Sharp GP7 vs SAMSUNG OLED S95F (QD-OLED)

In terms of HDR, the Sharp GP7 can pleasantly surprise us. The maximum brightness around 500 nits is the threshold at which the real advantages of high dynamic range become visible. During our tests, we achieved stable values between 430 and 500 nits, which translated to clearer distinction of elements in both bright and slightly darker scenes. Additionally, there is a DCI-P3 color gamut coverage of around 95%, which allows for vibrant, visually pleasing colors. Of course, this is not the highest league, but for this price range – a big plus.

The new generation of QD-OLED panels in the Samsung S95F shows its full potential, and the brightness results are absolutely stunning. In test film scenes, such as "Life of Pi" or "Sicario 2," where smaller light elements appear – stars, the moon, or headlights – the TV was able to achieve over 2000 nits of brightness. This is a result that surpasses even most top Mini-LED models.

The secret lies in the technology itself – instead of a limited number of dimming zones like in Mini-LED TVs, we have millions of glowing pixels here, allowing the TV to fully showcase its power without technological compromises. Of course, since it is still an organic panel, in full-screen scenes flooded with white – like in the final sequence of the film The Meg – the brightness drops to around 1400 nits. Nevertheless, the result remains excellent and definitely exceeds what any OLEDs, both QD-OLED and WOLED, have offered so far. The color reproduction also deserves special attention. Thanks to QD-OLED technology, the TV achieves almost 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette and about 80% in BT.2020. These values make the HDR image not only dazzling with brightness but also captivating with a richness of colors.

Upon taking it out of the box, in movie mode, the GP7 doesn’t perform badly at all. In HD materials, we noticed slight disturbances in white balance – drops in red and blue, which made the image have a slightly greenish tint. This is visible, for example, on the faces of characters, which become less three-dimensional. The gamma is somewhat brightened in places, resulting in less deep blacks. In 4K HDR content, a cooler, bluish tone additionally emerges, making colors appear less natural. On the other hand, looking from the "out of the box" perspective, these settings are not bad – just minor adjustments are needed, and we will try to improve them with special tools.

The best picture mode right out of the box is undoubtedly Filmmaker Mode – a mode that Samsung has been using for several years, designed to faithfully represent the creators' intentions. In SDR content, its implementation is not bad, although some imperfections can be noticed. The picture is slightly dimmed, and the screen has a slight pinkish tint resulting from the predominance of red and blue in the white balance. Color errors remained at a level of 3–4 ΔE units – and for the uninitiated: a value above 3 is the threshold where the average human eye begins to notice differences.

However, much larger problems arise in HDR content. Here, the white balance was not such a significant issue – a slight excess of blue did not cause major problems. The issue became managing brightness. In practice, the TV "overexposed" the image too much, causing details in the blacks to completely disappear. The final effect was far from what was expected, and the color errors in this mode became really large. It's hard to say why such a design decision was made, but it was clear that the factory HDR settings did not allow this TV to showcase its full potential.

Calibration really makes a difference in GP7. After implementing the adjustments, we achieved a better white balance in HD content, and the colors started to look much more natural, with minimal deviations and without a clear dominance of individual colors. In 4K HDR, the change is not as spectacular, but still noticeable. The gamma has been brought to a more neutral level, although there is still a visible issue with a slight boost in the brightest details on the screen. The lack of control over dynamic tone mapping limits our maneuvering room, but nonetheless, this is a significant step forward compared to the factory settings.

After calibrating, it was possible to make subtle adjustments in white balance and significantly improve the image characteristics. In SDR content, the quality has become practically reference-level—most color errors have fallen below a ΔE value of 1, which is the level at which the human eye can no longer detect differences. This is a result that places the S95F among the absolute top televisions available on the market.

In HDR materials, calibration also brought significant improvement. The tendency of the television to overexpose the image was successfully controlled, as confirmed by the analysis of the EOTF curve. A slight tendency to brighten the entire scene or occasional loss of details in the blacks can still be observed; however, it does not significantly impact the overall perception. After calibration, the S95F showcases its full potential and can be described as one of the best televisions on the market!

The TV can quite well scale lower quality content. Our test panels were well reproduced, and although there was minimal aliasing on small, delicate shapes (for example, thin branches), it still looked satisfactory. Additionally, the GP7 offers a "10-bit color reproduction" feature to smooth out tonal transitions in poor quality materials. It is useful, but at the expense of some details, which is why we recommend turning it on only when we are really watching something of poor quality.

The Samsung S95F offers a noise reduction feature that smooths tonal transitions. It works very effectively, but in practice, it can be too aggressive. Materials of lower quality – such as older recordings or videos from YouTube – become soft and plastic when this feature is turned on, resembling an image digitally smoothed in a graphics program. Unfortunately, this also causes the natural film grain, which often adds authenticity to the image, to disappear. Fortunately, the TV does not lose too many fine details, such as in skin textures or elements of the surroundings. Therefore, this feature is best used with caution – depending on preferences, one can achieve a smooth image, but less natural, or one that is more faithful to the original. In our opinion, the most universal choice is the “Standard” setting.

The image scaling performs significantly better. The TV handles lower resolution materials well – even 576p content looks quite decent, although a slight blockiness can be noticed. Overall, the effect is very good, although it is somewhat inferior to what Sony Bravia 8 (II) or LG G5 can achieve. It's also worth mentioning a small imperfection of the S95F – in older materials, overscan may occur, causing a slight cropping of the left edge of the image.

With a 60 Hz refresh rate and an average response time, it's hard to expect miraculous smoothness. In dynamic tests, like the one with the "little green man," it is evident that the image can blur and occasionally lose sharpness. For watching movies and series, this is acceptable, especially since one can use a motion smoother with three levels of adjustment. However, if we care about ultra-smooth sports broadcasts or super responsive gaming, we may feel underwhelmed.

The Samsung S95F demonstrates phenomenal motion fluidity. The panel itself operates at a native 4K resolution with a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz, and combined with QD-OLED organic technology, it delivers incredible results. Sports and games look amazing – the image is fast, dynamic, and very natural. Additionally, the built-in motion smoother and motion blur reduction system allow you to adjust the character of the image to your preferences. You can opt for a more "frame" effect with visible film structure or a smooth, theatrical performance. Every viewer will find a setting that suits them.

Let's not kid ourselves – the GP7 is not a television for the most demanding console gamers. Yes, it has ALLM that will automatically switch the TV to low latency mode, but it lacks VRR or G-Sync. There is also no advanced menu to facilitate the adjustment of settings during gameplay. Dolby Vision in games? Yes, but with such high input lag that it's hard to talk about comfort. If we play occasionally and do not aim for the highest standards, we can get by, but fans of technical innovations will be disappointed.

The same advantages of low motion blur and excellent motion fluidity characteristic of OLED panels are just the beginning, as the Samsung S95F was designed with gamers in mind. The manufacturer has equipped it with four HDMI 2.1 ports – although limited to a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s, in practice, this has no impact on compatibility with consoles or PCs. We get a complete set of gaming features: variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic game mode (ALLM), as well as a very well-implemented HGiG standard, which allows HDR titles to appear as their creators intended. The whole thing is complemented by the Game Bar – a clear settings hub where we can preview and change all key picture parameters with one movement. The proprietary motion smoother Game Motion Plus also deserves praise, as it can smooth out animation, which is particularly useful in productions running at 60 frames, where stability is not always exemplary. Although support for Dolby Vision in games is lacking, it is hard to consider this a serious drawback – Samsung compensates for it with other solutions. This is one of the best, if not the best, gaming TVs available today on the market.