In this video, we will finally get an LG OLED vs Samsung QLED comparison shootout we've
all been waiting for.
Hello everyone, Vincent Teoh from HDTVTest here...
I'm a TV reviewer and professional calibrator.
Last year I didn't do an OLED vs QLED comparison video because the 2017 Q9F was only edge-lit,
but this year's new Q9FN is a totally different beast with full-array local dimming (or FALD) direct-lit
LED LCD backlighting, so here is the shootout video enthusiasts like yourself deserve, but LG
and Samsung don't need right now.
This is the LG C8 OLED, and this is the Samsung Q9FN.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get my hands on the same screen size... again... but within
the limitations of this Youtube video, I'll try and show you the pros and cons of each
technology.
As usual, some disclaimers.... both TVs have been perceptually colour matched and calibrated
for both SDR and HDR to ensure a level playing field.
Due to my camera's limited dynamic range and these TVs' off-axis colour shifts, what you're
watching on Youtube won't truly represent what I'm actually seeing, so please do not
make any judgement on picture quality based on what you're seeing in this video alone.
With that out of the way, it's time for a message from our sponsors.
This video is kindly sponsored by UK electrical retailer Crampton and Moore.
If you're thinking about buying a new TV, even if it's not the LG C8 or the Samsung Q9FN,
please support this channel by supporting them.
I work very closely with the team at Crampton and Moore for the annual HDTVTest TV Shootout,
and from time to time they also loan me TVs to review, TVs that maybe some manufacturers
are not willing to send to me for testing.
I find that the staff's knowledge of the products they sell to be excellent... they'll give
you unbiased, independent advice for your purchase.
So if you call Crampton and Moore on 0113 244 6607 and ask for David Conner, mention
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Thanks again for your support.
Right, here's another message from our second sponsor for this video... just kidding...
let's jump right into the comparison.
OLED is a self-emissive display technology which means that every single one of its 8.3 million
pixels on a 4K screen can be turned on and off independently of each other.
The current version of QLED as sold by Samsung still uses transmissive LED LCD technology...
the self-emissive version is still a few years away.
Now, you might think to yourself, for dark-room viewing, surely it's a walkover for the OLED?
Here's the thing, I've between analysing these two TVs in a pitch-black room for the past few days, and I've been
genuinely impressed by how close the Samsung Q9FN LED LCD gets to the LG C8 OLED, even on challenging
dark scenes.
As long as you sit directly in front of the TV, I saw virtually no blooming or haloing
artefacts in SDR content on the 65Q9FN, and the top-and-bottom letterbox bars - as long
as they are the conventional 2.35 or 2.39 aspect ratio - looked as inky as those on
the LG OLED.
And traditionally, the notion is that LED LCD can never reach the pop and depth delivered
by OLED due to LCD's always-on backlight contamination, but that's simply not true with the Samsung Q9FN...
it matched the C8 all the way in non-dark scenes, even exceeding it in very bright scenes.
Now, before you rush out to sell your OLED and buy a Q9FN, Samsung's full-array local
dimming or FALD implementation still has a few side effects.
To keep blacks deep and haloing to a minimum, the FALD algorithm has a tendency to crush
shadow detail in dark scenes even on the less aggressive [Local Dimming] "Low" or "Standard"
settings.
In this scene from Gravity as Sandra Bullock is hurling through space, you can clearly
see more stars on the LG C8.
The [Brightness] control on Samsung's 2017 and 2018 TVs actually affects near-black gamma,
so you can increase it to bring out more shadow detail in this particular scene, but blacks
won't look as deep, and it may create a milky hazy effect in all other dark scenes.
Another consequence of the aggressive FALD algorithm is the dimming of bright highlights
to minimise blooming and keep letterbox bars black.
In this sequence from The Dark Knight Rises as Batman meets Catwoman in an underground
tunnel (this is just the SDR Blu-ray by the way), the light on top of Batman's head
is darkened and does not look as bright as intended, even when other bright scenes
are matched in terms of luminance levels.
In other words, just be aware that as good as Samsung's FALD implementation is on the
Q9FN to produce deep blacks and keep haloing or blooming artefacts at bay, both shadow detail
and highlight detail can look darker... that's a compromise you have to accept when you have
zonal-level light control rather than OLED's pixel-level light control.
OLED and LED LCD have different uniformity issues.
On brighter full-field slides, our 2018 Samsung Q9F review sample exhibited some dirty screen
effect or DSE which was visible in panning shots across a uniform background, and also
some colour tinting near-white on both sides of the screen.
The LG C8 looks much cleaner in these bright slides, but above-black is where OLEDs struggle,
exhibiting thin vertical streaks or banding on this full-field 5% video stimulus slide.
It's difficult for us to make a proper assessment of upscaling quality due to different screen
sizes, but even then, the 77-inch LG C8 looked slightly sharper the Samsung Q9FN when scaling
this SMPTE RP-133 test chart to their 4K screens, mainly because Samsung overscans more when
dealing with standard-definition video signal.
With 1080 resolution, once we switched off any additional edge enhancement and disabled
overscan on both televisions, there's no significant difference in sharpness and detail retrieval
between the LG C8 OLED and the Samsung Q9FN QLED... owners will be very happy with either.
Both TVs offer black frame insertion or BFI, but I prefer the one on the Q9FN...
I've always rated Samsung's BFI to be the most usable on the market.
Compared with the LG C8 with BFI turned on on both televisions, the Samsung Q9FN could reach a higher
motion resolution based on this horizontally scrolling test chart, looked a bit less flickery,
and didn't break 5:5 pulldown so 24 frames per second SDR movies still looked smooth
without telecinic judder.
You would expect HDR material on the QLED to look brighter than the OLED, because
it can generate a higher peak brightness of 1500 nits on a 10% window after calibrating to
D65 white point, and is not restricted by ABL unlike OLED, but what Samsung has actually
done is to artificially brighten its HDR presentation throughout most of the PQ EOTF curve.
Of course, most people would probably prefer a bright, saturated picture, that's why the
shop mode of all televisions are overly blue and oversaturated to tempt potential buyers on shop floors.
However, there is a standard within the ST.2084 specifications published by SMPTE, and the
standard is this yellow line here, the PQ or perceptual quantisation electro-optical
transfer function.
The Samsung Q9FN consistently exceeds this curve, resulting in a picture that's brighter
and more saturated than reference, be it in Planet Earth 2, a 4K Blu-ray disc that contains
peak brightness not exceeding 600 nits, a level that can be reached by OLED such as
the LG C8, or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which is mastered to 1000 nits, or
Batman versus Superman which is mastered to 4000 nits.
Of course, I'm not sure how much the ABL limitations on the LG C8 played a part, but during our
TV shootout last year, the LG B7 matched the BVM-X300 mastering monitor in terms of brightness
and saturation, so I'm convinced that the Samsung is too bright and oversaturated versus
reference.
Besides this complaint, I was very impressed by how the Samsung Q9FN handled dark scenes,
for example this challenging one from The Revenant. On-axis, it matched the OLED in
inkiness and the brightness of the subtitles without any significant haloing.
Samsung's tone-mapping algorithm also favours retaining all specular highlight detail even
in 4000-nit HDR content.
I'm using the famous white shirt on Batfleck, and also the lightning bolts in Batman vs
Superman as an example here.
A few other things before I wrap up.
Even though Samsung has improved the viewing angle on the Q9FN versus other VA-type LCD
panels, the LG C8 OLED still suffer from less contrast and saturation loss off-axis, particularly
vertically.
For daytime viewing, the Samsung Q9FN features the best anti-reflective filter on the market...
it's basically a black hole, muting the reflections more effectively than the LG C8, for example
this biege pillow and me practising my dance moves in a white shirt here.
The Samsung QLED can also go brighter for watching in a sun-drenched room, because it is
not hampered by ABL.
Last but not least, gaming.
The 2018 Samsung Q9F wins here with a slightly lower input lag, but more importantly support
for VRR and Auto Game Mode switching which has been recently added to the Xbox One X,
as well as being 100% resistant to image retention and permanent burn-in for those long gaming
sessions.
So, there you go, each technology has its own strengths and weaknesses, and which you
should choose will depend on your own viewing habits.
This year's TV shootout is going to be closer than ever.
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Thank you for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.