Super TVs: Top 5 flagship OLED and QLED panels with a 65-inch screen size

When designing a new generation of TVs, Samsung designers came up with an interesting concept. The idea was to make not just a TV, but an important element of the interior, turning the TV into a wall canvas. The main snag was in the wall mount. With a traditional TV bracket, the TV would look ridiculous, so The Frame came up with a special No Gap Wall Mount, with which the TV fits snugly against the wall and really resembles a rather large 65-inch wall canvas. Alternatively, you can purchase a special stand in the form of an easel. The second important solution is the common One Connect module and a translucent universal cable that simultaneously serves as both power and signal transmission. Agree, the picture, from which the wires would stick out, would look strange.

The third key decision to turn your TV into a work of art is the interchangeable side panels with wood frame finish. In total, six colors are available and thanks to this choice, the TV is much easier to fit into the interior of the room, and in the future to refresh the appearance of the panel if it becomes boring. When the TV is not in use, it goes into photo frame mode. It would be blasphemy to spin a Win 10 wallpaper on such a TV, so the TV has a subscription-based Art Store application that allows you to download thousands of works of art from the largest galleries and museums in the world in high resolution to your TV. In Picture mode, Samsung The Frame automatically adjusts the brightness of the picture and turns off to save power when no one is in the room.

Otherwise, this is a fairly expensive and terribly progressive "smart" TV. The Frame's 4K display is based on a QLED matrix with 100% DCI-P3 coverage, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, AMD FreeSync and resolution upscaling technology. The Quantum 4K GPU does a great job of artificially zooming in, while the Enhanced Definition feature noticeably improves readability in dynamic scenes. You can scold the picture only for the average brightness and unnatural display of skin colors in HDR10 + mode. The audio system in The Frame produces a standard 20 watts of power and is not impressive. There is no support for Dolby Atmos, spatial sound has not been delivered, and there is not enough bass. This is perhaps the most boring part of The Frame.

The Samsung QE-65Q95TA is a flagship 4K TV that has already been dubbed by many industry media as one of the best TVs of 2020 and the best 4K panel in the company's portfolio. In fact, we have before us a pointwise improved version of last year's hit Q90. Outwardly, this is the same huge and elegant panel with the thinnest side frames and an elegant central pillar. The only difference is that the One Connect universal module has appeared in the 2020 model, which combines all types of connections, including power, network, audio and video outputs. At the same time, the module itself is connected to the panel with only a single cable, thanks to which it can be beautifully hung on the wall without the usual gap and a bunch of protruding wires. We have already seen this concept in Samsung Frame designer TVs.

In terms of minced meat, this is the top model, stuffed to the very limit. The brain center of the TV is the Quantum 4K processor, which is responsible for image processing, voice assistant integration and Tizen shell speed. For high-quality sound, Samsung engineers have come up with an interesting feature of object-oriented sound (OTS). It works like this: the system analyzes the movement of objects in the frame and determines from which part of the screen the sound comes from. The sound is then focused using one of the speakers built into the panel and complemented by the surround sound of the soundbar. The output turned out to be an interesting variation on the theme of Dolby Atmos. Considering that the total power of the audio system is 60 watts, it is not surprising that many people at CES were delighted with its sound.

The main feature of the panel is direct full-array backlighting, which provides uniform image quality across the entire screen area with deep blacks almost on par with OLED panels. Another unusual feature was the Adaptive Picture mode, which, using built-in sensors, determines the level of lighting in the room and adapts the brightness and contrast of the picture to it. The image quality of this 65-inch panel is an A-minus. The picture is very bright and contrasty, the frequency of 120 Hz provides sufficient smoothness when displaying fast moving objects, the color reproduction is excellent, and the black depth is really amazing. Last year's Q90 does not give a solid five, in which the viewing angles were wider, and the color reproduction was more accurate. If we get away from this comparison, then we have a top-end QLED panel with an excellent Smart TV shell, a bunch of connection options, support for HDR10 + and FreeSync, as well as the competent implementation of numerous smart functions such as voice assistant integration and picture-in-picture mode.

The new Sony KD-65A85 is an interesting example of a “nearly hi-end” TV that delivers a picture and sound of a very serious level, but falls short of the universal coolness of the MASTER family of TVs. Sony is positioning it as an improved version of last year's 4K model AG8 with a modified processor and support for Apple AirPlay 2 with Dolby Atmos. The only pity is that HDMI is also the second version here, so playback of 4K content with a refresh rate above 60 Hz is beyond its control. HDR10+ was also not delivered. But there is Dolby Vision.

If we touch on the topic of visual aesthetics, then the Sony KD-65A85 in this regard is quite difficult to objectively evaluate. The company's designers strived for maximum invisibility and versatility, according to their idea, this huge black rectangle should easily fit into any interior without drawing attention to itself. However, it is rather difficult to show disinterest in it, if only because the thickness of the panel is only 5.9 mm, and this, for a moment, is slightly thinner than the new iPhone 12. In fact, its declared thickness of 52 mm is formed by a block with an acoustic system, electronics and cooling. The Metal Blade Stand offers height adjustment: the display can be lowered almost to the very legs, raised higher or find the optimal height so that the soundbar is placed between the legs and the edge of the screen.

The image is exactly that, in fact, the only reason why it is worth paying for the OLED panel the money that is asked for it. Sony has no problem with this. But most of all, it’s not even the quality of the displayed image that surprises, but the possibilities for customizing it. There are a lot of darkness options, among them there is both the usual brightness with contrast, and unusual ones like adjusting the color temperature to the lighting in the room (Ambient Optimization) or the degree of image sharpness (X-Motion Clarity). Triple cool that each option for clarity is provided with a detailed description and a visual showing the effect of the change. Even if you don’t understand anything about calibrating displays, setting up the Sony KD-65A85 won’t take you much time. Equally important, the Sony X1 Ultimate processor involved in all operations confidently copes with any image processing, whether it's upscaling or processing HDR content.

Last year's flagship Philips OLED TVs were impressive in terms of brightness and detail. The second technological leap in 2 years is too much, so in 2020 the company's engineers focused on improving what is already there. Namely, the refinement of the Philips P5 processor, which is responsible for numerous software image enhancements, automatic brightness-contrast adjustment and other features that distinguish a top-end TV from just a good panel. Phillips says they trained the neural network on millions of different images and taught it much better to classify content on the screen (for example, nature, people, cars, etc.), adjusting the image based on the classification.

As with last year's OLED panels from the company, the TV really shines when you turn on HDR10+ or Dolby Vision. The image is very bright and colorful, the black color is really black, and neighboring elements of the image can seriously contrast with each other. The index of dynamic scenes is also impressive, which is achieved through Picture Performance Index technology. The image on the screen looks amazing, although without proper calibration it can go into acid shades. So we advise you to spend time adjusting the picture. Moreover, Phillips itself has equipped the TV with a “before and after” comparison mode, thanks to which you can evaluate the quality of processing and understand whether it has become better. In addition, there is a "director's mode", which turns off any processing showing exactly the picture that the director intended. What's happening on the screen is emphasized by Ambilight's signature background lighting, which adjusts the color of the external lighting on the wall to match what's happening on the screen.

On other fronts, the Philips 65OLED805 doesn't surprise, but it doesn't disappoint either. 50-watt acoustics sound more interesting than a year ago, thanks to the changed direction of the speakers, the bass is more distinct and weighty. The only pity is that they did not add support for HDMI 2.1, which is why at 4K resolution the TV is not able to display a scan above 60 Hz. Plus, due to the amount of information being processed, the video signal output delay can reach 30ms or even higher, so playing dynamic games even at lower resolutions on 65OLED805 is not very comfortable.

LG's TV division is on a roll these days. They recently presented a super-expensive and advanced flexible TV that can be twisted into a tube and exchanged for an apartment in the center of the capital. The concept is interesting, but not for the mass consumer. Much more interesting is the super-thin OLED TV LG OLED65WX put into mass sale. According to the logic of the manufacturer, it should be hung on the wall like a giant photo frame. It is an impressive 4mm thick (thinner than your iPhone), weighs just 9kg, and has all the hardware, processor, and switches housed in a separate soundbar that connects to the panel via a separate flex cable. The design turned out to be unusual and interesting, but with questionable practicality. For example, what to do with the already purchased soundbar left over from the old TV? Plus, it needs to be installed on a shelf or cabinet. And this slightly violates the concept of a “photo frame” that can be hung anywhere.

Considering the TV is high-end, it's no surprise that the 65-inch panel delivers an image with infinite contrast and perfect local dimming, which is especially impressive in the dark. High brightness levels and a wide color gamut will bring out the full potential of HDR content (Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats). Also, by default, the TV offers accurate color reproduction, and any shades (dark, light, gray) look uniform. The α 9 Gen 3 processor does an excellent job of deinterlacing (note: eliminates the “comb” effect by smoothing the image), deftly recognizes the difference in frame rate and shows real skill when processing moving objects. For the latest feature, LG has come up with the name OLED Motion Pro and promises the perfect balance between motion clarity and blur level. Throw in a 100Hz refresh rate, low input lag, and you've got a great option for sports and video games.

The soundbar is technically unchanged. This is the same class 4.2 system with an output power of 60 watts. The LG OLED65WX supports Dolby Atmos and can create a beautiful 3D experience, but don't expect miracles. The option to improve the positioning of sources in the sound palette of AI Sound Pro has been further developed. In the new version of the webOS 5.0 operating system, the installation process has changed dramatically and has been simplified. In terms of smart functions and connectivity options, there is a complete set here, there is no need to regret the lack of USB ports, video outputs and head assistants. Well, the price of the LG OLED65WX is quite biting, but here you need to take into account that we have not just a TV, but a potentially important part of the interior.