We are already well aware of many of the QD-OLED monitors sold by Samsung, which went on sale about a year ago. Almost all of them belong to the premium segment and have top-notch specifications. But what do you do when the desire for the “very best” is limited by budget? That’s right! Look for something simpler. Surprisingly, Samsung’s assortment also includes rare items, such as the Odyssey G6 G61SD QD-OLED gaming monitor with a 240 Hz QHD 1440p panel, for which you can save about $200 against the launch price. Interesting? Let’s get to know it better in this Samsung G61SD review.
Samsung G61SD Review
Unboxing
The Samsung monitor in review comes in a large, heavy box of unpainted cardboard. The box only shows the brand name, monitor series, and model name. Two special cutout handles on both sides allow for carrying.
The unpacking scheme is standard. The monitor is fully protected from external influences and is supplied disassembled (case + stand + central stand).
The box includes everything you need to get started with Samsung’s new product:
- External power adapter
- Power cord
- DisplayPort 1.4 cable
- HDMI 2.1 cable
- USB Type-B 3.0 to Type-A cable
- Warranty card
- Quick start guide
- Energy Star stickers
- Some additional paperwork
All available video interface options are suitable for our Samsung G61SD review model. Still, if you want to unleash the monitor’s full potential (10-bit + 240 Hz + HDR), the most trouble-free option would be to connect via DisplayPort to a graphics card that supports DSC signal compression technology. Game consoles and additional signal sources can and should be connected via HDMI 2.1—there are no options here.
Design and Ergonomics
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G61SD monitor attracts attention with its laconicism. Its frameless design with a barely noticeable lower border in the form of a thin black strip creates the impression of an almost weightless device. This effect is especially emphasized by the thickness of the case, about 4 mm at the edges, and the light gray color of the device.
The monitor stand deserves special attention. Its durable metal alloy figured base provides excellent grip on any work surface and does not interfere with its dimensions and shapes when creating “creative chaos” around it. The matte anodized coating in the same tone as the case harmonizes with the overall style, and the rounded edges add aesthetics.
Assembly is tool-free: All elements are connected via a quick-release mechanism, including a unique fastener between the base and the central stand. Support for VESA-compatible brackets of the 100 x 100 mm standard is provided.
Five rubber inserts on the bottom of the stand prevent slipping and protect the table from damage. The base’s flat surface can serve as an improvised shelf for gadgets, from smartphones to compact headphones.
The ergonomics of the model is thought out to the smallest detail. The user can adjust the screen’s height within 120 mm, tilt it at an angle from -2 to 25 degrees, and turn it to the right or left by 30 degrees.
Support for portrait mode (Pivot) with two-way flipping expands the possibilities of use, although it requires additional positioning adjustments for perfect centering.
The cable routing system is organized using a silicone holder on the stand – a simple solution, but its effectiveness is limited for rigid wires.
The monitor case demonstrates impeccable build quality: uniform joints, no play, high-quality paintwork, and mostly matte fingerprint-resistant surfaces. The even glossy area around the stand attachment area is also relatively practical – the gloss is wear-resistant: scratches and abrasions do not appear after several movements with a microfiber, as is the case with other brands.
The screen’s working surface has received an anti-glare coating certified according to the “OLED Glare Free” standard. On the back, a compact panel with interfaces oriented towards the back for easy cable connection.
The monitor does not have a built-in speaker system, although the lower edge’s dimensions and the case’s thickness in this part allow simple speakers to be installed. But Samsung has a different approach, we can understand.
Menu and Control
The Odyssey G6 G61SD is controlled using a convenient 5-position joystick, which also functions as a power button. The power (status) indicator is built into the black plastic lower dedicated block.
By default, it is activated only when the monitor is in standby mode, but this operating scheme can be changed through a special menu item.
When you press the control joystick, a small block appears, indicating the functions/menu sections when you move it in one direction or another.
Other “quick access” functions can be accessed immediately, without entering the menu, by moving the 5-position joystick in one direction or another. By default, the manufacturer offers to quickly adjust the volume level of the connected headphones, change the brightness, contrast, and sharpness (which should not be changed), and select the signal source. Users can change the last function at their discretion through the corresponding item in the OSD menu.
The menu speed is fast, the animation is minimal, and the quick response to user actions and the ease of use of the joystick ensure quick and trouble-free adaptation to setting up a new monitor at any level of external lighting. Everything is highly intuitive and straightforward.
Samsung G61SD review test
Color Gamut
The monitor uses a modern QD-OLED panel with an extended spectrum, providing high color coverage.
The screenshots show that two of the three reference points are noticeably shifted in space relative to the standard sRGB color standard, surpassing it in many areas. At the same time, the Samsung gaming monitor is perfect not only for working with the modern cinematic DCI-P3, providing its coverage by 98-99% depending on the display settings, but is also close in capabilities to the printing AdobeRGB, reaching an impressive 96-97%.
Switching to Normal and Auto modes quickly narrows the color gamut. The first tries to reduce the color saturation to the DCI-P3 level, and the second to sRGB. Emulation is performed with average accuracy and within the panel’s initially set capabilities. For a gaming monitor, the result is more than decent. If you need increased accuracy, you still can’t do without creating an individual color profile.
In turn, when switching to the primary mode for reducing eye strain, Eye Saver in the High sub-mode, the monitor returns to a wide color gamut (but you can set it again as needed), and the overall results are lower than with the factory settings—a normal phenomenon.
Brightness, Contrast, and Basic Color Accuracy
The Samsung Odyssey G6 G61SD monitor operates in Eco mode with a full-color gamut and default settings. It differs from the basic one for testing Graphics only in brightness settings.
The user can access many pre-installed gaming presets, several working (multimedia) presets, and a choice of working color spaces. Manual fine-tuning (brightness, color temperature, and many other parameters) is possible for most options, which is rare among all gaming monitors.
The default settings on the Samsung monitor are as follows:
- Picture Mode: Eco
- Brightness: 48
- Contrast: 50
- Sharpness: 10
- Color: 25
- Tint (R/G): R0 / G0
- Contrast Enhancer: Off
- Color Tone: Warm1
- White Balance (2-point): RGB Gain (0 / 0 / 0)
- Gamma: 0
- Shadow Detail: 0
- Color Space: Native
For calibration to 100 cd/m² and a color temperature of 6500K, only a few settings were adjusted:
- Picture Mode: Graphics
- Brightness: 30
- Gamma: +2
- White Balance (2-point): RGB Gain (-5 / 0 / -2)
- Color Space: Native
The main changes were made by reducing the brightness, setting the gamma to +2 for better visibility in the shadows, and making minor adjustments to the RGB Gain values. Adjusting the contrast and saturation levels and many other options that the monitor does not need will only worsen things.
Let’s review the data in the table below and examine the gamma curves and the placement of the gray wedge points on the CIE diagrams:
Since this is an OLED monitor, the brightness is not very high even at factory settings – only 230-235 nits, which is more than enough for most users. It is maintained when switching to emulation modes, and when changing to Eye Saver, it decreases and is locked at 85 nits at the center of the screen. In this case, the black field’s depth increases to 1.27 nits, which leads to a sharp visual decrease in contrast and reduces eye strain when working with low levels of external illumination. In other cases, the contrast ratio tends to infinity, the norm for any OLED.
The white point setting is above average by default—only 2 DeltaE units at 6360-6380K, even after switching to emulation modes. The white point remains stable during long-term work at the monitor, an obvious advantage over many LCD solutions.
The G61SD monitor also pleasantly surprises with its high stability of the color temperature for gray shades. The result decreases only after activating Eye Saver, and the color temperature decreases to a pronounced “warm” – 4500 K.
As for the general color rendering deviations DeltaE94, our Samsung G61SD review model is set to an average level at factory settings and is suitable for a gaming model in emulation modes, especially in Auto, which strives to be similar to sRGB.
The Graphics mode at maximum brightness and other factory settings demonstrates accurately set gamma curves: the overall contrast is correct, the visibility in shadows is minimal (a standard phenomenon for most OLEDs), there are no dips in highlights, and there is no RGB imbalance in the entire range. The bulk of the gray wedge points are near the DeltaE<3 zone. There is no discernible parasitic tint.
Adjusting brightness, gamma, and RGB values can improve the maximum color gamut. We retained high gamma accuracy during the calibration procedure but achieved much better visibility in the shadows. This can be enhanced further using the sRGB gamma curve rather than the classic 2.2.
Separately, we note that OLED’s behavior differs depending on the screen fill level. In the case of the Samsung solution, there are differences at APL 5% and 100%, but they are not very strong. This is a good result.
The tested emulation modes accurately replicate the factory settings in terms of white point settings (including after many hours of screen warming up), and there are no problems with gamma curves either – the results are identical to the factory Graphics with Color Space – Native. Of course, deep shadows are not distinguishable, but we have already figured out what to do with this: adjust the gamma through the monitor menu and/or perform a full calibration.
The manufacturer offers two Eye Saver modes to reduce eye strain. We tested the second of them, High, which has the most significant impact on the image. The gray wedge points are set at 4500-5000K without a parasitic tint—another rarity among monitors in such “eye strain reduction” modes.
The gamma curves suggest a sharply reduced contrast: shadows are visible (even excessively so), and the black point from “infinity” is set at a brightness level above one nit. The brightness is locked at a reasonably low level, which is perfect for working in the dark but cannot be adjusted—it is closed.
The Eye Saver mode in the High position really fulfills its main purpose and can be recommended to those who spend a lot of time at the monitor in low ambient light and do not require high color accuracy for their work. I have no complaints. Let’s move on.
Brightness range in SDR and HDR
To examine how contrast holds up and how brightness shifts across levels, we used Standard mode and gradually reduced the brightness from 50% to 0%, lowering it by 5% each step. For the table below, the measured values were obtained through the HCFR program, which allows you to estimate the black level more accurately and, accordingly, determine the reliable contrast ratio (which is not very relevant for OLED…).
The initial brightness values were obtained at 100% screen fill (APL). The range of 15-235 nits turned out to be similar to solutions from competitors and, accordingly, well known to us – this is a typical level for modern QD-OLEDs in the third generation with adequate CT settings.
When the fill level was reduced to 2%, the working brightness range changed insignificantly: 15-244 cd/ m2.
To achieve the highest possible figures, we tested the Samsung monitor’s behavior when playing special HDR videos in the basic HDR mode with the Peak Brightness parameter turned off after activating its Medium and High submodels.
Without “peak brightness” and HDR enabled, the G61SD could display up to 433 nits at 2-10% APL. After that, the brightness drops off, but it can maintain 260 nits on the full screen for several minutes.
After switching to PB-Medium mode, the monitor did not transmit new data via EDID to the system. The formally declared peak remained at 383 nits, but it was able to show brightness up to 496 nits.
This Samsung G61SD review model almost reached the expected 1000 nits only after setting the High mode. It showed 962 nits at 2% APL and up to 733 units at 5%. The results are no different from those demonstrated in other Peak Brightness submodels.
Gradients Uniformity
The 10-bit QD-OLED panel in the Odyssey G6 G61SD demonstrated uniform gradients in most tested modes.
After reducing the brightness to a low level, the quality of the gradients drops slightly, several sharp transitions with various parasitic shades appear, and the picture becomes a little “dirty” with fine dynamic noise in deep shadows. This will be noticeable if you look at the screen from a close distance or use many applications with a dark interface (GUI).
It should be noted that the latest generation QD-OLED panels demonstrate much higher results in the tone transition quality test than their W-OLED competitors. Relatively high results are maintained throughout the entire brightness adjustment range, which cannot be said about W-OLED, which sharply reduces quality and dynamic range even after reducing brightness by 15-20+% from the possible maximum (especially the first gaming models based on them).
Response time, Refresh rate, and Frame skipping
The G61SD does not use the controlled Overdrive acceleration technology and does not have a “black frame insertion” system, which is quite effective in the case of OLED, with a frequency of up to 240 Hz. Thus, the user has no options for adjusting the response time or visual sensations, thanks to additional technologies (MPRT, BFI, etc.). But they are not needed here.
It should be noted that the response time testing of this Samsung G61SD review model was carried out using not only the familiar visual tests (like the TestUFO results presented above) but also the OSRTT hardware and software complex.
Having tested the monitor, we concluded that the clarity of the moving image on the new OLED product fully corresponds to the level of a premium gaming monitor and visually significantly surpasses what the best high-speed IPS representatives from the 240-280 Hz solutions camp can offer in a comparable format.
The display shows minimal blurring and no visually noticeable artifacts. Increasing the frequency from 120 to 240 Hz significantly improves the smoothness and clarity of the picture, as demonstrated in the comparison image above.
During the OSRTT hardware and software testing, we checked the monitor’s operation only at the maximum frequency of 240 Hz. In this case, the average response time did not exceed 0.89 ms, and the fastest GtG transition occurred in a time close to 0.1 ms. There are very weak artifacts on the numbers, but we did not encounter them visually – you will not be able to do this either.
The Samsung monitor supports all the necessary adaptive synchronization standards (without official NVIDIA certification) without using any hardware module. The systems work perfectly in the declared frequency range (48-240 Hz on the GPU from the “greens”), allowing the absence of microlags and image tearing with a strongly floating FPS level.
The G61SD has no problems with frame skipping at the maximum vertical refresh rate – 240 Hz is honest without skipping.
Viewing Angles
We have also tested the Samsung Odyssey G6 G61SD monitor, which uses OLED technology. This technology has proven unrivaled in viewing angles and overall picture stability.
The image above shows everything perfectly. When changing the viewing angle in a wide range, the color and brightness of the picture on the screen of our Samsung G61SD review model change slightly but remain at a high level.
Brightness Uniformity and Color Temperature
The uniformity of the monitor brightness and color temperature across the screen field was tested at 35 points, with the monitor brightness set to 100 nits and the test field displayed on the entire screen (100% APL). All calculations (deviations) were based on data from the central point. The available OLED “protection” system was deactivated during the test.
With the brightness set, the average deviation from the center point was 0.4%, and the maximum was 1%. The result is excellent – we have not seen better yet.
The surface diagram shows how the brightness level is concentrated across the matrix field. The panel edges are slightly brighter than the central zone, but detecting such a minimal difference with the eyes is impossible.
The photo above shows a white field with minimal corrections in a graphics editor to more clearly represent what is happening on the screen in terms of the uniformity of the light field.
The same stability is maintained when displaying light and dark gray fields. Is there anything to complain about? Of course not. However, it should be remembered that a slight flickering and “dirty screen” effect may appear on dark fills – a feature of all OLED monitors on the market.
As we have already noted, there can be no problems with the black field —when outputting 100% black color, the pixels on the screen turn off, and we are left witnessing only a small area with a white mouse cursor and an inscription in the upper left corner of the screen.
Next, look at how consistent the color temperature is across the screen.
In our Samsung G61SD review testing, we used manual CT settings to achieve 6500K, and the white field brightness at the center point was kept at 100 nits. The result of 0.5% on average and 1.5% at maximum is another excellent result.
The difference between the minimum and maximum did not exceed 130K—only the best representatives of the OLED camp are capable of this, and not a single professional LCD can demonstrate such a level.
Final Line
All previously presented brand solutions based on organic LEDs have been noted on all thematic resources, received recognition from buyers, and consistently had good sales. However, the cost of many current QD-OLEDs from Samsung is unacceptable to most consumers. To cope with this misunderstanding, the new Odyssey G6 G61SD was launched on the market with a reduced vertical scanning frequency and without an external RGB backlight system.
This is not to say that significant changes allowed us to save money and offer customers a solution for $599.99 on Amazon.com or £699 on Amazon.co.uk. The savings are pleasant, and the refresh rate of 240 Hz will remain relevant for a long time, given the relatively large resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. You will likely have time to change more than one generation of graphics cards, while 240 fps is stable in every game with high graphics settings.
Also see: Acer Predator X34X OLED Monitor Review
Our Samsung G61SD review model showed very high results and did not disappoint us. Apart from the refresh rate, the gaming monitor has no other differences in the picture from the older Odyssey G6. Of course, there is something to note, something to find fault with, something to wish for additionally, but the ideal is somewhere in another universe.
