Samsung U8000F (IPS) vs SHARP JP7765E

Better does not mean good – and that perfectly summarizes the capabilities of the U8092F when it comes to displaying bright movie scenes in HDR mode. The brightness of the panel is just under 250 nits, which is definitely too little to enjoy any lighting effects. An interesting situation was noted during the measurement of the fourth scene from the movie Sicario 2 – the television clearly dimmed the entire screen in an attempt to achieve better black levels (which are still weak). One could even suggest that the device uses some form of "global dimming," but unfortunately, the results are still very poor. To make matters worse, the television does not support a wide color gamut – the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is about 80%, so there’s no hope for truly vibrant colors. HDR images here look rather like lightly brightened SDR, and that's the form we would suggest sticking to when it comes to this television.

So how does the brightness of the Sharp JP7 perform in the most demanding titles? Honestly: at first, we were quite surprised. The television is capable of achieving over 1000 nits of brightness, which is an outstanding and rarely seen result for a device costing just under 2000 zł (for 55 inches). Watching bright, full-screen scenes, one can get the impression that we are dealing with truly good equipment. However, unfortunately, we must return to the problem we mentioned earlier regarding local dimming management. When small, bright elements appear on a dark background on the screen (like in the test scenes from Life of Pi or Sicario 2), it is noticeable how poorly the JP7 handles the zones. The television dims them almost to the maximum, stifling the whole HDR effect, which at such moments resembles a flat SDR image (less than 200 nits). This instability makes the image on the JP7 unfortunately lose its appeal in demanding, contrast-heavy films.

As a consolation, it is worth noting that the panel has the potential for good color display. A PFS (phosphor) filter has been implemented here, allowing the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette to reach a solid 94%. The manufacturer calls its product a “QLED,” even though it is mainly based technologically on the aforementioned PFS filter. Considering the recent market battles among manufacturers about what can and cannot be called QLED, we leave the issue of the correctness of this naming to your judgment. However, it remains a fact that the potential for reproducing saturated colors in this panel is simply good.

The Samsung U8000F was tested in the best possible picture mode built into the TV, which is Filmmaker Mode. This mode should – at least in theory – offer a cinematic, reference-quality image without unnecessary enhancements. For SDR content (mainly HD/SD), the TV performed surprisingly well straight out of the box. White balance errors hovered around a value of 3, which is roughly at the threshold of perception. The only complaint could be about brightness management – the gamma chart showed a slight tendency to brighten or darken certain areas, but overall it performed quite well for this price segment.

Unfortunately, it looks much worse in HDR mode. Although the white balance wasn't terrible, the TV had significant color errors – particularly noticeable on the Color Checker chart, where almost every sample landed outside the target point. The HDR image simply looks unnatural, and colors can be shifted, dull, or too cool. This largely stems from the fact that the U8000F does not support a wide color gamut (DCI-P3). The TV is physically incapable of displaying accurate colors in HDR standard – and this unfortunately shows in every more demanding material.

When it comes to out-of-the-box colors, the Sharp JP7 was tested in Film mode, which traditionally offers the most consistent image compared to the yellowed “Eco” mode or the glaring blue of the “Dynamic” mode. Although this is the best choice among the available settings, the results are still far from ideal. The white balance clearly lacked red and blue components, causing many scenes to take on an unnatural, greenish tint. Another issue was the gamma – during fullscreen scenes, the television provides too much brightness, completely stripping away its cinematic character. All of this translated into color reproduction errors, particularly with shades of gray, which exceeded Delta E 10. Just to remind: errors above 2-3 are already noticeable to the human eye, so here we are dealing with a significant distortion of reality.

In HDR mode, the situation is reversed but not any better. Here, the blue color dominates the white balance, giving the image an unnatural, almost “store-like” sharpness reminiscent of aggressive demo modes. Furthermore, the measurements of the EOTF curve emphasize the store-like nature of the image. The graph clearly shows that the television generates an image significantly brighter than the standards predict, resulting in an artificially boosted and unrealistic final effect. The Sharp JP7 is evidently trying to appear stronger than it actually is, but it does so at the expense of fidelity to the content.

Although the U8000F offered quite a decent picture in SDR right out of the box, we were able to adjust it a little more. We managed to eliminate a slightly purplish tint and calibrate the gamma to a more reasonable level. However, the television still tends to overemphasize the smallest and brightest parts of the image – the gamma chart shows a characteristic "dip" that is difficult to completely correct.

Unfortunately, the situation looks worse in HDR. It's hard to talk about any significant improvement here – the television is simply not designed for HDR content. We tried to adjust the picture in the advanced settings, but despite everything, the color errors remained quite large – a delta E above 7 indicates noticeable deviations. It's a bit of a shame, but that's the charm of a budget design. In SDR, the U8000F performs just fine, while HDR is simply not its league.

We subjected the JP7 to our standard calibration procedure and truly... the television gained a new life thanks to it, especially in SDR content (YouTube, classic television, series, or older movies). Because we managed to accurately set the white balance and stabilize the gamma, color errors dropped to a value of below 3. This is a level at which the human eye has trouble detecting discrepancies. In this scenario, the Sharp JP7 delivers an image with really great color accuracy, which is a significant advantage in this price range. However, the content in HDR turned out to be much more problematic. Here, despite our efforts and adjustments to the settings, the television simply did not want to cooperate. In the JP7 menu, we cannot find any option that would allow for real control over brightness management (EOTF). Although a significant portion of color errors was reduced, the image still remained unnaturally oversaturated. It's a pity because the potential of the mini-LED backlit panel is large, but the software presents a clear barrier.

The conclusion is simple: when watching less demanding content (SDR) on the JP7, you can expect an image that is more than satisfactory, but in HDR, you have to come to terms with a certain degree of "artificiality" that cannot be overcome even with professional equipment.

When it comes to how the Samsung U8000F handles lower-quality materials, we have to admit that Samsung has made progress compared to its predecessor from last year – the DU7192 model, which theoretically occupies the same place in the lineup.

This year's model is equipped with a function to improve the fluidity of tonal transitions, which has been implemented much better than last year. Yes, the television still uses quite strong algorithms that can distort details or remove film grain, but even so – it can be confidently said that it works effectively.

However, not everything went perfectly. The U8000F has noticeable issues with slight frame cutting when watching very old content in very low resolution. If someone plans to play their old VHS tape, they should be prepared for the image to appear slightly “cut off.”

When it comes to lower quality materials and how the Sharp JP7 handles them, the situation is ambiguous. Let's start with the upscaling – here we have no major objections. The process of scaling the image to a higher resolution is correct; the image remains readable and clear, without the overscan effect or cropped edges. Of course, this is not at the level of top models and at times one can notice slight jaggedness on the contours, but in this price range, the effect is fully acceptable.

However, the digital image processing itself is significantly worse, as aside from the scaling, it virtually does not exist. In the JP7 menu, we won't find any option that would effectively smooth out unwanted tonal transitions or reduce noise in the image. As a result, the signal reaches the matrix in a very raw form, which, with heavily compressed materials (e.g., from YouTube), leads to visible posterization. Either this is a flaw in the software or a very strange design decision, as in earlier Sharp models, this feature was available and, more importantly, worked with noticeable effect. Here we are left at the mercy of what the source provides, without any digital support from the image processor.

The Samsung U8000F is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, so right from the start, it’s clear that we shouldn’t expect any miracles. This is simply the standard in this class – sufficient for everyday viewing, but without any fireworks.

The TV offers one motion smoothing slider – a feature called "Motion Blur Reduction", which allows us to adjust the smoothness of the image in movies. Higher settings provide a more "theatrical" and smoothed effect, while lower settings help retain the original character of the film with a slight 24p effect. Interestingly, there is a feature called "Clear Motion LED", which is a BFI mode – that inserts black frames between the frames of the picture to improve motion clarity. However, in practice, the screen flickers significantly when activated, and it should be regarded more as an experiment than something that realistically enhances gaming comfort.

The motion fluidity on the Sharp JP7 is very mediocre, and the reason is simple: the television uses a 60Hz panel. This immediately makes it difficult to recommend for watching sports or serious gaming, where higher refresh rates are already the standard. The only real plus is the presence of a motion smoother, which we can control in movies using a slider called De-judder. Lower settings produce a more raw, "cinematic" (frame-based) image, while higher settings add artificial fluidity. We suggest setting it somewhere in the middle of the scale, that is, in the 3-5 range – this is the best compromise to avoid the soap opera effect while getting rid of the tiring image stutter. Interestingly, in the menu, we also find a slider for "motion blur reduction," which usually suggests the presence of a 120Hz panel. However, in the case of the JP7, it does not contribute anything to the image and serves more as a placeholder – it is meant to look good in the settings, but technically it should not function on this panel.

Samsung U8000F offers a basic set of features for gamers, which may still be sufficient for less demanding users. It includes an automatic game mode – when a game is launched on the console, the TV automatically switches to low latency mode, significantly improving response time. We also find the VRR feature, or variable refresh rate, which operates in the range of 48 to 60 Hz. This means that both Xbox and PS5 will not produce the “tearing” effect, as long as we stay within this range.

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

And unfortunately, that's about it when it comes to advantages. Additional features like Game Bar or higher refresh rates are reserved for higher models of Samsung from the 2025 line. In theory, the TV also supports the HGiG feature, which should adjust HDR image settings to the intentions of game creators. Unfortunately – despite the fact that this feature appears in brochures and advertising materials – its configuration on the Xbox console turned out to be... impossible in practice.

As we mentioned earlier, the 60Hz panel is not a feature that will attract gamers to the Sharp JP7. Perhaps for the casual gamer, whose console generates most titles at 60 frames per second, there might be something interesting? When it comes to specific additions, we find:

• ALLM Mode: Automatically switches the TV to low latency game mode (input lag).

• Game Menu: Which is hard to call a full-fledged “Game Bar,” as its functionality is minimal. Besides enabling ALLM, there is only a smoothness enhancer dedicated to games, which we recommend against because it introduces very noticeable artifacts and spoils the responsiveness.

• Dolby Vision Gaming: For Microsoft's consoles.

Unfortunately, the list of shortcomings is much longer and more painful than the positives. The biggest disappointment is the lack of support for 120Hz, even when lowering the resolution to Full HD. The presence of 120Hz would allow for performance modes to be activated in many games on PS5 or Xbox Series X. Another absence is VRR, which means that during frame drops, we are susceptible to image tearing. The lack of proper implementation of the HGiG standard is also very problematic. This results in the fact that during HDR calibration in the console menu, it is very easy to “overshoot” the brightness settings. As a result, instead of clear details in highlights, we end up with an unnaturally over-brightened image with cut-off details. The Sharp JP7 is a proposal only for very casual gamers.