Samsung R85H Series MRN65R85HAFXZA 65"

A 144Hz gaming beast with gorgeous colors, but the HDR and overall picture quality leave us wanting. Grab it under USD 800 and you'll be happy.

The 144Hz panel and FreeSync Premium Pro support are the real standouts here. Gaming sits at the 87th percentile, which is genuinely impressive for a non-OLED set. The Motion Xcelerator 144Hz tech should keep fast-paced games smooth, and HDMI 2.1 across four ports means you can plug in a PS5, Xbox, and PC without juggling cables. But the display itself only lands at the 54th percentile, and HDR performance is a disappointing 35th. For a TV pushing HDR 10+ and 'Micro RGB HDR+', that's a letdown. The 30W 2.0 channel audio with Dolby Atmos is fine for casual viewing, but you'll want a soundbar for anything cinematic.

The LG C5 OLED is the obvious elephant in the room. It costs more but delivers true OLED blacks and far better HDR. If picture quality is your priority, the C5 wins without breaking a sweat. The Hisense U8 and TCL QM8K are the value plays, both offering strong mini-LED performance that likely beats this Samsung on HDR punch. The Sony A95L is in a different league entirely, but you're paying for it. For pure gaming at 144Hz, the R85H holds its own, but it's not the best all-rounder in this group.

Pricing is all over the place. We're seeing USD 668 to USD 1,200 across five US listings, which is a massive USD 532 spread. At the low end, this is a solid deal for a 65-inch gaming-focused set. At the high end, you're dangerously close to OLED territory where the LG C5 will embarrass this thing on picture quality. Shop around and don't pay more than USD 800 for it.

The Samsung R85H is a weird one. It's a full-array LED TV masquerading as an OLED in the marketing copy, and that's the first thing you need to know. The headline feature is Micro RGB backlighting, which Samsung claims hits 100% BT.2020 color coverage. That's a bold claim, and honestly, the color performance is the main reason to consider this set. But the picture quality percentile sits at a mediocre 36th, so something isn't translating from spec sheet to real-world performance.

If you're a movie buff who cares about HDR performance and deep blacks, this isn't your TV. The HDR sits at the 35th percentile, which is rough for a set pushing HDR 10+. Go get the LG C5 OLED or a Hisense U8 instead. You'll get far better contrast and HDR punch for similar or slightly more money.

Buy the Samsung R85H if you're a gamer who wants 144Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, and four HDMI 2.1 ports without spending OLED money. The Micro RGB color tech is genuinely interesting and produces vibrant, accurate colors. But if you care about HDR performance or overall picture quality, look elsewhere. This is a gaming TV first, a movie TV second.