Samsung The Frame 2025 (LS03F) vs LG OLED B6

The Frame LS03F is a television that can surprise with its brightness. The maximum luminance reaches around 650 nits, which already looks solid on paper. But as we know, lab tests are one thing, and real movie scenes tell a completely different story. When watching HDR content in natural conditions, The Frame 2025 maintains very good results. In most film scenes, peak brightness remained at levels of 550–650 nits. This is enough to feel the difference between standard image quality and that of HDR – bright highlights, reflections on water, and moonlight appear clear and impressive.

It’s also worth noting that the LS03F is a QLED television, which translates to solid color saturation. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color space reaches about 92%, allowing for vibrant, intense colors in HDR content. It may not be at the level of top premium models, but for a lifestyle screen, the result truly deserves recognition.

The LG B6 is a moderately bright OLED. After calibration it reaches about 800 nits, roughly 200 nits more than last year’s B5. That’s thanks to the new budget OLED SE panel from LG Display. In practice it simply gives a bit more headroom and makes HDR in many scenes look fuller than on last year’s lower-tier OLEDs. That doesn’t mean the B6 has no limits. In very bright shots, when a large part of the screen is strongly lit, brightness can drop below 400 nits. This behavior is typical for OLED TVs (especially those from this segment) and that’s when you see the biggest difference versus more expensive models. All things considered, we rate the B6’s results as really solid. It’s still not a TV for breaking brightness records, but the HDR effect is strong enough that you can really feel the step up from ordinary SDR in films.

Color gamut

Using the OLED SE panel has slightly affected wide color gamut coverage. Compared with last year’s model, results fell by a few percentage points. DCI-P3 reaches about 96%, and BT.2020 around 71%. That doesn’t mean the colors on the LG B6 are weak. In most movies and series they look lively, well saturated and simply pleasing to the eye. You only notice a difference in very bright, highly colorful scenes. Then colors lose some intensity compared with QD-OLED panels. This comes from the WOLED panel construction. Besides red, green and blue subpixels it also uses a white subpixel that helps boost brightness. It comes at a cost: at very high luminance some color is effectively “diluted” by the white light, so saturation of some colors can be slightly lower. In everyday use this isn’t a big issue, but you can notice it in the most demanding scenes.

When it comes to image quality right out of the box, even in Filmmaker mode, which is supposed to be the closest to reference, there were issues. In both HD and 4K HDR content, we noticed noticeable deviations in white balance. The image was heavily skewed towards red and blue, giving the screen a characteristic rosy tint. This effect was most visible in bright scenes – for example, in shots with a lot of white, where neutral light should naturally dominate. In such moments, the screen clearly leaned towards pink tones, which can also be seen in the attached comparison photo. As for brightness characteristics – it wasn't as bad as one might expect given such color inaccuracies. Analysis of the gamma curve and EOTF showed a slight brightening of the image compared to the reference, but not enough to drastically affect the perception of the material.

We tested the LG B6 in Filmmaker Mode, which is the best picture setting available right out of the box. ISF modes deliver very similar results, but in our tests we always stick to Filmmaker Mode for better comparison with other TVs. Each of those modes is, after all, a much better starting point than Vivid or Eco mode, where the picture is heavily boosted and noticeably less natural. With SDR content, the factory settings perform really well. Color errors are small, gamma behaves properly, and the image looks natural during ordinary viewing and does not seem overly "pumped up." It's a bit worse with HDR. When you play that kind of content you can quickly see that the white balance hasn't been set perfectly. Too much blue and red causes the image to shift toward a slightly pink tint. This is also confirmed by measurements of the color gamut and the ColorChecker, where samples clearly drift in that direction. It's not a flaw that completely ruins the picture, but you can notice it in HDR films. So people who care about the most faithful image should consider the calibration we describe later in the review.

After calibration, the movie mode gained a completely new quality. The issue of pink tint, which had previously been clearly visible, especially in bright scenes, was effectively eliminated. Colors began to look much more natural, and the white balance no longer dominated the rest of the image. It was no longer the same exaggerated “box picture” – everything gained coherence and a cinematic character. Additionally, the tendency of the television to slightly brighten scenes, previously visible in the EOTF curve analysis, was partially corrected. Of course, this was within the limits of what the design allows without local dimming – it’s hard to speak of perfect brightness management here. Nevertheless, the final effect was definitely closer to what one would expect from a mode called Filmmaker.

During calibration we focused primarily on HDR content, because that's where the factory settings required the biggest corrections. We didn't neglect SDR mode, though, which after adjustment was brought almost to perfection. Colors are very accurate and brightness is handled as it should be. The biggest improvement in HDR came from correcting the white balance. After removing the excess red and blue, the pinkish tint disappeared and the image became much more natural. Skin tones, whites and all colors that had been shifting toward magenta improved. After calibration most errors fell below a Delta E of 2–3, the threshold at which the average viewer stops noticing differences with the naked eye. The LG B6 can therefore deliver a very accurate image, especially for the manufacturer's entry-level OLED model.

The LS03F is equipped with the NQ4 processor, which is responsible for improving image quality—especially in lower-quality materials. In practice, it works surprisingly well, particularly with older content and recordings with lower resolution. Activating the "noise reduction" feature yields noticeable effects. The television effectively smooths tonal transitions and removes digital noise that can appear in darker areas of the image. Compared to previous generations, there is a clear improvement—previously, this feature often smoothed everything too much, including details that it shouldn't have removed. In this year's model, the smoothing still occurs, but it is done in a much more acceptable manner. Textures of materials, skin, or fabric details are no longer so heavily muted as before—the image retains more naturalness. However, this does not change the fact that film grain is still removed by the television, which may not be to everyone's liking. On the other hand, it is no longer as aggressive an intervention as in previous models. It is also worth mentioning that the LS03F may struggle with very weak signals—such as recordings from VHS tapes or video in low resolution. In such cases, we noticed slight clipping of the image at the edges—so-called overscan. This can lead to situations where a small part of the image (e.g., subtitles at the bottom edge) gets cut off.

The LG B6 handles lower-quality sources very well. Much of the credit goes to effective digital image processing, which can mask some source imperfections without overly smoothing the whole scene. The feature "Smooth Gradation" proves particularly useful. It can significantly reduce posterization, which we mentioned earlier, especially in darker areas of the image. The safest choice remains Low or Medium. The function still effectively smooths harsh tonal transitions, but does not yet interfere too much with fine details. The most dedicated purists can, of course, leave it off. Upscaling to 4K also performs very well. Full HD and 720p content retain a good amount of detail, and the image is neither overly sharpened nor excessively blurred. Some limitations become noticeable only with very poor sources below 720p, where the smallest subtitles and fine elements are not always perfectly sharp, but this is true for almost every other TV on the market.

A novelty in The Frame for 2025 is the panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Yes – in a television primarily associated with displaying artwork, you can now not only watch Van Gogh but also comfortably play on a console or follow dynamic sports action. This is a definite step towards greater versatility. In the case of Samsung films, as usual in models with a 120 Hz panel and above, it allows you to adjust motion smoothness according to your own preferences. You can set a more cinematic representation while maintaining frame rate or opt for full motion smoothing. The range of options is wide, allowing you to tailor the effect to your taste – whether the viewing experience is meant to resemble classic cinema or a presentation on a modern theater panel.

*this part of the test refers to the model LS03FAU in sizes 55 and 65 inches, which is equipped with a 144Hz panel; the 43 and 50-inch sizes have 60Hz panels, and therefore perform much worse in terms of motion smoothness.

One of the biggest advantages of OLED panels is their very fast pixel response time. This keeps the image sharp and prevents the visible smearing that often appears on LCD TVs. However, there is a downside. During slow camera pans, motion can look more choppy than on LCD screens, where the slower panel naturally masks some of that effect. Fortunately, on the LG B6 you can easily soften this with TruMotion. With the motion smoothing properly adjusted, you can achieve smoother motion without giving the picture an excessive soap-opera effect.

As we mentioned earlier – although The Frame is likely displaying images and artwork most of the time, Samsung recognized that a Van Gogh enthusiast could just as well be an avid gamer. And it must be admitted that The Frame 2025 has almost everything it needs to become a full-fledged gaming TV.

On board, we find support for ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and variable refresh rate (VRR) thanks to the implementation of one HDMI 2.1 port. The TV handles lower resolutions at higher refresh rates with ease and features an advanced Game Bar – already known from other Samsung models – which allows for a quick overview and change of the most important gaming-related settings. And for that, it earns extra points from us. The proprietary motion smoothing feature, Auto Motion Plus Game, also deserves a mention, which – and it’s worth emphasizing – works without boosting input lag. Samsung remains the only manufacturer that has managed to implement this feature in a practically unnoticeable way in terms of delays. The result? Much better fluidity in games, especially those that struggle to maintain a steady 60 frames. This solution can genuinely improve gameplay comfort in more demanding titles – especially on consoles that don’t always manage full fluidity, particularly in AAA games.

As for the downsides – the absence of Dolby Vision we already treat as a standard in Samsung TVs, so there’s not much to complain about here. The problem, however, is something completely different. In the latest version of the Tizen system, the HGiG option has disappeared. Literally – it’s gone. This is a significant hindrance when configuring the console for proper HDR content display in games. It’s hard to understand why such a decision was made, but one thing is for sure – it should be fixed as soon as possible. We are talking about a brand that has set standards in gaming on TVs for years. If HGiG returns – and we hope that it will – The Frame LS03F can confidently aspire to the title of a true gaming TV. Not only as a wall decoration but as a device that really provides enjoyment in gaming.

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

LG OLED B6 offers a powerful set of advantages for gamers; it's simply a complete platform for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or a solid PC. It has four full-size HDMI 2.1 ports with 48 Gbps bandwidth, so you can skip the annoying cable swapping when you want to connect several newer devices at once. We get the full suite of sync technologies – from classic VRR to G-Sync and FreeSync. The screen seamlessly matches the refresh rate to the frame output produced by the console or graphics card. Of course ALLM is included: the B6 automatically detects a running game and immediately cuts input lag to a minimum. HDR handling is also excellent. The TV supports Dolby Vision, and a properly implemented HGiG standard means that after an initial calibration in the console settings the picture won’t suffer from blown-out highlights or lost detail in bright areas. The cherry on top is the Game Bar. Instead of digging through the full menu during gameplay, one click lets you adjust shadow visibility, tweak selected settings, or simply check the display’s current operating mode. All of this makes the LG B6 a great choice for gamers.