Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED (QD-OLED) Calibration Settings

We used the following calibration settings to test the 65-inch Samsung S90D/S90DD OLED (QN65S90DAFXZA​), but they're also valid for the 55-inch (QN55S90DAFXZA) and 77-inch (QN77S90DAFXZA) models that use QD-OLED panels. The 83-inch (QN83S90DAFXZA) model only uses a WOLED panel, and some units of the smaller sizes also use a WOLED panel, so our settings don't apply to those. These settings apply to most types of content, except for gaming or use as a PC monitor, which require a few additional changes, listed below.

These settings are meant to provide a starting point; they're not meant to be copied 1:1. They provide the most accurate image overall, but you should adjust them to match your preferences and viewing conditions.

For SDR content, a few different preset picture modes are available. The 'Movie' picture mode delivers the most accurate image out of the box and allows for the most customization, so that's what we used for our calibration and all SDR content. If you prefer a brighter image, the 'Dynamic' preset is slightly brighter overall but less accurate.

From the Expert Settings menu, the Brightness setting controls the intensity of the backlight. You should adjust this to your viewing conditions and personal preferences. Changing this setting has no impact on the overall picture quality. If you have the Brightness Optimization setting enabled from the Power and Energy Saving menu, this setting will adjust automatically depending on the ambient light level in your room.

We left Contrast at '45' 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's closest to our calibration target of 6500K. If you're not satisfied with the picture quality of your set, adjusting the Color Tone is a good place to start. We set the Gamma to '2.2,' as that's also closest to our calibration target for moderately lit rooms. You should adjust that setting to your viewing conditions. The S90D has a new feature called Color Booster, and although we left it off, it's a good setting to adjust if you want more saturated colors over accuracy.

As we aim for the most accurate image possible, we left Contrast Enhancer disabled for our testing. We also left the Shadow Detail setting at '0,' the most neutral setting. If you find the TV crushes details in shadows or boosts shadows too much, you should adjust these settings to your preference.

The Peak Brightness setting adjusts the Automatic Brightness Limiter, or ABL, which limits the display's brightness depending on the content shown, which can sometimes be distracting. For our testing, we set it to 'High,' which delivers the highest peak brightness. This also results in the most aggressive ABL, so you should try different settings to find the one that looks best. The 'Off' setting effectively disables ABL entirely but produces a much lower peak brightness overall. There's almost no difference between the 'On' and the 'High' setting.

HDR is automatically enabled for native apps. When you start playing HDR content, a small HDR icon appears next to the picture mode on the quick settings menu, and some of the settings change automatically, including Brightness, which increases to 'Max.' We left all the picture settings at their defaults in HDR, but you should adjust them to whatever looks best. In HDR, the 'Filmmaker Mode' HDR Picture Mode delivers the most accurate image overall, as it best tracks the PQ EOTF. This ensures that most content is displayed at the brightness level the content creator intended. If you prefer a brighter image, though, 'Movie' mode is a bit brighter overall, and small highlights get a lot brighter, but only for a few seconds. If you want to use 'Filmmaker Mode' but want a brighter image over an accurate one, you can set the HDR Tone Mapping to 'Active.'

It's usually best to leave Color Space set to 'Auto,' as the TV automatically chooses the color gamut to match the content. The S90D has a new feature called Color Booster, and although the image is more accurate with it off, it's a good setting to adjust if you want more saturated colors without sacrificing too much accuracy.

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.

The following are the old results of calibrating the white balance of our unit to 6500K in HDR using the 2 point method. We don't publish the values we used for our new 20 point calibration.

These are provided for reference and shouldn't be copied as the calibration values vary per individual unit, even for the same model and size as the TV we reviewed, due to manufacturing tolerances. If you want to try them, you'll need to enter all values shown, as all of them are active simultaneously. If you have worse picture quality, simply reset them to the default values.

Although we disable most motion-enhancing functions for most tests, you should adjust these to whatever looks best. Some settings may need to be adjusted depending on the specific content you're watching or because of your personal preferences.

Although we usually leave these settings disabled during most of our testing, you should adjust the settings in the Picture Clarity Settings menu to your liking, as different people prefer different levels of motion interpolation. If you want to enable motion interpolation, set Picture Clarity to 'Custom,' and adjust the Blur Reduction for content that's 60 fps or higher and the Judder Reduction slider for low frame rate content, like movies. The Clear Motion setting controls the black frame insertion feature on the Samsung S90D. Most of these settings must be adjusted depending on the specific content you are watching.

The Samsung S90D automatically removes 24p judder from all sources. A Film Mode setting in the Expert Settings menu is also available with component and interlaced (480i, 1080i) sources. This doesn't remove judder but instead uses a form of frame blending.

Very few changes are required for a great gaming experience from the base SDR and HDR settings. When you start gaming, enabling Game Mode from the Game Mode Settings tab in the External Device Manager is best to get the lowest input lag and then use the same settings for SDR or HDR.

Included in the Game Mode Settings menu is the Dynamic Black Equalizer, which 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.

This TV supports FreeSync, HDMI Forum VRR, and G-SYNC-compatible variable refresh rate technology. It's enabled automatically when the TV is in Game Mode.

The Samsung S90D supports low latency motion interpolation, which improves 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 higher), and the Judder Reduction slider adjusts the interpolation of low frame rate content (30 fps). The Clear Motion setting enables the black frame insertion feature.

The Samsung S90D usually automatically detects when it's connected to a PC and enters 'PC' mode to ensure proper chroma 4:4:4 support, which is essential for clear text from a PC. You can manually change the Source from the home menu to 'PC on TV.' Even though this TV displays chroma 4:4:4 properly, text isn't clear due to the unusual subpixel structure, and Windows ClearType settings can't correct this. To get a low input lag in 'PC' mode, you must also enable Game Mode.

The Samsung S90D supports both ARC and eARC, allowing it to pass high-quality audio from a connected source through to a connected soundbar or home theater receiver. To use it, you must set the HDMI eARC Mode to 'Auto,' and Digital Output Audio Format to 'Pass-Through.'

If you notice any delay between the action on-screen and the audio, you may need to adjust the Digital Output Audio Delay setting. The setting needed varies depending on the audio device, so you'll have to play with the setting to get the audio to match. For eARC devices, this should adjust automatically, but you might still need to adjust it.

From the Intelligent Mode Settings menu, we left the Adaptive Sound+ setting off for our sound testing. It's 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 this enabled.

We disabled Adaptive Volume for our testing, but if you find that commercials are louder than the content you're watching, this setting can even things out for you. We also disabled Adaptive Picture, which adjusts the TV's brightness to your room's lighting using a built-in light sensor, as we don't want the brightness to change with different content.

From the Power and Energy Saving menu, we left everything disabled, as we don't want the screen to change while taking measurements. There are a few helpful settings here that you may wish to enable, though. The Brightness Optimization feature automatically adjusts the brightness level based on the ambient light level in your room, so if you watch at night, it automatically dims the TV from your daytime viewing setting. If this setting is enabled, you can set a minimum brightness level by adjusting the Minimum Brightness setting. The Motion Lighting setting is a power-saving mode. Again, we left this disabled, but if you want to limit the TV's power consumption, these settings help.

The Samsung S90D has a huge selection of accessibility features. It supports automatic closed captioning, high contrast mode, and even grayscale mode, just to name a few. There's also an option to disable the picture entirely, leaving the audio, which is great if you want to listen to music and don't need the screen on.

This TV supports Bixby and Alexa voice assistants, but you can only have one active at a time. You can adjust the wake word for each assistant and adjust specific settings for some of them. It also supports passthrough to a connected soundbar if your soundbar supports this feature.

Although we don't expect this to be an issue for most people, cumulative exposure to static elements makes burn-in possible. There are a few options to be aware of to ensure you get the most out of your new TV.

As the name describes, the Pixel Shift setting moves the entire image a few pixels to one side and gradually shifts it in a different direction over time. It helps reduce burn-in effects from very small elements, like fine lines in a game HUD. We recommend leaving this enabled, as the screen shift is not very noticeable unless you're using the TV as a PC monitor.

Adjust Logo Brightness automatically dims the area around a logo when it detects one on the screen. It can cause problems with some games if the TV detects a UI element as a logo and dims it, so we recommend setting it to 'Low.'

The Pixel Refresh menu allows you to run a complete pixel refresh cycle, which takes about an hour. Once the TV is turned off, you can set it to run a short pixel refresh automatically after every four hours of cumulative usage or run it manually if you prefer.