- Matching (Score) |
- Our verdict |
- Competing TVs |
- TV appearance |
- Where to buy |
- Contrast and black detail |
- HDR effect quality |
- Factory color reproduction |
- Color reproduction after calibration |
- Smoothness of tonal transitions |
- Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions |
- Blur and motion smoothness |
- Console compatibility and gaming features |
- Input lag |
- Compatibility with PC |
- Viewing angles |
- Daytime performance |
- TV features |
- Apps |
- Playing files from USB |
- Sound |
- Panel details
Samsung R85H / R86H Review
R85H / R86H / Micro RGB
Available screen sizes:
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Panel type: LCD VA Refresh rate: 144Hz Brand: SAMSUNG Resolution: 3840x2160 System: Tizen Model year: 2026
This review is an English translation of the Polish original. Read the original on Wybierz.tv.
The Samsung R85H is the least expensive model in this year's lineup from the manufacturer that uses Micro RGB backlighting. And that's precisely why it's particularly interesting, because it shows how much of Samsung's new technology was retained in a TV positioned well below the flagship R95H. So we're not only looking at how the R85H performs on its own, but above all where the benefits of Micro RGB end when the number of dimming zones and backlighting capabilities are significantly more limited.
SAMSUNG R85H - Our verdict
7.7
Overall rating
The Samsung R85H is above all a very versatile TV that works well in almost any situation. You can put it in a bright living room, hook up a console, watch a movie or series in the evening, and use regular broadcast TV every day, and each time you’ll get a good-quality picture. It may not make as strong an impression in the first minutes as Samsung’s best OLEDs, but it’s hard to point to a single feature that severely limits its use. That versatility is probably its biggest strength. Naturally, the R85H draws the most attention for its new "Micro RGB" backlight. From our tests we’d say it can indeed offer an advantage over classic Mini-LED, although not always in the areas the manufacturer emphasizes most. On test charts the color reproduction capabilities are impressive, but in real, more complex scenes the TV can’t always exploit the full potential of a three-color backlight. Its advantage is easiest to spot in simpler parts of the image, where intense reds, greens, or blues can look truly striking. Viewing angles are also a bit better, because colors viewed off-axis retain their saturation longer than on conventional LCD TVs. Micro RGB doesn’t, however, solve all the limits of RGB technology. With very saturated elements you can sometimes notice slight color bleeding into adjacent bright areas, and the relatively small number of local dimming zones means the backlight can’t always operate as precisely as its on-paper specs might suggest. The R85H shows that RGB really has potential and could be the next step in LCD development, but using colored LEDs alone doesn’t automatically translate into a huge jump in picture quality. For that reason we’d treat the R85H mainly as a somewhat better and more interesting alternative to the QN80H, not as a must-buy solely because it says Micro RGB. If the price gap between those models is reasonable, we’d choose the R85H. We wouldn’t pay a large premium just for the new backlight, since its everyday advantage isn’t always as big as marketing materials might imply. Regardless, the R85H is a successful all-purpose TV, and that’s probably the best way to look at it.
Advantages
Good black levels and contrast, VA panel with local dimming
High HDR brightness, approx. 1,000 nits
Very wide color gamut and high color volume
Matte anti-reflective coating
Panel 144 Hz / 240 Hz (DLG)
4x HDMI 2.1
Extensive gaming features (ALLM, VRR, low input lag, G-Sync)
Fast and functional Tizen system (7 years of support)
Good viewing angles (for a VA panel)
Adjustable stand width and height
Disadvantages
Limited number of local dimming zones
RGB backlighting doesn't always deliver its full potential
Visible smearing on the VA panel
No Dolby Vision / DTS:X
Movies and series in UHD quality7.3
Classic TV, YouTube7.6
Sports broadcasts (TV and apps)7.2
Gaming on console8.9
TV as a computer monitor8.0
Watching in bright light7.3
Utility functions7.3
Apps9.3
Sound quality7.1
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SAMSUNG R85H - Competing TVs in this price range
SAMSUNG R85H - TV appearance
HDMI inputs: 0 x HDMI 2.0, 4 x HDMI 2.1 (48Gbps) Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI) Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
Build quality: Good
Stand type: Legs
Bezel color: Graphite
Stand: Height adjustment, Base adjustment
Flat design: Yes
Accessories: Stand
R85H stylistically resembles Samsung's well-known Neo QLED model, like the QN80H. It doesn't try to pass for a top-tier design, the cabinet is solid and neat, but the plastic feet quickly reveal that this isn't a flagship. The bezels are thin on three sides, with the bottom bezel noticeably thicker, and the TV itself isn't among the slimmest. On the plus side, the flat back makes the R85H well suited for mounting close to the wall. When placed on furniture, it's useful that you can adjust both the spread of the feet and their height.
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SAMSUNG R85H - Contrast and black detail
7.9/10
Local dimming function: Yes, number of zones: 150 (10 x 15)
Result
182,800:1
Result
46,750:1
Result
22,450:1
Result
10,900:1
Result
9,050:1
Samsung R85H uses a Micro RGB backlight with zoned local dimming and can perform really well in terms of black level. In the 55-inch unit we tested we counted about 150 zones, so it’s not at the level of the most advanced Mini-LEDs, where that number can reach the thousands. Despite this, in many scenes the local dimming algorithm handles things fairly effectively. With larger, clearly separated objects on a dark background the blacks are deep and the contrast can be very impressive. The halo is also reasonably well controlled, so during typical viewing the R85H can indeed show the benefits of local dimming. The limitations of the relatively small number of zones become apparent with more demanding content, especially when the screen contains many very small bright elements. A good example is scenes with starry skies. In such situations the TV can practically abandon local dimming, which raises the black level significantly and causes the image to lose a large part of its contrast. Interestingly, we noticed similar behavior even when there were far fewer bright points, so it seems to be more a matter of how the algorithm operates than solely the physical number of zones. Overall, the R85H’s blacks hold up well. It’s not on par with the most expensive Mini-LEDs that have thousands of independently controlled zones, and the difference is noticeable in difficult scenes. For most content, however, the local dimming does its job and delivers much better blacks.
Halo effect and black detail visibility:
SAMSUNG R85H - HDR effect quality
5.6/10
Supported formats: HDR10, HDR10+, HLG
Luminance measurements in HDR:
Result
860 nit
Result
214 nit
Result
758 nit
Result
235 nit
Result
912 nit
If it’s about brightness, the R85H performs really well. In most of our test scenes the TV reaches around 800 to 900 nits, and with larger bright elements it can break 1000 nits. These aren't, of course, levels on par with the most expensive Mini-LEDs, but they're more than enough for watching movies and TV series in HDR, and the effect can be quite noticeable. The problem shows up again in more demanding scenes where there's a small bright element on a very dark background. Here the TV can significantly reduce its brightness so it doesn't illuminate too much of the screen. In our measurements such small highlights dropped to around 200 to 250 nits, so you can see that a limited number of local dimming zones combined with the specific behavior of the algorithm has its consequences. Fortunately, it's not something that bothers you all the time. In typical mixed HDR scenes the R85H looks good and can deliver appropriate image dynamics. You just can't expect the same punch from very small points of light as you get with TVs that have many more zones or with OLEDs.
BT.2020 color gamut coverage and primary color luminance
| Data set | BT.2020 | P3 | R | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic patterns | 92.6% | 96.6% | 76% | 74% | 43% |
| Film measurements | 86.3% | 93.2% | 62% | 55% | 73% |
BT.2020 BT.2020 and P3 – average color gamut coverage (percent of the target gamut).
R, G, B – average primary color luminance relative to target (percent).
Scene from the movie “Pan” (about 2800 nits)
Scene from the movie “Billy Lynn” (about 1100 nits)
Raw numbers aren't everything, so we also checked how the R85H performs with regular film content. It looks best with material mastered to around 1000 nits. The tonal rendering here is really good — the brightest highlights remain visible, and the image has good dynamics and can look very striking. With more demanding material it's also quite good, though the R85H has to work a bit harder to manage brightness properly. It can still preserve a lot of detail in the brightest parts, but in places it sometimes blends them together. We saw that in "Pan" (2015), where some sun rays aren't as well separated. With that kind of content you might be tempted to enable active tone mapping, because the TV will then adapt HDR more aggressively to its capabilities. For content mastered to 4000 nits this can produce a more contrasty and simply more spectacular image. The problem is that on 1000-nit material the same mode performs much worse and can seriously spoil the whole picture. That's why, for everyday use we still recommend static tone mapping.
HDR luminance chart:
R85H does not support Dolby Vision, but Samsung has been betting on HDR10+ for years, and with the right material that can actually make a difference. In our test scene the difference is visible mainly in the brightest parts of the picture. With regular HDR10 the snow and bright background sometimes start to blend together, causing some details to simply disappear. When switched to HDR10+, the TV handles them better; the snow has more detail and the overall image no longer looks so flat in the brightest areas. This is not, of course, a difference you’ll see in every movie and every scene, but here the dynamic format did show its advantage over regular HDR10, despite the TV being relatively bright.
Static HDR10
Dynamic: HDR10+
Factory color reproduction
5.4/10
In Filmmaker mode our R85H sample performed adequately in SDR, but a few things immediately showed up in the measurements. In the white balance, as brightness increased more red crept in while blue decreased. As a result, the brighter parts of the image had a slightly too warm tint. On top of that, gamma only held to the target value at the start. It then gradually fell, making most of the image a bit too bright. The combination of the two also affected colors — errors grew especially in the brighter, more saturated samples. It didn’t look bad, but for Filmmaker mode we expected a bit more accuracy. Interestingly, in HDR our unit handled things noticeably better. White balance was much more even and, for most of the range, the individual RGB components stayed close together. Only in the brightest areas did red begin to fall short, causing the white point to shift slightly. The EOTF curve looked very good, tracking the target luminance values across almost the entire range. That doesn’t mean HDR colors were perfect. The ColorChecker still shows some deviations, particularly in some of the more saturated hues, but the errors are clearly smaller than in SDR.
Color reproduction after calibration
8.6/10
After calibration the R85H shows it has impressive color reproduction capabilities. It performed best in SDR, where the white balance was brought almost perfectly into line and the gamma stays very close to the target across most of the range. That also translated into very low errors in the ColorChecker, so there's really little to fault here. HDR also shows a clear improvement, although some issues can't be corrected as well. At peak brightness the character of the backlight itself starts to show and the individual components of the white balance begin to diverge. The same goes for the most saturated colors, which don't always land exactly where they should. Despite these limitations, overall the image is significantly more accurate than on the factory settings, and the biggest difference is clearly in SDR. However, there's one thing calibration can't fix. With highly saturated elements, color can subtly bleed onto adjacent bright parts of the image. It's easiest to notice this on white, which can pick up a slight tint from a neighboring hue. It doesn't occur in every scene, but when the content is demanding the effect can be visible. This is more a characteristic of the way the RGB backlight works than an issue with picture settings.
SAMSUNG R85H - Smoothness of tonal transitions
8.9/10
The Samsung R85H handles tonal transitions quite well, and during normal viewing it’s not something that particularly draws attention. On bright gradients the transitions are mostly even, and only on closer inspection can you notice slight steps between some brightness levels. They’re not strong, however, and generally do not noticeably affect the image. It looks very similar in darker areas. You can sometimes spot small steps between similar shades, but there’s no severe banding or obvious breaking up of gradients. Bright skies, fog, and darker shadows are all displayed smoothly and without major issues.
Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions
7.5/10
Smooth transition function
Image without overscan on the SD signal
In the R85H, image processing is handled by the Micro RGB AI Processor. The name is new, but in terms of upscaling lower-quality content, the TV’s behavior remains very similar to what Samsung has shown before. And that’s not a bad thing, since the company has handled this aspect quite well for years. Low-resolution material is displayed cleanly, edges don’t become overly soft, and the TV doesn’t try to artificially extract details at any cost. The result is simply balanced, and with regular TV or older recordings the R85H performs as you would expect from a Samsung at this level. The only minor drawback is overscan, which can’t be completely turned off at the lowest resolutions. A separate issue is the additional processing of weaker sources. The R85H can smooth posterization and tidy up heavily compressed footage a bit, but it’s worth stressing that it does so relatively aggressively. At stronger "noise reduction" settings it starts removing not only compression artifacts but also fine details and natural film grain. It’s best to use it only when the material actually needs it.
SAMSUNG R85H - Blur and motion smoothness
7.4/10
Maximum refresh rate of the panel: 144Hz
Film motion smoothing option: Yes
Blur reduction option: Yes
BFI function 60Hz: Yes, 60Hz (image flickers)
BFI function 120Hz: No
Brightness drop with BFI: 73%
R85H has a 144 Hz panel, so motion is really smooth here. Just remember that the extra hertz above 120 will mainly be used when connected to a PC, so in this category we don't treat them as a particular advantage. For movies and TV, what's more important is that the panel is fast enough to provide access to an advanced motion-smoothing feature, "Motion Clarity", which lets us set motion from more film-like to very smooth. The panel's response time is a bit weaker. Because this is a VA panel, fast-moving objects can leave a slight trail. On bright backgrounds that's not very noticeable, but the darker the scene, the more visible the smearing becomes. That's a typical characteristic of this type of panel, and it's easiest to spot in dark scenes.
Blur (native resolution, maximum refresh rate):
Blur (1080p@240Hz):
A nice bonus is the ability to boost the refresh rate up to 240 Hz by switching the resolution to Full HD. It sounds great on paper and can be especially useful for PC gamers, but you shouldn't expect 240 Hz alone to solve motion clarity issues. The limitation of the panel used in the R85H remains the pixel response time, and even at such a high refresh rate fast-moving objects still show quite noticeable smearing.
SAMSUNG R85H - Console compatibility and gaming features
9.6/10
- ALLM:
Yes
- VRR:
Yes
- VRR range:
48 - 240Hz
- Dolby Vision Game Mode:
No
- Correct implementation of HGIG:
Yes
- 1080p@120Hz:
Yes
- 1440p@120Hz:
Yes
- 4K@120Hz:
Yes
- Game bar:
Yes
Samsung has been steadily expanding its gamer-focused features for several years, and the R85H really lacks nothing important in that area. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, so you can easily take advantage of the capabilities of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. HGiG also works correctly, so with the right HDR settings on the console games retain proper brightness and you don't unnecessarily lose detail in the brightest parts of the image. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung doesn't support on any of its TVs.
Game Bar is also very useful, a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. You can quickly check the frame rate, VRR operation, or change the most important picture-related settings. Samsung also adds a few less obvious features, such as the ability to change the aspect ratio or Game Motion Plus, which can further smooth games running at 30 or 60 fps. Of course, this comes at the cost of higher input lag (around 55 ms), but for slower-paced titles it may be an interesting option for some players.
SAMSUNG R85H - Input lag
9.6/10
Input lag on the R85H is low, though not record-breaking. At 120 Hz it's about 12–13 ms, and at 60 Hz about 17–18 ms. In practice this hardly matters. Input is responsive and you don't notice any delay during normal gaming.
| SDR | HDR | Dolby Vision |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p60: 18 ms | 2160p60: 17 ms | |
| 1080p120: 13 ms | 2160p120: 12 ms | |
| 2160p60: 18 ms | ||
| 2160p120: 13 ms |
SAMSUNG R85H - Compatibility with PC
8/10
Chroma 444 (max. resolution and refresh rate): Yes
Font clarity: Average
Readability of dark text and shapes: Poor
Input lag in PC mode (4K, max. refresh rate): 13ms
Matrix subpixel arrangement: BGR
Max refresh rate: 144Hz
G-Sync: Yes
R85H has a lot to offer when connected to a computer. In 4K you can use the full 144 Hz, and if you care mainly about getting the highest frame rate, dropping to Full HD lets the TV raise the refresh rate up to 240 Hz. It also supports G-Sync and FreeSync and has low input lag, so for gaming the R85H can easily double as a large monitor for gamers. Text readability is a bit weaker, though. The TV correctly supports 4:4:4 chroma, so theoretically you have everything needed for sharp font rendering. In practice, however, some fonts show small color artifacts, especially with dark text and high-contrast edges. This isn’t a problem that prevents normal work, but if you plan to sit close to the screen and use the R85H mainly as a monitor for text, it’s worth keeping in mind. It’s definitely better suited for PC gaming.
SAMSUNG R85H - Viewing angles
4.8/10
Brightness drop at an angle of 45 degrees: 80%
Viewing angles on the R85H are decent, and that's about the best that can be said. It's still a VA panel, and this type of display isn't the best choice if you often watch the TV from a wide angle. As you move to the side, the image loses contrast and blacks start to look increasingly gray. However, the R85H does have an advantage over conventional VA TVs. Thanks to its three-color RGB backlight, off-axis colors don't lose saturation as quickly and the "washed-out" effect is somewhat less noticeable. That said, if you often watch the TV with a larger group and some viewers sit well off to the side, there are screens on the market that handle this situation much better.
SAMSUNG R85H - Daytime performance
7.3/10
Panel finish: Satin
Reflection suppression: Good
Black levels during daytime: Good
In a bright room the R85H performs quite well, although a lot depends on the local dimming setting. For daytime viewing we recommend setting it to High, because the TV noticeably increases its brightness then. On large bright areas it reaches around 600 nits, and on smaller patches it can approach 1000 nits, so the picture remains easy to read even with stronger light in the living room. The satin coating handles reflections fairly well and in most cases does not turn the screen into a mirror, although strong light sources will of course still be visible.
Keep in mind, however, that the High setting means the local dimming algorithm works more aggressively. Therefore, for evening viewing we recommend switching it to Low. The TV doesn't get as bright then, but it preserves detail in the brightest parts of the image better, which after dark we consider far more important than maximum brightness. In practice the R85H will work well both during the day and in the evening, provided we adjust local dimming to the room's lighting conditions.
Local dimming | 5% | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low | 445 | 485 | 517 | 532 | 537 | 542 | 551 | 556 | 556 | 573 | 556 |
Panel brightness
Samsung R85H / R86H: 726 cd/m2
SAMSUNG R85H - TV features
7.3/10
System: Tizen
System performance: Very good
- HDMI inputs: 0 x HDMI 2.0, 4 x HDMI 2.1 48Gbps
- Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI)
- Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
- TV reception: DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-C
Classic features:
- Recording to USB (terrestrial TV): No
- Recording programming: No
- Picture in Picture (PiP): No
- RF remote control (no need to aim): RF
- Backlit remote control: No
- Teletext: Yes
- Audio only mode: Yes
- Bluetooth headphones support: Yes
- Simultaneous Bluetooth headphones & TV audio: Yes
Smart features:
- AirPlay: Yes
- Screen mirroring (Windows Miracast): Yes
- Voice search: Yes
- Voice search in native language: Yes
- Ability to connect a keyboard and mouse: Yes
TV features
If the R85H is also to be used for watching traditional broadcast TV, Samsung offers pretty much everything you can expect from a modern model. Channel handling is convenient, the program guide is clear, and switching between channels doesn't take excessively long. There's also the standard set of tuners and support for CI+ modules. It's a shame, however, that Samsung has for some time now limited some of the more traditional features that once distinguished feature-rich TVs. It's clear that streaming and the whole Smart TV ecosystem have become much more important to the manufacturer. For example, you won't find the ability to record TV channels to USB storage or to split the screen using picture-in-picture (PiP).
Smart TV features
This part is handled by the well-known Tizen. The system runs smoothly and provides access to virtually all popular VOD apps, so Netflix, Disney+, Max, Prime Video, YouTube and other local services are available without much trouble. The interface itself is fairly extensive and takes a moment to get used to at first, but afterwards navigating it is very convenient. Samsung is also developing features that go beyond just watching movies and series. SmartThings lets you connect the R85H to smart home devices and control them directly from the screen. There's AirPlay, smartphone screen mirroring, and Multi View if you want to display two different sources side by side. So it's hard to fault the system in terms of capabilities.
Sound connection options
HDMI audio:
Other audio outputs:
- Toslink: Yes
Wireless audio:
- Bluetooth: Yes
- Samsung Q-Symphony (Speaker extension): Yes
Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):
- Dolby Digital Plus 7.1: Yes
- Dolby True HD 7.1: Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC): Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD: Yes
- DTS:X in DTS-HD MA: No
- DTS-HD Master Audio: No
Senior accessibility
- Numeric keyboard on TV: No
- Font size adjustment: Yes
- Audio description: Yes
SAMSUNG R85H - Apps
9.3/10
SAMSUNG R85H - Playing files from USB
9.1/10
| Maximum photo resolution: | Supported photo formats: |
|---|---|
| 4 Mpix | JPEG |
| 6 Mpix | HEIC |
| 8 Mpix | PNG |
| 10 Mpix | GIF |
| 12 Mpix | WebP |
| 16 Mpix | TIFF |
| 20 Mpix | BMP |
| 24 Mpix | SVG |
| 28 Mpix | |
| 32 Mpix |
The built-in media player handles most popular video, audio, and photo formats. The menu runs smoothly, and thumbnails load without delays even in folders with hundreds of files. It can open JPEG, PNG, or BMP files in high resolution without any problems, though the list of supported formats has gaps. The biggest drawback is the lack of support for HEIC (iPhone photos) and for more niche formats like WebP, GIF, or TIFF. However, the player is perfectly adequate for a traditional vacation photo slideshow.
SAMSUNG R85H - Sound
7.1/10
89dB
Maximum volume
Supported codecs (TV speakers)
Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Dolby True HD 7.1
Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC)
Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD
DTS:X in DTS-HD MA
DTS-HD Master Audio
The audio section in the R85H mirrors the solutions from the QN80H. It uses the same 2.0 stereo setup delivering 30 W, which easily handles dialogue clarity in news programs and TV series, though for movie blockbusters it's definitely worth adding a soundbar. On board are Dolby Atmos support, Q-Symphony technology (for pairing with Samsung soundbars), and an "AI Soccer" mode. The latter lets you use sliders to boost or nearly completely remove the commentator's voice relative to the stadium cheering, and although the algorithm can falter at times, for fans it can be a great addition.
Sound Quality Test:
Acoustic Measurements
89dBC (Max)
75dBC
SAMSUNG R85H - Panel details
Software version during testing: 1204
Panel uniformity and thermal imaging:
Backlight Type: Mini-LED RGB
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