Samsung OLED S90D / S94D (WRGB OLED) vs Samsung OLED S85F (QD-OLED)

The Samsung S90D demonstrates impressive brightness performance in the tested film scenes, surpassing the 1000 nits mark in the first four shots—an outstanding result for an OLED display. In the final shot, which features a fullscreen flash of sunlight, the brightness dips to around 500 nits. While this is a decrease, it remains within a very good range, ensuring visibility and detail retention even in bright scenes.

Another key highlight of the Samsung S90D is its remarkable colour coverage, achieving 98% of the DCI-P3 colour space. This means the TV can reproduce an exceptionally wide range of colours, contributing to vivid and lifelike images that are particularly beneficial for films, high-quality video, and HDR content. The high colour accuracy and impressive brightness capabilities, makes the S90D an ideal choice for users seeking premium image quality across various lighting environments, whether in darker rooms or bright, sunlit spaces.

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.

The S90D was tested in Filmmaker mode, which provides good colour reproduction, albeit with some imperfections that may be noticeable to more discerning users. This mode might appear overly warm, and those switching from Standard mode could find the change somewhat jarring. It is important to note that this issue stems from suboptimal settings, such as the white balance, rather than the Filmmaker mode.

In both SDR and HDR content, the device shows a drop in blue tones, resulting in colours appearing warmer than intended. In practice, this means that certain shades, such as sky blue or skin tones, may seem less natural, with a slight pink or yellow tint. The Colour Checker test confirms these deviations, indicating a shift towards warmer hues. In SDR content, the gamma chart reveals slight inconsistencies that make the image appear marginally darker, particularly in shadowed areas, which may obscure finer details in darker scenes.

In 4K HDR content, the EOTF curve exceeds the recommended level, leading to an overly bright display in some parts of the image, which can cause highlights to appear blown out. Overall, the Samsung S90D delivers a solid image straight out of the box, but for the best performance, further calibration is advised, especially with more demanding content.

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.

After calibration, the Samsung S90D in movie mode exceeds expectations. The white balance for HD and 4K HDR content has been refined to near perfection. While minor imperfections remain, they are so subtle that they don’t significantly impact the overall image quality. The colours are now more balanced, resulting in a natural reproduction of details, particularly in scenes requiring an accurate colour palette. It’s important to note that this model, in this size, uses a WOLED panel, which has a smaller wide colour gamut coverage and doesn't deliver the same vibrant colours as the 65-inch version with its QD-OLED panel.

The contrast has also seen notable improvements. Following calibration, the gamma curve now closely aligns with the expected line, achieving a better balance between the bright and dark areas of the image. The EOTF curve, which previously exhibited issues with overexposed scenes, now produces more accurate results, allowing for improved detail retention in the brighter parts of the image, especially in HDR content.

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.

The S90D TV handles tonal transitions exceptionally well. Thanks to advanced technology, the transitions between colours are smooth and natural. The noise reduction function can further enhance the smoothness of tonal shifts, which is particularly useful in certain situations. However, it's important to note that enabling noise reduction can also blur the natural film grain, diminishing the cinematic quality of the image. For this reason, it’s advisable to use this function with caution, as preserving the natural grain can enhance the character and authenticity of the content being watched.

As always, Samsung excels in image scaling from lower resolutions. The S90D effectively processes lower-resolution content, delivering a clear and accurate picture. The model’s outline is crisp, ensuring the image looks natural and detailed. Even the finer details, such as tree branches, are well-rendered without visible jagged edges that could degrade image quality. Thanks to its effective scaling, the S90D ensures that even lower-resolution content looks appealing, satisfying users who enjoy a wide range of content sources, such as regular broadcast or cable TV.

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 Samsung S90D television features a 120 Hz panel, with the option to "overclock" to 144 Hz when connected to a compatible PC, offering exceptional motion smoothness. Samsung has long provided a range of image sharpness settings on a ten-point scale, allowing users to tailor the display to their preferences. In the UFO test, the OLED panel shows no signs of blurring, with pixel response instantaneous and effectively capturing dynamic movements. OLED technology is renowned for its performance in this regard, making it one of the best options on the market. The image remains incredibly sharp and detailed, even during fast-paced action, making the S90D an excellent choice for gamers and sports enthusiasts alike.

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 Samsung S90D is an ideal choice for gamers, featuring four HDMI 2.1 ports that support key gaming technologies such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and HDR Gaming Interest Group (HGIG). These features ensure smoother and more responsive gameplay, greatly enhancing performance during intense gaming sessions. The TV also includes a dedicated Game Bar, which makes managing game settings easy. This functionality allows users to quickly adjust parameters like the aspect ratio offering flexibility for different games and gameplay styles. Customising preferences is straightforward, further enhancing the convenience and enjoyment of gaming.

For PC users, the TV impresses by supporting a refresh rate of 144Hz when connected to a computer. Users with Nvidia or AMD graphics cards can also use G-Sync and FreeSync for a smoother gaming experience. However, it’s important to note that the TV does not support Dolby Vision, which may be a drawback for some. That said, Dolby Vision is not as widely adopted in gaming as in film, so this may not be a significant concern for most gamers. Overall, the S90D offers exceptional features for gamers, making it an excellent choice for those seeking outstanding image quality and modern technological solutions.

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.