The technological revolution in the consumer electronics segment has been going on for several decades now and, apparently, is not going to slow down. Of course, high-tech TVs are at the forefront of this process. In just a few years, this segment has been enriched with several grandiose innovative technologies.
Display technologies
LED LCD:
– quantum dot technology has increased the brightness and color accuracy by improving the white quality for the backlight.
In fact, the TV generates high-quality white, combining blue from the blue backlight diodes, with green and red from ‘quantum dots’ on the additional film. Two primary colors are re-emitted by microparticles, the size of which corresponds to the wavelengths of green and red. Next, the high-quality white is directed to the RGB filter;
– mini LED backlight.
In 2018 Chinese TCL has replaced conventional LEDs of backlights with miniature ones, increasing their number to tens of thousands.
Grouped into arrays with separate control, they radically increased the accuracy of brightness control in different frame areas, depending on the content.
OLED:
– the peak brightness of the OLED Evo panel exceeded 1,000 nits (cd/m²) due to replacing hydrogen with deuterium oxide, which withstands higher voltage;
– Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology further increased peak brightness with focusing by microlenses on the film between the glass and the OLED panel.
Hybrids:
– Samsung Display’s QD-OLED hybrid panel uses an additional blue OLED – stack instead of the traditional white backlight;
– peak brightness of new LG Primary RGB Tandem four-layer OLED panels based on 4-Stack technology in the LG G5 exceeds 2,000 nits.
Panasonic Z95B uses a similar panel;
– Sony announced the RGB Mini LED Bravia 10;
– finally, the Hisense 116UX TriChroma mini LED TV, unveiled at CES 2025, also uses innovative hybrid technology RGB Local Dimming Display.
Perhaps, the RGB-LED backlight will form the colors without a traditional RGB filter, similar to micro-LED panels, where each pixel has ‘its’ LED. Of course, they provide fantastic image quality, but, unfortunately, at a fabulous price so far.
Newest TVs
The abundance of technologies ensures rapid progress, but the assessment of their effectiveness is often ambiguous. However, the consumer usually does not have the time and desire to meticulously understand the technological nuances. Therefore, the traditional side-by-side comparison remains the most relevant.
The flagships rarely become bestsellers due to their high price. Usually, the places on this list go to the following models that have a better price-quality ratio, offering almost the same level for a lower price. This year, Samsung’s line with hybrid QD-OLED panel includes S95F, S90F and S85F. LG OLED line 2025 offers wireless M5, flagship G5, C5 and B5.
Unlike the expensive flagships, the S90F and C5 could well take their place among the bestsellers.
As known, this year LG abandoned the Micro Lens Array (MLA) panel technology in favor of a four-stack Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel for the premium G5 and M5. The C5 and B5 are equipped with a standard WOLED (White OLED) panel. However, according to the company, it has some brightness improvements vs last year’s C4.
The display type used is the main difference between the S95F, S90F and S85F series. S95F uses the new 4th gen QD-OLED hybrid panel from Samsung Display, S85F has LG Display’s WOLED panels. S90F series uses QD-OLED or WOLED panels depending on the screen size and region.
Of course, the AI component significantly affects the image quality and smart functionality of modern TVs, especially in the premium segment. In turn, it depends on the processor performance. The LG has the newest Alpha 9 AI Processor Gen8, the Samsung uses the new NQ4 AI Gen3 video processor with 128 neural networks.
Testing
HDR Brightness (LG C5 vs Samsung S90F):
– peak 2% Window ~ 1,300 vs 1,630 nits (cd/m²);
– 10% Window ~ 1,075 vs 1,430 nits;
– 25% Window ~ 715 vs 670 nits;
– 50% Window ~ 460 vs 380 nits;
– 100% Window ~ 220 vs 260 nits.
SDR Brightness
– peak 2% Window ~ 625 vs 630 nits (cd/m²);
– 10% Window ~ 620 vs 630;
– 25% Window ~ 595 vs 630 nits;
– 50% Window ~ 530 vs 360 nits;
– 100% Window ~ 305 vs 245 nits.
Contrast – Inf : 1 vs Inf : 1.
Color Volume
It characterizes the proportion of colors displayed by the TV from their total number within the P3 gamut (brightness range from 0 to 1,000 cd/m²) or BT.2020 (up to 10,000 cd/m²). It illustrates the dependence of the display’s color reproduction on the brightness, which significantly affects displaying saturated and bright colors of HDR content.
SDR (DCI-P3 / BT.2020):
~ 98% vs 98.1% / 68.8% vs 79.5%.
HDR (DCI-P3 / BT.2020):
~ 87% vs 99.6% / 40% vs 58%.
Color Accuracy
Pre-Calibration (‘out of the box’)/ Post-Calibration
SDR
– White Balance dE 2000 – 2.56 vs 1.65 (good value <3) / 0.15 vs 0.19;
– Color dE 2000 – 1.35 vs 1.19 (good value <3) / 0.92 vs 0.72;
– Gamma – 2.22 vs 2.16 (2.1- 2.3) / 2.2 vs 2.19;
– Color Temperature – 6,316K vs 6,512K (6,500K is standard) / 6,513K vs 6,518K.
HDR
– White Balance dE ITP – 4.98 vs 10.83 (good value <9) / 4.3 vs 4.1;
– Color dE ITP 7.2 vs 8.0 (good value <9) / 4.5 vs 6.2;
– Color Temperature – 6,459K vs 6,763K / 6,489K vs 6,608K.
Key Features
40W 2.2ch LG C5’s audio system supports Dolby Atmos and AI Sound Pro, which optimizes sound according to genre. Its list of modes includes Cinema, Sports, Music and Game. Additional functionality offers the option of ‘Audio Guidance’ and wireless headphones via Bluetooth.
The S90F offers 40W 2.1ch audio with HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos, but without support for Dolby Vision HDR or DTS audio formats.
PQ EOTF Tracking
The PQ Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) is the mathematical function to convert the digital signal into brightness. In fact, PQ EOTF characterizes the reproduction accuracy of HDR content (C5 vs S90F):
– 600 nits – 0.0025 vs 0.0017 (good value < 0.008);
– 1,000 nits – 0.0031 vs 0.0016;
– 4,000 nits – 0.0037 vs 0.0017.
Gaming
Input Lag – 4.5ms vs 4.4ms for 1080p@Max Refresh Rate, 5.2ms vs 5.3ms for 1080p/4K@120Hz and 10.0ms vs 9.9ms for 1080p/4K@60Hz.
Given the Native Refresh Rate of 144Hz, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), FreeSync and G-SYNC compatible, both TVs are ideal for gaming.
Viewing Angle
– Brightness Loss – 67° vs 70° (good value > 45°);
– Black Level Raise – 70° vs 70°;
– Gamma Shift – 67° vs 70°.
Of course, competitors have 4x HDMI 2.1 with 48 Gbps support, ATSC Tuner (Advanced Television Systems Committee), eARC port for lossless digital audio transmission to an external soundbar, USB ports and Wi-Fi module.
The list of supported HDR formats traditionally differs. LG offers HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG, Samsung supports HDR10+ instead of Dolby Vision.
The LG C5 OLED TV runs the webOS 2025 version, whose interface supports user profiles.
LG promises annual updates for 4 years. The Samsung S90F runs the Tizen OS 2025 version, which is quick and easy to use.
Conclusion
The comparison results of two contenders for a place in the 2025 bestseller list are mixed. At the same price of ~$ 2,200 for the 65-inch model, the LG C5 (OLED65C5PUA) and Samsung S90F offer very similar features and functionality. Of course, the models differ slightly in some aspects. For example, the S90F is brighter in Game Mode, but the C5 is brighter in SDR. The S90F does handle direct reflections better. The colors of the S90F with a hybrid QD-OLED panel are more colorful and rich vs C5’s WOLED panel. Both TVs are good for gaming, but the LG C5’s Dolby Vision support is a significant bonus for Xbox gamers.
But some bonuses are often offset by the overall redundancy of specs. For example, S90F formally demonstrates better White Balance dE 2000 in SDR ‘out of the box’ (1.65 vs 2.56), but, frankly speaking, both values are excellent, because good value <3. The same for brightness, contrast, color gamut, uniformity, viewing angles, scalling, etc. Slightly surpassing each other in nuances, both models provide superb image quality. As a result, their price-quality ratio is almost identical. Therefore, the choice depends on secondary factors, including service, discounts and personal attitude to brands.
This video introduces the new Samsung S90F with a hybrid QD-OLED panel.