Topology — what the S95F sees
Primary chain (live as of 2026-05-12): All four A/V sources (Strato V, Apple TV 4K, PS5 Pro, Switch 2) route through HDFury VRROOM 8K → Hue Sync Box 8K → S95F HDMI 1. PC RTX 5090 routes direct to S95F HDMI 3, bypassing both VRROOM and Sync Box 8K. eARC return on HDMI 4 is optional (S95F native apps only).
Dolby Vision on a non-DV display
S95F is HDR10/HDR10+/HLG only — Samsung does not license Dolby Vision. However, the VRROOM makes DV content work on S95F via LLDV→HDR10 conversion:
- VRROOM presents EDID Bank 10 ("SONY A1 LLDV BT2020") to the Strato V input, eliciting LLDV (Profile 8, source-led) output from the Strato V.
- VRROOM intercepts the LLDV signal and re-wraps it with HDR10 metadata using the custom DV datablock (Max Luminance = 1,000 nits, BT.2020), passing HDR10 to the Hue Sync Box 8K and then S95F.
- S95F receives clean HDR10 with DV-derived dynamic per-scene tone mapping — measurably better than a native HDR10 signal which carries only static SMPTE ST 2086 mastering data.
The DV chain works upstream of the TV. S95F never sees a DV signal — it sees HDR10.
⚠ LIVE MISCONFIGURATION (confirmed 2026-05-12): VRROOM HDR/AVI Max Luminance = 4,000 nits. Must be 1,000 nits. Fix: VRROOM web UI → HDR tab → HDR/AVI Max Luminance → change to 1000. Until fixed, the CMv2.9 brightness-boost bug is active and LLDV quality gains are negated on Strato V content.
Per-content picture modes
| Content | Mode | Key settings |
|---|---|---|
| Kaleidescape cinema, Apple TV+ films | Movie (Nicole-acceptable default) | Warm 2, HDR Tone Mapping Active (~2x brighter highlights vs Static per Rtings), Contrast Enhancer Off, Auto Motion Plus Off, Peak Brightness High, AI Picture Pro Off, Brightness 12–30 (12 = ~200 nits dark room; raise for NYC ambient light), Contrast 45, Sharpness 0 |
| Filmmaker (solo cinephile alternate) | Filmmaker | Warm 2 (FMM-locked), HDR Tone Mapping Static, Contrast Enhancer Off (FMM-locked), Peak Brightness High, Gamma: {ST.2084} −1 (Rtings-confirmed; tracks PQ EOTF accurately on S95F). Mastering-intent accurate but darker — use only when watching solo and want strict cinematic fidelity. |
| PS5 Pro, Switch 2 | Game (auto via ALLM) | Game Mode On per input, Game Motion Plus Off, VRR On, FreeSync Premium Pro On. ALLM from PS5/Switch 2 triggers auto-switch to Game Mode on HDMI 1. |
| PC (HDMI 3 direct) | Game or Entertain | "PC" label required for 4:4:4 chroma from RTX 5090. Movie and Filmmaker modes are NOT available on HDMI 3 with "PC" label on current S95F firmware (Rtings tested). Accept constraint: Game Mode for gaming, Entertain for desktop. 4:4:4 chroma is the priority. |
| Daily TV, news, sports | Standard | OK to leave defaults |
Why Movie + HDR Tone Mapping Active (Nicole default): Nicole finds Filmmaker too dim. Standard looks blown out. Movie + HDR Tone Mapping Active is the middle: ~1,100 cd/m² highlight peaks (close to Standard's perceived brightness) with accurate Warm 2 color, no contrast/sharpening processing, no motion smoothing. Rtings measured Hallway scene: Static 632 cd/m² → Active 1,136 cd/m². Per-HDMI-input persistence means you can switch to Filmmaker for solo cinephile sessions and Movie persists for shared viewing — no daily re-tuning.
Filmmaker Mode lockouts (UHD Alliance FMM spec — not user-overridable): Auto Motion Plus → Off, Contrast Enhancer → Off, Color Tone → Warm 2, AI Mode → Off. These are forced by the mode itself; you cannot change them while in Filmmaker.
AI Mode conflict: If AI Mode (Intelligent Mode) is On, Filmmaker Mode is greyed out and unavailable. Disable AI Mode first: Settings → General & Privacy → Intelligent Mode Settings → Off. (Source: Samsung Community, July 2025)
Per-mode lockout matrix
| Setting | Filmmaker | Movie | Standard | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Motion Plus | Locked Off | User-editable | User-editable | Game Motion Plus replaces |
| Contrast Enhancer | Locked Off | User-editable | User-editable | User-editable |
| Color Tone | Forced Warm 2 | User-editable | User-editable | User-editable |
| AI Mode | Locked Off | User-editable | User-editable | Locked (AI Auto Game Mode separate) |
| Peak Brightness | User-editable | User-editable | User-editable | User-editable |
| HDR Tone Mapping | User-editable (Static default) | User-editable | User-editable | Game HDR replaces |
Source: rtings.com S95F settings (May 2025); UHD Alliance FMM spec; Samsung Community lockout reports. [DATA GAP: exact per-setting greyed vs forced in Filmmaker not individually documented for S95F; matrix inferred from spec + Rtings Frame 2024 parity.] Default mode is Movie (Nicole-acceptable; HDR Tone Mapping Active). Filmmaker is the solo cinephile alternate — lockouts above apply when in Filmmaker only.
OLED burn-in protection QD-OLED matters
Menu path: Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Panel Care
- Pixel Shift: On
- Adjust Logo Brightness: Low (default) — dims static logo areas
- Pixel Refresh (manual): run monthly if 4+ hrs/day gaming. Trigger path: Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Panel Care → Pixel Refresh → Start. TV must stay off approximately 1 hour during run; do not interrupt.
- HGIG firmware history — disable auto-update once stable. Samsung has demonstrated willingness to remove advertised features mid-cycle. Confirmed timeline (Samsung Community EU + Australia threads): 1126 removed HGIG; 1131 restored HGIG; 1203 (Feb 2026) is current and stable. After verifying you're on a known-good firmware, turn off auto-update (Settings → Support → Software Update → Auto Update → Off) to avoid a regression installing silently. Verify firmware: Settings → Support → About This TV.
- AI Picture Pro & Auto HDR Remastering = Off for calibrated Movie / Filmmaker. Per Rtings May 2025 calibrated settings, both stay off; they conflict with locked mastered HDR pipeline. Auto HDR Remastering Pro is an SDR-to-HDR conversion tool — only relevant if you specifically want SDR upscaling, otherwise leave off.
- Screen Saver: Enable — Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → System Manager → Time → Screen Saver
- Avoid: static content (news ticker, paused game) at full brightness for more than two hours
Per-input settings
| Input | Source | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| HDMI 1 | Denon AVR output — all VRROOM-fed sources (Strato V / Apple TV / PS5 / Switch 2) arrive here via: VRROOM → Hue Sync Box 8K → S95F HDMI 1. Video path: VRROOM TX0 → Sync Box → S95F. Audio path: VRROOM AUDIO OUT → Denon → S95F HDMI 1 (Denon output). | Auto Picture Mode On; ALLM passthrough auto-triggers Game Mode for PS5/Switch 2; Anynet+ On; Input Signal Plus On; HDMI Black Level Auto (YCbCr from Denon — setting effectively grayed out). Base picture mode = Movie (HDR Tone Mapping Active). |
| HDMI 3 | PC RTX 5090 direct — bypasses VRROOM and Hue Sync Box 8K. No audio path to Denon for PC content. | Device Name = "PC" (required for 4:4:4 chroma from RTX 5090 — do NOT rename to "Game Console"). Trade-off: "PC" label locks S95F to Entertain/Graphic/Game modes on HDMI 3. Movie and Filmmaker modes are NOT available with direct PC input on current S95F firmware (per Rtings S95F testing). This is a known Samsung firmware constraint — accept it. Use Game Mode for PC gaming, Entertain for desktop. Input Signal Plus On. HDMI Black Level Normal (matches NVIDIA RGB Full 0-255). Game HDR = Basic. |
| HDMI 4 (eARC) | — | OPTIONAL. Only connect if you watch native S95F apps (Netflix-on-TV) and want their audio sent back to Denon. Comes with documented eARC transcoding loss (TrueHD → DD+ JOC). Recommended: skip; use Apple TV's app instead. |
Per-input picture mode persistence: Samsung stores picture mode per physical HDMI input, not per source device. All Denon-fed sources (Strato V, Apple TV, PS5 Pro, Switch 2) share HDMI 1's picture slot. ALLM is the only per-device differentiation available — set HDMI 1's base mode to Movie; PS5/Switch 2 auto-override to Game Mode via ALLM. Strato V and Apple TV return to Movie base mode when they become active. PC direct on HDMI 3 still gets its own per-input slot.
HDMI Black Level rule
| Source signal type | HDMI Black Level |
|---|---|
| RGB Full (0-255) — PC with NVIDIA RGB Full output | Normal |
| RGB Limited (16-235) — older A/V sources, some Blu-ray players | Low |
| YCbCr (consoles, Apple TV, streamers via Denon) | Setting grayed out / irrelevant — Samsung auto-handles YCbCr levels |
Source: AVS Forum HDMI Black Level canonical thread — "HDMI Black Level is for RGB signals only, not YCbCr. 'Low' is RGB Limited 16-235; 'Normal' is RGB Full 0-255." (avsforum.com/threads/is-the-labeling-correct...)
Auto Picture Mode + ALLM through Denon — four required settings
ALLM auto-switching to Game Mode requires all four of the following to be active simultaneously. Missing any one breaks the chain.
| Device | Setting | Path |
|---|---|---|
| S95F | Auto Picture Mode → On | Settings → General & Privacy → Picture Mode Settings → Auto Picture Mode |
| S95F | ALLM → On (per HDMI 1) | Settings → Connection → External Device Manager → Input Signal Plus (must be On to pass ALLM) |
| Denon | HDMI Format → 8K Enhanced (HDMI 1 output) | Setup → Video → HDMI Format Setting → HDMI Main Out → 8K Enhanced |
| Source | ALLM → On (PS5 / Switch 2) | PS5: Settings → System → HDMI → Enable ALLM. Switch 2: System Settings → Display → ALLM → On. |
| Active source on HDMI 1 | ALLM asserted? | S95F mode result |
|---|---|---|
| PS5 Pro (game running) | Yes | Game Mode (auto) |
| Switch 2 (game running, docked) | Yes | Game Mode (auto) |
| Apple TV 4K (streaming) | No | Movie (base mode) |
| Kaleidescape Strato V | No | Movie (base mode) |
Note: Hue Sync Box 8K is transparent to ALLM — passes ALLM flag through unmodified. The Denon AVR-X3800H passes ALLM through its HDMI 2.1 outputs. [DATA GAP — partial: researcher noted uncertainty for the AVR-passthrough ALLM scenario; if auto-switching feels unreliable, fall back to manual mode selection via the Samsung remote's Picture Mode shortcut.]
Strato V HDR output — set to Auto, not HDR10
Strato V → Browser Interface → HDR Output: must be set to
Auto, not HDR10.
VRROOM's Bank 10 EDID ("SONY A1 LLDV BT2020") instructs the Strato V to output LLDV (Profile 8, source-led) when HDR Output is set to Auto. VRROOM then converts LLDV→HDR10 for S95F using DV-derived dynamic per-scene metadata. Forcing HDR10 in the Strato V browser interface bypasses the VRROOM EDID negotiation entirely — Strato V outputs a static-metadata HDR10 signal and the entire LLDV conversion chain is skipped. The DV quality gains require Auto.
VRROOM Diagnostics — reading the DV tab
While content is playing, the VRROOM web UI DV tab shows live signal state. Key fields to check:
| Field | What it shows | Expected value |
|---|---|---|
| Auxiliary version | CMv version embedded in disc content — CMv2.9 (affected by brightness-boost bug) or CMv4.0 (immune). This is disc metadata, NOT a configurable setting. | CMv4.0 for Apple TV/Shield/Fire TV streaming. CMv2.9 or CMv4.0 for Strato V discs — depends on the disc master. |
| AUDIO CAPS (active) | Reported negotiated audio state when AUDIO CAPS mode is TX0 or TX1. "AUDIO CAPS = 7.1" means VRROOM successfully mirrored Denon's 7.1-capable EDID. This is a status display, not a dropdown option. | "7.1" when TX0/TX1 mode and Denon EDID is correctly detected |
| HDR/AVI Max Luminance | Active HDR metadata maximum luminance being passed. Must match DV datablock Max Luminance. | 1,000 nits — if showing 4,000 nits, change immediately (live fix required) |
| DV Max Luminance | DV custom datablock Max Luminance (the correct target). | 1,000 nits (should already be correct) |
| EDID bank active | Which EDID bank is assigned to each input. | Input 0 (Strato V): Bank 10 "SONY A1 LLDV BT2020" |
Sources
s95f_picture_mode_tuning.md s95f_picture_mode_lockouts.md samsung_s95f_earc.md s95f_mat_passthrough.md vrroom_deep_menu.md strato_v_lldv_verify.md
Page rewritten 2026-05-12 per Phase 2 HTML conflict audit. Prior version described VRROOM-removed topology (incorrect throughout). Sources: Agents A, D, E, F, G; rtings.com S95F settings (May 2025); AVS Forum HDMI Black Level canonical thread; UHD Alliance FMM spec.