to 4K. In this task, the television performs quite decently. The algorithms effectively enhance the detail, resulting in a final image that is relatively sharp, clear, and readable. In this respect, it's hard to have major complaints about the device.

The situation looks completely different with materials that have a high degree of compression, which we encounter in older recordings or on platforms like YouTube with lower bitrate. Here, the processor falters in smoothing tonal transitions and masking source imperfections. The television cannot hide compression blocks, resulting in a very harsh, "digital" character of the image. The lack of effective artifact reduction can effectively discourage viewing lower-quality content on this screen.

S85F is a hellishly fast television – and this is not just an empty catchphrase for effect. Thanks to the 120 Hz OLED panel, dynamic scenes, whether in games or while watching a live match, look exactly as they should – smoothly, sharply, and without the feeling that something is "escaping" from the frame. The lightning-fast pixel response time, typical of OLEDs, plays a crucial role here. Transitions between frames are practically instantaneous, and the image remains clear even during the fastest camera movements. A ball flying across half the field? A car racing in a chase scene? Everything here is clear and free of the characteristic "trail" found in LCDs.

This is exactly what we expect from a good OLED – zero compromises in motion fluidity. The S85F gives the feeling that regardless of the pace of the action, we can focus on what is happening on the screen, rather than on the imperfections of the image.

The Haier M90E is equipped with a simple yet functional motion smoothing system (MEMC). In the settings menu, the user will find a three-level adjustment scale: low, medium, and high. This allows for tailoring the degree of interference with the image to personal preferences – from gentle smoothing of 24p movies to maximum fluidity (soap opera effect). The system operates stably and fulfills its purpose in typical applications.

[UPDATE] We have updated our 2025 Samsung TV reviews following the release of firmware version 1131, which officially restores the essential HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) support.

The S85F has practically everything it needs to become the dream screen for gaming. Four fully-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, support for VRR, ALLM, a super-detailed Game Bar that clearly shows all parameters – and on top of that, a gem in the form of Game Motion Plus. This is a motion interpolator that makes animation in games more enjoyable, with only a slight increase in input lag. This is a rare combination, and Samsung deserves a big plus for it. Now comes the moment where we have to complain a bit. The lack of Dolby Vision in Samsung TVs is already standard, so there's no point in hoping (unless something changes in a few years) – but the disappearance of HGiG after the software update is something that’s hard to explain. HGiG (which stands for HDR Gaming Interest Group) is a mode that allows for precise reproduction of brightness in HDR games, according to the creators' intention. Without it, HDR calibration on the console becomes less precise, so we might end up with an image that's too dark in the shadows or overly bright. Perhaps Samsung will fix this in the next update – and we have high hopes for that. Because if HGiG returns, the S85F will become almost the perfect TV for gamers.

From a hardware perspective, the Haier M90E is a solid proposition. The TV is equipped with two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, which ensures support for key technologies: VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (automatic low-latency mode). A plus is also the correct implementation of the Dolby Vision mode for gaming, which maintains a relatively low input lag. Problems arise with software configuration. The biggest drawback is the forced, continuous dynamic tone mapping by the TV's processor. This prevents proper HDR calibration from the console using system panels (HGiG) – the TV ignores source settings and processes the image its own way. We also noted shortcomings in the interface: the M90E does not have a typical "Game Bar" (overlay with parameters), which is a standard among competitors. Cooperation with Xbox consoles at unusual parameters turned out to be problematic – the device has difficulty correctly displaying 1440p resolution at 120 Hz refresh rate. Despite the aforementioned shortcomings in the software, the Haier M90E remains a very attractive screen for gamers. The final impression is saved by a solid hardware base. Native panel refresh at 144 Hz and the presence of full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports are advantages that are crucial in daily use. If we are looking for a TV that provides high fluidity and supports 4K signals, this model will fulfill its task.