Samsung S90D / S94D 48" (WRGB OLED) vs LG OLED C6 (WOLED)

In the tested movie scenes, the Samsung S90D delivers impressive brightness levels, exceeding 800 nits in the first four shots—a very strong result. In the final shot, featuring a full-screen burst of sunlight, brightness drops to approximately 400 nits, which is still acceptable. Notably, larger versions of this model exceed 1,000 nits, offering even more impressive performance. Additionally, the colour space coverage of DCI-P3 at 97% ensures rich and realistic colour reproduction, greatly enhancing image quality. For those considering the size of the S90D, it is worth noting that larger variants with QD-OLED panels deliver even better HDR performance, making them an excellent choice for those seeking optimal visual fidelity.

The HDR effect on the LG C6 is really very good. LG Display's new WOLED panel primarily brought a significant increase in brightness. In our unit we measured around 1,500 nits and, importantly, the TV can show similar values in many normal movie scenes. That gives HDR the proper impact. Bright highlights, lamps, or sunlight can be really strong, and most HDR movies simply look very impressive. Of course it's still an OLED, so brightness drops in scenes with a lot of white. The fifth scene of The Meg illustrates this well, where the C6 reached about 600-700 nits. That's still a very good result, but it also shows the new panel hasn't removed all the limitations typical of OLEDs.

Colors

When it comes to color, there is also little to complain about. The C6 covers about 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut and roughly 75% of BT.2020. In practice the colors are very saturated and, importantly, stable regardless of the scene. That's worth emphasizing, because not every TV behaves the same in this respect. In some RGB Mini LED models color saturation can depend more strongly on image brightness. Today a wider color gamut is mainly offered by QD-OLED TVs and new SQD models with a new generation of quantum dots. However, the C6 still performs very strongly here and is able to generate appropriately saturated colors in most movie scenes.

The Samsung S90D television has been tested in Filmmaker mode, which offers good colour reproduction, although with some imperfections that may be noticeable to more demanding users. This mode may seem too warm, and users who switched from Standard mode may experience a slight shock. It is worth noting that this state of affairs is caused by poor settings, for example, in the white balance, rather than the Filmmaker mode itself. In both SDR and HDR content, the device shows drops in blue colour, causing colours to become warmer than they should be. In practice, this means that some shades, such as sky blue or skin tones, may appear less natural and more tinged with pink or yellow. The Colour Checker test confirms these deviations, showing shifts towards warmer tones. In SDR content, the gamma graph indicates slight fluctuations, causing the image to be minimally darker, especially in shadows. This may affect less distinct details in darker scenes. Meanwhile, in 4K HDR materials, the EOTF curve is above the recommended line, which leads to some parts of the image being displayed too brightly, potentially causing clipping in the brightest areas. Overall, the Samsung S90D presents a solid picture straight out of the box, but for the best results, especially with more demanding content, additional calibration is recommended.

Right out of the box the LG C6 is pretty well set up, especially if you choose Filmmaker mode. In SDR material the white balance is decent, although as brightness increases it starts to lack a bit of red. The picture becomes a little cooler as a result, but it’s not such a big difference that it stands out during normal viewing. More happens in the brightness response itself. Gamma is a bit low and instead of holding at 2.4 it sits closer to 2.1–2.2 over much of the range. In practice the C6 slightly brightens midtones. Shadows are therefore more readable, but the image loses some depth compared with how it should look in a dark room. In HDR the situation is a bit more interesting. The start of the grayscale looks very good, but from about 20–30% brightness the white balance starts to drift more and more. As brightness rises there’s more red and a noticeable lack of blue. In the brightest highlights the difference is already significant and also affects reproduction of some colors. The EOTF curve itself is handled fairly well over most of the range. The C6 only has a tendency to slightly brighten the image, which we also saw during our film comparisons. The largest deviation appears around the brightest highlights, where the TV begins to adapt the signal to the panel’s capabilities. So the out-of-the-box Filmmaker mode in HDR isn’t perfect, but overall it performs well. The biggest room for improvement is the white balance, especially at high brightness.

After calibration, the S90D TV delivers an even more impressive performance in movie mode. The white balance for both HD and 4K HDR content is now nearly perfect. While there are still some minor imperfections, they are so subtle that they don't significantly impact the overall image quality. The colours are more balanced, offering a natural depiction of details, especially in scenes that require precise colour accuracy.

It's important to note that the 48-inch model features a WOLED panel, which differs from the larger sizes. This results in a smaller coverage of the wide colour gamut, meaning it doesn't offer the same rich colours as the 65-inch version, which is equipped with a QD-OLED panel.

Contrast has also seen a substantial improvement. The gamma curve after calibration is much closer to the ideal line, achieving a better balance between bright and dark areas of the image. The EOTF curve, which previously showed issues with overly bright scenes, now performs much better, retaining more detail in the bright sections of the image, especially in HDR content.

LG TVs have been very receptive to calibration for years, and the C6 is no exception. After adjustment the white balance was set almost perfectly, and most color errors dropped to values below 3, often even around 2. In practice this means very accurate color reproduction in both SDR and HDR. An interesting detail appeared only with the HDR brightness characteristic. On a classic EOTF chart everything looks nearly ideal, and at first glance it would be hard to find fault. Only when we measured the TV’s behavior using filters based on actual movie scenes did it become clear that the C6 has a slight tendency to artificially boost image brightness.

It’s not a huge difference and many people may even see it as a positive, because HDR looks a bit more impressive this way. From the standpoint of fidelity to the source material this isn’t ideal — some scenes are simply a touch brighter than the filmmaker intended. Interestingly, this is somewhat unusual for LG. In previous generations, the brand’s TVs typically stuck very closely to the reference tone curve after calibration. With the C6 we’re still very close to the standard, but that subtle boost in brightness is indeed noticeable in films and series.

The S90D TV excels in smoothing tonal transitions, offering natural and seamless colour shifts. Thanks to its advanced technology, it ensures a smoother visual experience overall. The noise reduction feature can further enhance tonal transitions, making it beneficial in certain situations. However, it’s important to note that enabling noise reduction may also smooth out the film grain, which can detract from the cinematic feel. For this reason, it's advisable to use the feature sparingly, preserving the natural grain that adds depth and authenticity to the content.

Samsung continues to impress with its scaling capabilities, with the S90D effectively processing lower-resolution content. The image is sharp and clear, maintaining proper outlines and presenting details accurately. For example, tree branches are rendered well, with no noticeable jagged edges that would compromise image quality. Thanks to the effective scaling, even lower-resolution materials are displayed attractively, making it a great choice for users who enjoy content from diverse sources, such as regular antenna or cable television.

The LG C6 has taken a really big step forward here. The TV uses the same processor found in the flagship G6, and in terms of image processing the two models are very similar. That’s a big plus, because in this area LG’s processor this year performs excellently. The "Smooth Gradation" feature works especially well. With heavily compressed material it can effectively hide ugly tonal transitions and artifacts that often appear, for example, in lower-quality streaming. It’s best to leave it set to "Low." Then the improvement is clear, and the TV doesn’t yet start blurring fine details. Higher levels smooth the image more, but can already remove some of the natural texture of objects on the screen. The upscaling itself also performs very well. Lower-resolution content is sharpened properly, edges look clean, and the processor quite effectively rebuilds fine details. In this regard the C6 is already very close to LG’s best TVs, and the differences compared with the G6 are small.

The S90D TV features a 120 Hz panel, which can be "overclocked" to 144 Hz with the appropriate PC setup, delivering exceptional motion fluidity. Samsung has long offered a range of image clarity settings on a ten-point scale, allowing users to fine-tune the display to their liking. In the UFO test, the OLED panel ensures no ghosting, with pixel response being instantaneous and perfectly capturing dynamic movements. OLED technology, in this regard, is considered one of the best on the market. The image remains incredibly sharp and detailed, even during fast-paced action, making the S90D TV a top choice for gamers and sports fans alike.

The LG C6 features a panel with a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz, which is great news especially for gamers using a powerful PC. For movies, sports, or consoles we'll of course use up to 120 Hz, but even then it's hard to fault the motion clarity. As you'd expect from an OLED, the panel's response time is almost instantaneous. Moving objects therefore don't leave the characteristic smears you still see on LCD TVs. This is particularly noticeable in sports and fast-paced games, where the picture remains very clean even during dynamic motion.

For movies and TV, LG also provides the TruMotion motion-smoothing system. In the user settings you'll find two separate sliders. De-Judder is mainly for low-frame-rate content, that is primarily 24 fps films and series. It can slightly reduce the characteristic judder, or be set higher if you want a much smoother image. De-Blur is useful for higher-frame-rate material, mainly sports broadcasts and 50/60 fps television.

The S90D TV is perfectly designed with gamers in mind, offering four HDMI 2.1 ports that support features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and HGIG (HDR Gaming Interest Group). These technologies ensure smoother gameplay and faster screen response, enhancing comfort during extended gaming sessions. The Game Bar feature also provides convenient access to settings like aspect ratio, which can be particularly useful for different game types. For PC users, the television offers an impressive refresh rate of 144Hz, with Nvidia and AMD graphics cards supporting G-Sync and FreeSync, further boosting image smoothness. While the lack of Dolby Vision support may be a limitation, it’s worth noting that this technology is less commonly used in gaming compared to movies. Nevertheless, the S90D still provides excellent features for gamers, making it a top choice for those seeking high-quality visuals and advanced gaming technologies.

LG has focused heavily on gamers for years, and the C6 really lacks nothing important. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz from consoles, and when connected to a PC it can run up to 165 Hz. It also offers VRR from 40 to 165 Hz, ALLM, and properly working HGiG. A big plus is Dolby Vision support for games, so the Xbox Series X can use that format without sacrificing game mode. The package is rounded out by a Game Bar that lets you quickly check key signal parameters and change settings without leaving the game. In terms of features, the C6 is one of those TVs that’s really hard to find fault with. Whether you play on PlayStation, Xbox, or PC, practically everything you could expect from a modern gaming TV is available here.