SAMSUNG OLED S90F (WOLED) vs Samsung Q7F

Does the S90F handle not only dark scenes but also bright parts of the image? Definitely yes. Stories about OLEDs as "dark screens" can slowly be regarded as a myth. The Samsung S90F, similar to the LG C5 based on a very similar panel, achieves brightness exceeding 1000 nits. This is a value entirely sufficient to enjoy impressive and dynamic HDR images – both in movies and series. Most of the scenes we tested look stunning, with well-defined lights and high contrast. Of course, OLED technology still has its limitations – with very bright, full-screen sequences, such as the test card from the movie The Meg (5th image), the TV can noticeably dim the image. However, it's worth noting that such scenes are quite rare. One can say that the HDR effect is good enough that even mid-range OLED models, like the S90F, can provide a cinematic experience in the home living room.

Unfortunately, the Samsung Q7F is not one of the bright televisions, and this directly affects the quality of HDR movies. The peak brightness of the panel is only about 250 nits, which is definitely too low to speak of true cinematic experiences. In practice, the image in HDR content does not differ significantly from classic SDR, making it hard to talk about any "wow effect" that usually accompanies us while watching such films. During testing movie scenes, the image simply looked dim, and brightness almost invariably hovered around the mentioned 250 nits. The worst performance was observed in shots with small, intensely glowing elements – the applied global dimming technique reacted very aggressively, dimming the entire screen to maintain the black effect. On the plus side, it is worth noting the presence of a QLED coating that expands the color palette. As a budget QLED model, the Q7F performs quite decently here: its DCI-P3 color coverage is about 93%, and BT.2020 reaches 70%. This means that colors, despite the low brightness, can look quite vivid and attractive.

Samsung S90F, like most modern TVs, offers many picture modes, but – in line with our testing tradition – we checked it in its best one, which is the Filmmaker mode. As a result, the image looks much more natural than in the default, often oversaturated settings. It was neither overly saturated nor artificially subdued – just closer to what you should see. Of course, "more correct" doesn’t mean "perfect." Our S90F sample unfortunately had significant issues with white balance, particularly in the blue color range, resulting in a slightly yellowish filter applied to most scenes. Someone might say that it looks more "cinematic" – because it's warmer – but let's be honest, George Lucas didn't film Star Wars in sepia 😉 (you'll find the comparison with the scene as always below).

Additionally, in HDR materials, there was a noticeable issue with brightness management. The EOTF curve showed a distinct "spike" in brightness – the TV brightened the image more than it should have, making some effects look too intense and diverging from the reference. Thankfully, some of these issues can be eliminated with professional calibration – you can read about its effects later in the review.

The factory color reproduction in the Samsung Q7F definitely isn't one of its strong points. In Filmmaker mode, which theoretically should be closest to neutral, the white balance issue is immediately noticeable. There's too much red on the screen, while blue is noticeably lacking. The effects of this are very easy to see – white, instead of being neutral, takes on warm, almost slightly orange tones. Over time, this makes the entire image look somewhat unnatural, and bright areas of the scene can seem unrealistic. The problems become even more apparent in HDR content. The graphs show that the TV has significant errors in the Color Checker palette, which translates to visible inaccuracies in the real image. In practice, this means that colors are not presented as they should be. The Q7F also heavily manipulates brightness; darker elements are overly boosted, causing them to lose their cinematic feel, while bright parts can appear dimmed. As a result, the image seems flattened, and instead of helping to bring out details, contrast only highlights its own limitations. This is particularly frustrating in HDR materials, as every detail matters there. In scenes where a subtle play of light and shadow should be felt, the Q7F either overdoes the brightening or, conversely, suppresses elements that were meant to draw the eye. This causes the image to lose its depth, and instead of cinematic realism, we get more of a simplification effect.

After calibration, we managed to eliminate almost all the aforementioned errors. Older movies in SDR quality finally look as they should – without the sepia effect or artificial aging of the image. The atmosphere of the classics is returning to its rightful place (you're welcome, Star Wars fans), and the colors no longer resemble an Instagram filter.

One of the key changes was also the improvement of brightness characteristics in HDR content. We managed to control the EOTF curve in an almost reference way. Yes, the most demanding users may notice minimal deviations in brightness, but to be honest – most viewers won't even notice that. And it’s no wonder, because the vast majority of errors are below the ΔE 3 threshold, which is below the visibility threshold. After calibration, the S90F (WOLED) becomes a truly excellent display – one that you can enjoy nearly perfect image quality on.

After professional calibration, we managed to bring the Q7F in order – at least in terms of SDR content. The picture in this mode looks really good: the white balance has been set correctly, the colors appear natural, and errors in the color palette have dropped to values that are practically invisible to the eye. The gamma behaves excellently, and the only minor drawback is a slight brightening of smaller elements, which results from the lack of local dimming. For everyday TV watching or standard quality films, the Q7F performs surprisingly well.

It was much more difficult to tame HDR content. Despite adjusting the white balance, the television continues to manipulate brightness significantly, causing scenes to sometimes look unnatural – what was meant to be subtly darker can end up being overly brightened, and bright parts of the image sometimes appear dull. The final effect is better than in the factory settings, but it is evident that the design limitations of the Q7F do not allow for fully utilizing the potential of HDR materials.

Digital image processing in the S90F:

Fortunately, Samsung, as in most of its models, can effectively deal with the unwanted posterization effect in the S90F. The function responsible for this element is noise reduction, which quite nicely smooths out tonal transitions and eliminates unnatural color joins – of course, within its capabilities. Unfortunately, it works quite aggressively, so using it comes with compromises. In addition to improving gradation, it may also remove film grain or gently soften facial features. In this case, the choice is yours – do you prefer a more "clean" image, or do you care about preserving the original texture of the material.

Image scaling in the S90F:

In this year's model, Samsung has implemented its own AI processor – NQ4 Gen3, which really manages quite well with upscaling. In our test scenes, the television effectively "pulled up" lower-quality content towards artificial 4K – the image was more pleasant to view, and the differences in sharpness between native and scaled content were minimal. Unfortunately, behind this entire AI marketing façade lies a certain shortcoming. The S90F does not handle overscan well. If you reach for truly archival materials – like a VHS tape of your parents' wedding – you must reckon with the fact that the lower part of the image may be cut off. The image adaptation function to the resolution simply does not work here as it should.

Upscaling and digital image processing in the Q7F is a bit of a sine wave. On one hand, we have really nice upscaling – weaker sources look better than one might expect. The image becomes clearer, sharper, and even older movies or terrestrial TV hold up well. Samsung has been strong in this area for years, and the Q7F confirms that. On the other hand… things start to get tricky. The TV has a problem with overscan – part of the image is simply cut off, and it looks rather unrefined. Additionally, we were let down by a feature called "noise reduction," which should improve the smoothness of tonal transitions in weaker materials. In other Samsungs, it works relatively well, but here it practically makes no difference – the banding in gradients remains. It's a bit disappointing because we could have expected more from a model that is aimed at users looking for a display for SDR content.

S90F really handles motion great – after all, it's an OLED with a 144 Hz panel, so sports and games look simply amazing on it. The picture is smooth, clear, and there's no room for ghosting or blurring that sometimes plagues cheaper LCDs.

The TV is also equipped with motion smoothing settings that allow you to tailor everything to your liking. We have motion blur reduction and judder reduction – you can set it up to make the picture super smooth (even to that soap opera effect), or more cinematic, with the classic "choppiness" of 24 frames. The choice is yours; Samsung doesn't impose anything.

Motion blur and motion fluidity in the Q7F is probably the most budget-conscious element of this TV. The 60 Hz panel is noticeable, with blur being quite evident, especially in dynamic scenes, and it's rather difficult to consider this model as equipment designed for watching sports or playing fast-paced games. In tests with the little green man, there was a long tail, and the ball in a football match would leave trails behind it.

On the plus side, the presence of motion smoothing is commendable. It really makes a difference in movies - especially since most materials are recorded at 24 frames. Here we can decide for ourselves whether we prefer a more "cinematic" image, with the slight jerkiness characteristic of cinema, or a smoother, more "television-like" one. This actually works quite well and helps improve the viewing comfort for series or movies.

When it comes to gaming features – we have absolutely no complaints about the S90F. Aside from the lack of Dolby Vision, which is already the norm for Samsung. The TV operates at 144 Hz, has four HDMI 2.1 ports, so you can easily connect more than one console or PC. It also includes Game Bar – a practical tool that allows you to quickly preview picture settings, VRR status, ALLM mode, and other useful options. Game Motion Plus is also noteworthy – Samsung’s proprietary motion smoother, which uniquely works well in games. The image feels smoother without any artificial effects or slowdowns.

It’s also worth mentioning the HGiG feature, which – surprisingly – works correctly. We mention this because Samsung clearly broke something in one of its recent updates, and in some models, the option responsible for HGiG simply... disappears from the menu. Setting it becomes virtually impossible. Fortunately, our S90F unit did not have this issue, but the situation is dynamic, so it’s worth keeping this in mind and regularly checking for new software versions and information from the manufacturer.

Features for gamers in the Samsung Q7F is a topic that evokes quite a bit of mixed emotions. On one hand – no sensible person expected miracles here, after all, it's a 60 Hz television, and it was clear from the beginning that it wouldn't be a device to extract the maximum from a console or PC. On the other hand, since the manufacturer promised specific solutions in promotional materials, it's natural that we wanted to see them in practice. At the start, it's quite decent. The automatic game mode (ALLM) works, so there's no need to manually fiddle with the settings; the console switches the TV to low latency mode by itself. Additionally, we have the Game Bar, which looks impressive and allows you to check a few basic parameters without leaving the game. And this is where the good news ends.

The biggest problem with the Q7F is VRR, or rather its absence. Indeed, a relevant icon appears in the menu, and you can even see it in the Game Bar, but throughout the entire test, the function remained dead and could not be activated in any way. The issue with HGiG is even more painful; this option was actually available at the beginning, but after a software update, it disappeared completely, which is simply unprofessional. Therefore, the Q7F is only suitable for absolute basics. Sure, you can turn on the console, play more mellow titles, and enjoy low input lag, but if someone is counting on more advanced features that the manufacturer promised, they will be disappointed. This is not a television intended for gaming, and it's better to be aware of this before purchasing.