SAMSUNG QN80F vs Samsung QN85F

QN80F is quite a bright screen – in synthetic tests, it achieved nearly 1000 nits, which allows for reasonable expectations with HDR content. And indeed, in many scenes, the television truly shines. Sequences with a lot of light – such as shots from the movie Life of Pi or wide, bright surfaces in The Meg – look spectacular. Brightness maintains around 700 nits, which provides a solid effect, sufficient to feel the true "HDR magic." Unfortunately, not every scene looks that good. In materials with small, bright details on a dark background, like in Sicario 2, the television has problems – it can dim certain elements significantly, sometimes to the point where they disappear from the image. This is the result of a limited number of dimming zones, which forces the device to make compromises: either stick to inky blacks or sacrifice some details. QN80F usually chooses the former. As a consolation, it has quite decent coverage of a wide color gamut – DCI-P3 at 93%. This is not the highest score on the market, but it is more than enough for most content on streaming platforms.

Although the more than double number of dimming zones compared to its predecessor has not translated into a spectacular jump in black levels and contrast, we definitely felt it in the HDR effect itself. The QN85F is up to 50% brighter than last year's model, making a huge impression in dynamic scenes. The peak brightness can reach nearly 1700–1800 nits, which is truly impressive in this Mini-LED class. The best part is that almost regardless of the scene being viewed, the HDR effect remains strong and vibrant. In four out of five test scenes, the brightness was around 1000 nits, a level that in most cases allows viewers to feel the true magic of this format. Of course, in scene number 4 from the movie Sicario 2, the limitations of Mini-LED technology become apparent – the brightness of the helicopter's spotlight drops to around 500 nits. It's not an outstanding result, but it's still much more acceptable than in last year's model. Samsung deserves applause, as the improvement in brightness in the QN85F is substantial compared to its predecessor. However, it's a pity about a certain trend seen in this year’s televisions – the manufacturer has worsened the color gamut coverage. Although the QN85F has a QLED panel, its result of around 90% DCI-P3 is average, and in the most demanding films, it can lead to less vibrant colors than in the predecessor. Despite this shortcoming, the overall HDR effect is at an excellent level and really makes a big impression in this class of devices.

We always test televisions in the best available factory mode – for the Samsung QN80F, this is the Filmmaker mode, and indeed, it offers the settings closest to the creators' intentions. However, this doesn't mean that everything looks perfect. In SDR content, the biggest issue turned out to be an unbalanced white balance – slight deficiencies in green and a noticeable excess of red led to noticeable color errors, and one could almost say there was a pinkish tint to the screen. This was clearly visible in the color checker test, where colors would "escape" their target fields – to the extent that a sensitive viewer's eye could catch it even without the help of a meter.

In HDR content, the white balance was much better, but another problem emerged – brightness management. The EOTF curve caused an overly bright image most of the time, which could affect the perception of contrast and made the screen slightly "flicker" during dynamic light changes. We have already discussed this in the paragraphs about black and HDR. Fortunately, Samsung leaves the user with plenty of options. The QN80F offers a rich set of calibration options, including a 20-point white balance – that's why we decided to check what this television is really capable of after proper calibration.

The Samsung QN85F offers several preset picture modes, but out of the box, the television starts in "Eco" mode. We could actually end the discussion here, because for such a model, using this setting makes no sense – the picture is washed out, unpleasant, and far from what we expect from a television of this class. Therefore, we conducted our tests in the best available mode, which is the Filmmaker mode. Its purpose is to faithfully reproduce what the directors saw while filming, and indeed, this setting performs best among all the factory options. However, this does not mean it is free of flaws.

Both in SDR and HDR, the QN85F strongly highlighted warm colors. This stemmed from a lack of white balance, with a noticeable absence of blue. Additionally, the picture sometimes appeared overexposed – both the gamma brightness characteristic and the EOTF curve indicated that the television has a tendency to blow out scenes. In SDR, the color reproduction errors (Delta E at levels of 4–5) were still acceptable, but in HDR, the inaccuracies became really significant and clearly deviated from what the creators intended to show us. Fortunately, Samsung provides a wide range of calibration tools in its televisions, so – as always – we proceeded with professional calibration to see how much could be improved.

After conducting a thorough calibration, it was possible to bring most image parameters to a really good level. The white balance in both SDR and HDR appears nearly perfect – the image is natural, neutral, and free of the previously noticeable reddening. The colors have gained depth, and the overall visual reception has become more pleasant and cohesive. It was also possible to partially master brightness management, which in the factory version could be problematic. The EOTF chart shows that the television performs significantly better with brightness after calibration – there's no longer excessive dimming of certain elements. In films, it can still be observed that the QN80F has a tendency to slightly brighten the smallest, bright details – this is already a result of the device's construction and the limited number of dimming zones. In short: not everything can be overcome, but what could be improved has been addressed. After calibration, the QN80F makes a really good impression; it simply looks more mature and professional.

After calibrating the movie mode, we managed to tame the colors in both modes to nearly perfection – most of them did not exceed an error value of 3, which is the limit of visibility to the human eye. The image became more natural, fuller, and at the same time devoid of the blooming that was noticeable right after taking the TV out of the box. This shows how much potential lies in the QN85F and how well it responds to precise settings. However, this does not change the fact that certain technological barriers cannot be overcome. Despite the significant benefits of calibration, limitations of the panel itself still remain. Although the number of dimming zones has doubled compared to its predecessor, the algorithms controlling the backlighting can manipulate brightness in their own way. Sometimes this leads to slight color distortions or subtly visible halo effects around bright objects. Nonetheless, the reception after calibration is really pleasant and shows how good a screen the QN85F can be if we just take a moment for the right settings.

If, while watching lower-quality materials – for example from YouTube – we notice strange color transitions or unwanted artifacts, it’s worth checking the settings and enabling the noise reduction function. In our opinion, the best setting is at the "medium" level – it effectively smooths out problematic color transitions while not excessively blurring the entire image. However, one must know this: this option tends to remove film grain. If someone cares about preserving this effect (e.g., in older films), it’s better to just turn it off – regardless of the level, the grain always disappears.

When it comes to scaling resolution (i.e., the so-called upscaling), Samsung – as always – performs very well in this area. The QN80F may not compare to the top models worth several thousand, but for its price class, it really performs impressively. Very low-quality materials (e.g., from SD television or older video files) are noticeably improved and look surprisingly decent. The only noticeable drawback is the typical Samsung issue with overscan – that is, slightly cropping the edges of the image at very low resolutions, e.g., 576p.

Although the native tonal transitions on the QN85F perform excellently with 4K materials, we don't always deal with content in the highest resolution. That's when it becomes crucial how the television handles upscaling and digital image processing. This process is managed by Samsung's proprietary processor – AI NQ4 Gen2. In practice, it works very efficiently. If visible color banding or other undesirable phenomena appear on the screen, for example in materials from YouTube, they can be easily smoothed out using the "noise reduction" function. Set to medium, it improves tonal transitions while not excessively blurring desired details. However, it's important to remember that – as with most Samsung televisions – this feature significantly affects the film grain. Therefore, during movie screenings, it's advisable to use it cautiously to maintain the natural character of the image.

The upscaling itself looks very good. Test materials in lower resolutions were displayed sharply and clearly, with a lot of detail. The only drawback remains the issue of overscan, which is cutting off the edges of the screen. In most situations, this is not noticeable, but with very old materials below HD quality, there may be instances where part of the image on the left side is slightly cropped.

QN80F is truly a "fast" television. The applied panel offers a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, which in practice means that the screen keeps up with the action – whether we're watching a movie, playing games, or browsing dynamic content on the internet. The image doesn't tear, it doesn't excessively blur, and everything simply looks smooth and pleasant to the eye. Of course, the manufacturer hasn't forgotten about movie fans – in the settings, we find an option for motion smoothness adjustment, allowing us to tailor the effect to our personal preferences. You can leave a more "cinematic" look (for those who enjoy a classic film vibe) or crank up the smoothness to a higher level for a theatrical smoothing effect. Importantly, the choice is ours. Watching movies and playing on the QN80F is simply a joy.

Motion blur and fluidity of motion in the QN85F is a topic worth discussing in more detail, as the television is equipped not with a standard 120 Hz panel, but with a 144 Hz panel. The additional hertz will primarily be appreciated by PC gamers, but the mere presence of such an option can be seen as a nice addition and a sign of the times – it’s hard to complain about the trend towards faster panels, since in practice, each of us would like the image to be as fluid as possible. However, the most important thing is how the television handles typical 120 Hz refresh rates – in the case of consoles, sports, or films recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second. And here, the QN85F performs really well. In movies, you can easily adjust the character of the image thanks to the “picture clarity” function, where we find two adjustable sliders. Key for viewing sessions is the one responsible for reducing motion blur. Lower values give the image a more cinematic character with preserved “frame rate,” while higher values lead to a strong smoothing that resembles television theater.

The Samsung QN80F is a television that delivers on almost every front when it comes to gaming. It features a 144 Hz panel, four full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, support for gamers in the form of variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic low latency mode (ALLM), and even one of the best-designed game bars on the market. The cherry on top is the motion smoother, which – uniquely in the world – works in games without significantly increasing input lag. Sounds like an almost perfect TV for gamers? And indeed, it is almost that way.

[UPDATE] We have updated our reviews of Samsung TVs from 2025 due to the release of software version 1131, which restored the crucial gaming feature HGiG.

As usual, Samsung does not support Dolby Vision in games, but that no longer surprises anyone. However, what is much more surprising is that... the HGIG feature has disappeared – that is, the system that allows a console (e.g., PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X) to precisely match HDR tone mapping to the capabilities of the TV. In the latest firmware update for the 2025 models, this option simply vanished. It seems more like a bug than a deliberate move, but it must be honestly noted that as of the day of writing the review, the HGIG feature is simply not present.

And it is precisely because of this one absence that the QN80F turns from an almost perfect gaming TV into a "nearly" perfect device. It's a shame – because everything else indicated that Samsung could set the bar very high again in this generation.

The Samsung QN85F makes a great impression in terms of features for gamers. It has four HDMI 2.1 ports, so we can easily connect several devices at once. There is also variable refresh rate (VRR) to prevent screen tearing, as well as automatic game mode (ALLM), which allows the TV to switch to the appropriate settings automatically when we start the console. Additionally, it supports refresh rates of up to 144 Hz – something that PC gamers will particularly appreciate, but the mere fact that such an option is available shows that Samsung is fully supporting gamers. The Game Bar panel deserves praise as well. It's a quick glance at key parameters – from frame rate to refresh mode to shortcuts for picture settings. Instead of sifting through the entire menu, everything is at our fingertips, which turns out to be really convenient in practice. However, the most interesting addition is the Game Motion Plus feature. It's nothing more than motion smoothing, transferred into the gaming world. When enabled, the picture becomes smoother, sometimes it even looks as though we're getting several more frames, and importantly, the response delay does not increase enough to interfere with gameplay. This solution truly sets Samsung's 120Hz TVs apart from the competition.

[UPDATE] We have updated our tests of Samsung TVs for the 2025 model year due to the release of software version 1131, which restored the crucial feature for gamers, HGiG.

The only serious downside remains the lack of proper HGiG support. This is a standard responsible for correct tone mapping in HDR games, ensuring that brightness and contrast are displayed as intended by the creators. Without HGiG, we have to adjust the brightness manually, which doesn’t always yield ideal results. The feature was available in previous models, but it disappeared from the QN85F after one of the updates. We hope that Samsung will quickly fix this issue, and we will keep checking to see if it has been resolved.