Samsung Q90/Q90R QLED Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to review the Samsung 65" Q90R (QN65Q90RB), and we expect them to be valid for the 75" model (QN75Q90RB), and 82" model (QN82Q90RB). These settings should apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which require a few additional changes, listed below.

One of the first things we did was disable all of the Eco Solution options, as we don't want the TV to adjust the image during testing.

For SDR content, there are four preset picture modes. We recommend choosing the 'Movie' picture mode, as it is the most accurate one out of the box, and allows for the most customization. From the Expert Settings menu, we recommend leaving the contrast at '45,' brightness at '0,' and sharpness at '0.' We also left Color at the default value of '25,' and Tint (G/R) at '0.' Finally, we chose the 'Warm2' Color Tone, as it was closest to our calibration targets. We set the Gamma to '2.2,' as that is closest to our calibration target.

To make the image brighter in SDR, you should adjust the Backlight depending on your specific viewing conditions. Changing this setting does not have any impact on the overall picture quality. The Brightness setting is a picture adjustment setting, and we do not recommend adjusting it.

As we aim for an image that is as close as possible to the content creator's intent, we disable most image processing options, including Digital Clean View, Auto Motion Plus, and Contrast Enhancer. You should adjust these to your personal preference though.

For some of our testing, we disabled Local Dimming from Samsung's hidden service menu, but for the most part, we recommend leaving this set to 'High.' With some content, you may wish to set this to a lower setting, especially when watching subtitled content. Even with 'Low,' there can be distracting brightness changes and blooming when watching subtitled content.

HDR is automatically enabled for the native apps. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears next to the picture mode on the quick settings menu. Once you start playing HDR content, some of the settings change automatically, including the Backlight, which increases to 'Max.' We recommend leaving these settings to their default settings in HDR.

For HDR to work from external devices, Input Signal Plus usually has to be enabled from the External Device Manager menu for the input you are using. Older devices may have compatibility issues if this option is left enabled, so it is recommended to only enable this setting for devices that require it.

If you find HDR content too dim, increase the Brightness and Gamma, and set Contrast Enhancer to 'High.' A Brightness setting of '5,' and Contrast Enhancer set to 'High' produces a noticeably brighter picture in HDR.

Although we disable most motion enhancing functions for most of our tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best for you. Some settings may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

Although we usually leave these settings disabled during most of our testing, you should adjust the settings in the Auto Motion Plus Settings menu to your liking, as different people prefer different levels of motion interpolation. If you want to enable motion interpolation, set Auto Motion Plus to 'Custom,' and adjust the Blur Reduction for 60 fps content, and the Judder Reduction slider for low frame rate content, like Blu-Ray movies. The LED Clear Motion setting controls the Q90R's Black Frame Insertion feature. Most of these settings will need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

The Samsung Q90R is able to remove judder from all sources, but a few settings have to be enabled. To ensure 24p content is played judder-free, set Auto Motion Plus to 'Custom,' with both sliders set to '0.' This will enable judder-free 24p playback, without adding any motion interpolation.

There is also a Film Mode setting that is available with component and interlaced (480i, 1080i) sources. This doesn't remove judder, but instead uses a form of frame blending. We recommend leaving this off unless you enjoy the effect.

From the base SDR and HDR settings, very few changes are required for a great gaming experience. When you start gaming, it is best to enable Game Mode from the General settings tab in order to get the lowest input lag and use the recommended settings for SDR or HDR. For HDR gaming, it is important to make sure that Input Signal Plus is enabled for the input you are using.

New this year is the addition of Game Enhancer and Dynamic Black Equalizer modes. Both of these can be enabled from the Game Mode Settings menu. Dynamic Black Equalizer is similar to the Black Stabilization feature found on many gaming monitors and is designed to make it easier to spot objects or players hiding in shadows, by adjusting the gamma. You should adjust this setting to whatever looks best to you, and it may need to be adjusted depending on the specific game and level you are playing.

Like last year's QLEDs, the Q90R supports low latency motion interpolation, great for improving motion on low frame rate games. The options are almost identical to the Motion Interpolation settings. To enable motion interpolation in Game mode, enable Game Motion Plus, and adjust the sliders to your preference. The Blur Reduction setting adjusts the interpolation of high frame rate content (60 fps), and the Judder Reduction slider adjusts the interpolation of low frame rate content (30 fps). The LED Clear Motion setting enables the Black Frame Insertion feature.

The Q90R supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. To enable it, simply set FreeSync to either 'Basic,' or 'Ultimate.' The latter provides the widest effective FreeSync range but may cause compatibility issues with some games, in which case, switch to 'Basic.'

The Q90R supports FreeSync when connected to a PC with a supported AMD graphics card, or with an Xbox One. Unfortunately, it does not support FreeSync with NVIDIA's new Adaptive Sync drivers, as NVIDIA's implementation only works over DisplayPort, which this TV lacks.

The Q90R will usually detect when it is connected to a PC, and will automatically enter PC mode, to ensure proper chroma 4:4:4 support. You can also manually enable PC mode by changing the input icon to 'PC.' In PC mode, some settings are disabled, including many picture settings, and there are only two Picture Modes: 'Standard,' and 'Dynamic.' For low input lag in 'PC' mode, Game Mode must also be enabled.

From the Intelligent Mode Settings menu, we enabled the Adaptive Sound and Check TV Space settings for our sound testing, as these functions are part of the TV's room correction feature, which adapts the TV's sound equalization to suit your room. Depending on your room, you may have better sound quality with these enabled.

We disabled Adaptive Volume, as this limits the TV's volume depending on the content, which may not be desirable if you need the TV to be loud. We also disabled Adaptive Brightness, as we don't want the brightness to change with different content.

When watching lower resolution content, the upscaling method may need to be adjusted depending on the specific format. The screen position, zoom, and picture size can be adjusted from the Picture Size Settings sub-menu. During testing, we encountered a bug when in PC mode, where the image would be zoomed in too much. Entering and leaving the menu would correct the zoom.