Samsung QN80F 100" vs LG QNED86A / QNED85A / QNED87A

When it comes to HDR in Filmmaker mode, the QN80F can make a great first impression on you. Our lab tests showed that under the best conditions, the TV can achieve brightness exceeding 1200–1300 nits. These are truly remarkable results, which make HDR effects in many films look incredible. The TV is simply bright enough that it doesn’t need to artificially adapt the picture – bright parts of scenes have the right "power" and actually look like a light source. Of course, the lab is one thing, and everyday viewing is another. In practice, during movie scenes, brightness usually oscillates between 700–1100 nits. These are still great values that, in most cases, give a strong sense of realism and make the lights on screen really capable of dazzling you. The problem arises in exceptionally challenging sequences, where, like almost every mini-LED, it reveals its limitations. A good example is Sicario 2: scenes with helicopters in the night sky look much weaker, and the lights lose intensity, dropping to around 370 nits, making it hard to speak of serious admiration. This leads us to the topic of colors. Although we are dealing with a QLED, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is about 90%. This is fairly average for a quantum dot TV. In practice, this means that some colors may appear less saturated than we would expect, especially in demanding HDR productions.

Against the backdrop of contrast and black, the brightness of the QNED86A and the overall HDR effect performs much better. This is a television that can reach around 700 nits in the best conditions, so in terms of brightness alone, there is nothing to be ashamed of. As a result, scenes with strong lights, explosions, flashes, or bright parts of the landscape look clear and can make an impression. Interestingly, even in more challenging moments with small, contrasting elements on the screen, the television handles their backlighting well, and the details are quite visible. The problem resurfaces when there are a lot of dark tones. The lack of effective local dimming causes black to virtually disappear, and instead, we get a gray glow spreading across the entire screen. This kills the sense of depth and makes the image look flat, as if it lacks a cinematic quality. In bright animations or colorful family films, this won't be an issue because colors and bright light dominate there. But in horrors or productions set in darkness, these limitations are very palpable. As a consolation, it’s worth mentioning that the QNED86A is actually a QLED television with a PFS LED filter, which gives it very good coverage of wide color gamuts. Both the DCI-P3 palette and the wider BT.2020 perform really solid here. This ensures that colors in HDR films are saturated, vibrant, and have the right depth – even if the black itself disappoints, the colors can save the viewing experience and make the image look attractive.

Samsung QN80F performs best in Filmmaker mode, which is designed to faithfully convey the creators' intentions. And indeed – it is a mode in which the TV showcases its potential. But let’s not deceive ourselves, it is far from perfect. In SDR content, a problem with white balance became apparent. Slight deficiencies in green and a clear excess of red caused the screen to take on a pinkish hue. You don’t even need measuring tools to notice this – in everyday viewing, the slightly shifted color palette could be quite noticeable, and in color checker tests, colors were even "jumping" out of their reference fields. With HDR content, the situation was a bit better, as the white balance was closer to ideal, but another problem emerged – brightness management. The EOTF curve often caused the image to become too bright, which spoiled the perception of contrast, and in dynamic scenes led to a slight "flickering" in the reception. We actually already mentioned this in the sections about black levels and HDR. The good news, however, is that Samsung provides a lot of tools for improvement. The QN80F allows for really detailed calibration, including a 20-point white balance. And since the manufacturer left us so many options, we decided to see how the TV would perform after solid corrections.

We primarily tested the QNED86A in Filmmaker mode, which is designed to provide the most accurate picture. Unfortunately, right out of the box, there were quite a few shortcomings. The most noticeable issue was the poorly adjusted white balance – there was a lack of blue, causing the overall image to lean slightly yellow, and at times, even orange. An even bigger problem turned out to be the way the television manages brightness. Due to its technical limitations – namely, local dimming that only works along the edges of the screen – the QNED86A tends to over-brighten entire scenes. This is where the flattening effect we mentioned earlier comes from. Instead of distinct depth and contrast, we get something akin to "boosted brightness," which can strain the eye over time.

After calibrating the QN80F, it immediately showed that it is capable of much more. The pink tint that could previously spoil the reception has disappeared, and the white balance finally looks as it should – natural and without excessive deviations. The colors have gained depth, and the image has become more saturated and consistent, making movies simply more enjoyable to watch. It's a bit like removing a light haze from the screen – suddenly everything seems sharper and clearer. Brightness management has also improved. The television no longer gets lost so easily in dynamic changes, and the EOTF graph shows that the curve tracking is much more stable. Of course, there are no miracles – the limited number of zones still means that small, bright elements can be slightly brightened, but that is due to the construction itself, not the settings. After this adjustment, the QN80F feels like a more mature piece of equipment, and watching movies finally provides the satisfaction one expects from a television even in the higher class.

What was saved in the QNED86A6A is undoubtedly the colors. After calibration, the white balance was set with great precision, resulting in deviations on the Colour Checker palette mostly not exceeding the threshold of visibility for the human eye. In other words – the colors finally looked natural, without strange yellow or orange tones that previously ruined the experience. Unfortunately, even the best calibration cannot bypass design limitations. The already mentioned very modest number of local dimming zones and their unfortunate placement made the analysis of the EOTF curve in films still show clear over-brightening of scenes. The image tended to flatten, lacking cinematic depth. Fortunately, this effect is not as noticeable in older productions or SDR content. There, calibration really does its job and allows taming the QNED in such a way that the image can be pleasing. However, the specifics of this design – especially the contrast issues – cannot be entirely overcome.

With lower quality materials, such as YouTube videos or older television recordings, the QN80F can showcase its stronger and weaker points. If strange color transitions or artifacts start appearing on the screen, it's worth using the noise reduction function. The best setting is at the "medium" level – it smooths out the problematic segments without blurring the entire image. However, one compromise must be kept in mind: this function always removes film grain. If someone enjoys its presence in older productions, it's better to leave the reduction turned off because, regardless of the setting, the grain simply disappears.

Resolution scaling, or upscaling, is another strong point of Samsung. The QN80F may not be the best TV on the market, but it performs very well in its price range, which is very important for such a large size as a 100-inch screen. Even low-quality materials can gain a second life – the image becomes sharper, more readable, and overall much more pleasant to view. A weak point remains overscan, or slight trimming of edges in very low resolutions (e.g., 576p), which has been a longstanding issue for Samsung. Fortunately, in everyday viewing of HD and 4K content, this practically doesn’t matter anymore.

If someone is worried about possible "steps" when connecting colors, there is a simple way in the QNED86A. Just turn on the feature called Smooth Gradation and set it to medium level. Then the TV really smooths out all those unwanted transitions – especially in older productions – and does it in such a way that the film grain doesn't disappear, nor do strange artifacts appear. In other words, you can use it without worry.

The upscaling itself also turns out quite well. Of course, there are no miracles here – with lower quality sources, you can observe characteristic jaggedness. Fortunately, there is a sharpness slider in the menu, and if someone prefers a more "softer" image, it can be quickly adjusted to their taste.

The QN80F features a 144 Hz panel, and this is evident in practice – with full refresh, the image is exceptionally smooth, and motion blur remains at an acceptable, barely noticeable level. However, this mode is mainly aimed at PC gamers. The most important reference point in everyday use remains a 120 Hz refresh rate, and here a certain discrepancy arises. During the UFO test, we noticed the blurring of contours of quickly moving objects – it looked as if the television had the BFI (Black Frame Insertion) function permanently enabled, which in practice led to an unpleasant double edge effect. We do not yet know if this is a software issue or a characteristic of this model, but in its current form, it is difficult to praise such behavior.

The QNED86A is equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate panel, so right from the start, it's safe to say that it's suitable for both sports and gaming. And indeed, this is true – the image looks smooth, and motion blur is not very noticeable. IPS panels have always had some issues with this, and you can sometimes notice slight blurring here as well, especially in very dynamic scenes, but it's not something that ruins watching a match or a fast-paced game. For movie and sports fans, LG has added the traditional TruMotion smoother. In the menu, we have two sliders – one for movies (De-Judder), the other for sports (De-Blur). The first adds missing frames and allows you to adjust the character of motion – from raw, cinematic to more fluid, "theatrical." The second enhances sharpness during dynamic actions, so it's worth turning it up a bit if you're watching a lot of sports.

The Samsung QN80F gives the impression of a television designed for gamers. On the list of advantages, it features a 144 Hz panel, four full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, full support for VRR and ALLM, and one of the best-designed game bars on the market. Additionally, there is the Game Motion Plus motion smoothing, which works even in games without actually increasing input lag, making the QN80F an absolute phenomenon in this category. In practice, this means you can enjoy smoother visuals without sacrificing responsiveness, which is a dream for many console gamers!

As usual with Samsung, Dolby Vision is missing in games, and this is no longer surprising. What surprised us much more, however, is that in the 2025 models… the HGIG feature has disappeared. It was the feature that allowed consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X to perfectly match HDR tone mapping to the capabilities of the television. In the current firmware of the QN80F, this option simply doesn’t exist – it looks more like a bug than a conscious decision by the manufacturer, but as of the test day, it must be noted that HGIG is unavailable. Because of this one omission, the QN80F goes from being almost the perfect television for gamers to just "almost" perfect. This is quite a pity, as Samsung has created a model that truly raises the bar in gaming hardware.

In terms of gaming, the LG QNED86A6A is a complete tool. It features four HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s, which means that whether you connect a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or a powerful PC – everything will work at full 4K 120 Hz with support for all features. This is a big plus, as some competitors still have only two such ports, which can be problematic with a larger number of devices. It also has VRR, or variable refresh rate, which eliminates screen tearing, and ALLM, which automatically activates game mode when the console is turned on. There’s also Dolby Vision Gaming and a proper implementation of the HGiG format, so titles supporting these formats look more vivid and detailed. Added to all of this is the Game Optimizer – a kind of control center for the gamer. From this level, you can view image parameters in real-time, quickly change modes, activate additional features, or adjust image settings to your preferences. The LG QNED86A6A essentially has everything one can expect from a modern gaming television.