I'm experienced in video engineering and calibrating displays. I also own a recent high-end QLED Samsung TV which I selected for a particularly challenging loca

I'm experienced in video engineering and calibrating displays. I also own a recent high-end QLED Samsung TV which I selected for a particularly challenging location and usage context - surrounded by large, tall windows and lots of off-axis viewing. This model had the best mix of characteristics for a decidedly non-optimal usage context, which is not to say that the results are "good" by any measure, but rather, 'least bad' for this location where deep black contrast performance isn't often relevant but high saturation brightness, reflection handling and off-axis peak luminance were key. You're correct that Samsung's defaults over hype all the settings but there are alternate presets including "Natural" (less hyped) and "Filmmaker" (unhyped and targets film gamma response). There's also a Custom preset which users can adjust and save to their preferences. There's also an undocumented Service Mode where users who have appropriate calibration gear and experience can adjust a couple hundred parameters. While Samsung's defaults are particularly over-hyped, all the high-volume, consumer TV manufacturers do this to some extent and have been increasingly doing it pretty much since TVs started having digital presets. As always, displays are imperfect approximations which involve a series of trade-offs. The key is to pick the optimal display technology and device for the context, content, user and use case. My primary viewing room is a custom-built, dedicated theater room with full light control and a 150" screen driven by a laser projector. Obviously, in that context I selected the gear very differently. For selecting TVs and monitors, the review site www.RTings.com is quite good and can be trusted to provide objective testing and analysis on displays that will get you in the ballpark since it's usually not possible to personally audition every option.