Samsung QLED Q80D vs Panasonic W85

In the context of HDR, the Samsung Q80D television delivers impressive brightness performance in tested movie scenes, achieving levels between 600 to 900 nits when the frame is filled with light. This brightness enhances the vibrancy of the image and allows users to perceive the differences between HDR and SDR quality. However, challenges arise when small light effects appear against a dark background. For instance, in specific scenes, such as test slide 4 from Sicario 2, there is a noticeable drop in brightness due to the larger size of the dimming zones employed by the television. This limitation, coupled with the local dimming algorithm, affects the TV's ability to accurately display small bright elements on dark backgrounds, leading to a lack of brightness that can diminish the HDR effect, making it appear similar to SDR quality.

Unfortunately, we don't have good news here. The Panasonic W85B is rather dim – its peak brightness does not exceed 300 nits, so it's hard to talk about any true HDR effect. In practice, this means that scenes which on other screens can "shine" and make an impression, here look simply like regular SDR with a slight boost in colors. Our measurements and film tests confirmed this – regardless of the content, the W85B won't extract anything more from HDR. So if someone is looking for a TV specifically for HDR, it's better to look towards other models. As a consolation, the fact remains that in terms of colors, the W85B performs quite well. It's a QLED TV, so its color gamut coverage is wide, and most films and series look natural, without a distinct "washed out" effect. The colors are saturated, so during regular viewing, there is no sense that something is quite wrong.

In "Filmmaker" mode, which is considered the best out-of-the-box choice, the Samsung Q80D demonstrates solid colour reproduction. However, when viewing SDR content, there is a visible drop at the beginning of the gamma curve, suggesting that details in dark scenes may be less clear, which could detract from the overall viewing experience. While the white balance in SDR content is generally accurate, significant drops in blue at screen coverage above 70% can lead to less natural hues in both bright and dark scenes. Users might notice that some blue elements appear less intense, resulting in a warmer tint to the colour presentation.

For HDR content, the EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function) curve being above the reference line most of the time indicates that the TV may struggle to accurately reproduce brightness and detail in the brighter areas of the image, which can be less than ideal for viewers. Additionally, there is a notable drop at the beginning of this graph, signifying the TV's difficulty in reproducing brightness in dark areas; this limitation is apparent in contrast and black tests, where several scenes fail to showcase the TV's full brightness potential.

Regarding white balance, the initial performance on the chart is promising, however, a sharp drop in red, coupled with a significant rise in blue, may lead to inaccuracies in reproducing certain skin tones and other key colours. This issue can be particularly noticeable in scenes where colour details are essential, potentially affecting the viewer's overall experience.

While testing the Panasonic W85B, we of course started with the Filmmaker mode, as it is the gold standard today for watching content "as the director intended." The problem is that this TV is quite far from those intentions. The biggest issue turned out to be an excess of red – in both SDR and HDR. The picture often looked overly warm, and in some scenes, it appeared almost "blazing." Additionally, there’s the issue of brightness management. When we looked at the gamma and EOTF charts, it was clear as day that in most scenes, the TV brightens the image more than it should. The effect was easy to predict. Details can get lost, leading to flattening and clipping across the entire screen. Of course, we know how to improve this, but it must be said honestly that it requires quite a bit of work in calibration. Out of the box, the W85B does not provide a reference-level picture – it is rather a TV that will always interpret colors and brightness a bit "its own way" without professional adjustments. Unfortunately, this is to the detriment of the viewer.

After calibration, the Samsung Q80D’s Movie mode offers a noticeable improvement over the out-of-the-box settings. Samsung provides an advanced suite of calibration tools, including 2- and 20-point grayscale adjustments as well as a CMS (Colour Management System), allowing for precise control over both SDR and HDR content. The calibration greatly enhances white balance, although minor errors remain in HDR content toward the end of the graph. Contrast has also improved, and the gamma curve for SDR content now aligns well with expected levels.

In HDR, the EOTF curve initially appears to sit ideally, however, closer examination reveals all lines are slightly above the reference line, a phenomenon that may be seen as the TV "enhancing" brightness for added appeal. This effect, however, comes at a cost: while the screen may appear brighter overall, it sacrifices detail in darker areas, leading to a loss of subtle textures in shadowed scenes. As a result, scenes with deep shadows or dark elements may lose some finer visual details that would enhance the viewing experience.

Fortunately, calibration made a significant difference for the Panasonic W85B, especially in SDR content. Here, the improvement was really noticeable – we managed to balance the white and reasonably tame the TV's tendency to excessively brighten the entire image. The picture became more coherent, and the colors gained a naturalness that was lacking in the factory settings. Admittedly, the results from the Color Checker are not perfect, as the W85B has visible issues with green saturation, but overall, we assess the post-calibration effect in SDR very positively. The situation with HDR is a bit different. Here, we were also able to limit the tendency to warm up the entire scene, so the image turned out much better than in the factory settings. However, the same problem we mentioned earlier is still evident – the TV interprets the image too "in its own way" and brightens the entire frame. The lack of local dimming only exacerbates this effect. In summary, briefly in SDR content, the W85B performs really well after calibration and is perfectly suitable for everyday viewing. However, in HDR, even after adjustments, it is still hard to unequivocally recommend it for serious viewing sessions.

Performing admirably with low-quality content, the Q80D’s noise reduction feature uses gentle gradation to smooth out unwanted image disturbances. However, this technique can also soften certain details, like film grain, that some viewers might prefer to retain. For those who appreciate a more polished and smoother image, particularly with lower-resolution material, this becomes a significant advantage.

In terms of image scaling, the Q80D stands out, enhancing both quality and detail for lower-resolution media. Advanced processing technology reduces artefacts and maintains clarity, as seen in the clean edges and absence of fraying in elements like branches during test scenes. This capability makes it an excellent option for viewers seeking an enhanced and comfortable viewing experience, even with less-than-ideal content quality.

With native SDR content, the Panasonic W85B performs very well – tonal transitions are smooth and natural, without artificial bands or clear contours. However, the situation looks worse with lower resolution materials. This is where the television has the biggest problem with "beautifying" the image. The lack of any option in the menu that would allow for improving gradation means that with older films or materials from YouTube, one can sometimes notice slight issues with color blending.

Fortunately, upscaling, or increasing the quality of lower resolution content, performs much better. This is definitely a strong point of this model – the image is scaled cleanly and in detail, and the television handles this better than one might expect from such an affordable device. This is thanks to the HCX processor, which Panasonic has been developing for years, and it shows that even in the lower series, it can do a good job.

Motion smoothness and blur reduction are standout features on the Samsung Q80D TV, thanks to its 120Hz panel and impressive response time. Users have two customisation options to enhance smoothness: "Motion Blur Reduction," adjustable on a 10-step scale for refined control, and "Blur Reduction," which works particularly well at higher refresh rates, enhancing clarity in fast-moving scenes. In the UFO test, the panel performs without trailing or forward-cloning effects, indicating a lack of overshoot and delivering clear, sharp visuals during rapid motion.

At first glance, everything looks good – the Panasonic W85B has a 120 Hz panel and even a 144 Hz mode, so it seems that it should handle smooth motion well. The problem begins when we look into the settings. The options for improving fluidity are supposedly present in the menu, but in practice… they change nothing. No matter what we choose, the image looks the same. On top of that, there's a lack of BFI, which is the black frame insertion mode that helps sharpen motion in many TVs. And suddenly, it turns out that despite having a strong panel, the W85B doesn't give us any real tools to adjust that motion to our needs. It only works well when the source itself operates at a higher frequency – for example, games at 120 Hz. But when it comes to movies or sports, we just have to take what the TV shows us, because there's nothing more we can do about it.

The Samsung Q80D is a fantastic choice for gamers, offering a range of advanced gaming features that are rare in this price category. Equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports, it enables key functionalities like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and 120Hz support at 4K resolution, ensuring smooth and responsive visuals, essential for fast-paced gaming. The TV also supports HGIG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) for optimal HDR display in games and includes a Game Bar for quick access to gaming settings. Gamers with Nvidia graphics cards will appreciate the G-Sync support that eliminates screen stuttering and tearing.

Although it lacks Dolby Vision support, which may disappoint those seeking that HDR format, Samsung has partnered with Microsoft since 2022 to provide the Xbox Game Pass app, enabling cloud gaming access to a wide library of games without a console.

On paper, the Panasonic W85B looks really solid. Here we have two full HDMI 2.1 ports, support for ALLM, variable refresh rate, Dolby Vision in games, and of course, a high refresh rate for the panel itself. Additionally, there’s the characteristic Panasonic game bar that allows you to check key parameters with one click and quickly change them if necessary. Sounds great, but the problem arises when we activate HDR. Here, the W85B significantly falters because it lacks proper HGiG implementation – the TV manages brightness poorly, and instead of faithful image rendering, we get scenes that are too bright, sometimes even blown out. The solution? The simplest – turn off HDR in the console settings and leave everything in SDR. And here it gets really interesting, because in this scenario, the W85B shows its better side. Low input lag, high smoothness thanks to 120 Hz – all of this makes gaming look phenomenal. Yes, HDR can be sacrificed, but if responsiveness and smooth gameplay are priorities, the W85B provides a lot of fun.