Hisense A6N vs Philips PUS7009 (VA)

The HDR performance on A6N is unfortunately underwhelming. A peak brightness of just 250 nits doesn't allow for spectacular highlights, and HDR looks rather washed out, more like standard SDR. This won't satisfy more demanding users who want to enjoy high-quality film content. Additionally, colour gamut coverage isn't very impressive either, with DCI-P3 at 82% being a mediocre result that doesn't let you fully enjoy vibrant colours in HDR material.

In terms of HDR effect quality, Philips PUS7009 performs very poorly. A brightness level of 250 nits does not allow for an enjoyable HDR experience, and the image resembles more of a standard SDR. There’s no mention of dynamic effects or vivid bursts of light. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is only 75%, which is definitely insufficient. The lack of full colour coverage means that the colours are not as vibrant as they should be, resulting in a flat and unconvincing image. There are no aspects of this model that could be praised in the context of HDR.

In the colour reproduction category, the Hisense A6N in Filmmaker Mode leaves much to be desired. Although the mode's name suggests we should expect faithful rendering of cinematic colours, the reality is different, and the TV has considerable picture-quality issues. The problem with white balance is particularly noticeable for both HD and 4K material, with a strong bias toward blue. This results in artificial, cool tones, clearly visible in the comparison image below. The ColourChecker test further confirms these errors, which are compounded by low colour-gamut coverage.

The gamma luminance curve shows a serious problem maintaining a 2.4 target. The curve sits well below the reference value, leading to excessive image brightening and washed-out blacks. The EOTF curve for 4K material also indicates brightness issues, with a significant early overshoot caused by the TV's excessive brightening that negatively affects picture quality. This picture profile prevents fully enjoying films and requires manual adjustment.

The television was tested in movie mode, which - despite its name - does not provide correct image display. The white balance in both 4K HDR and HD/SDR content shows drops in the red color, making the image cooler and the colors lose their natural warmth. The gamma brightness characteristic and EOTF curve confirm that the television struggles to maintain appropriate brightness - it excessively boosts it, resulting in an unnaturally washed-out image. This effect can be seen in the comparisons below, where everything looks as if a milky filter has been applied. Additionally, the limited coverage of a wide color gamut does not contribute positively to quality - color checker tests indicate significant color fluctuations, making it difficult to achieve faithful image reproduction.

Hisense A6N offers options and tools in its settings for adjusting many picture settings that we utilised. When it comes to white balance, we managed to eliminate excess blue – this effect is clearly visible in the comparison image below, where the boy in the picture almost "comes to life." A significant improvement can also be noticed in the gamma brightness characteristic – the television no longer has serious issues with excessively brightening the entire image. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for 4K materials, where the EOTF curve could not be fully corrected due to the exceptionally low brightness of this model. For HDR content, we use dynamic tone mapping, which allows for the recovery of many details despite the boosting of midtones in the image. For this television, this provides more benefits than drawbacks. The errors that are still visible in the test with the colour palette and Colour Checker for 4K content arise from low colour gamut coverage and are difficult to eliminate due to the television's characteristics. Nevertheless, the tonal quality of the image is significantly better, which is why we recommend calibrating the factory settings, which are far from ideal.

After calibration, the image significantly improved, especially in terms of white balance, which is now more stable, and the hues have gained a natural quality, eliminating the previous impression of an overly cool image. The calibration brought noticeable benefits in tonal quality – shadows and midtones are now more realistic, and the overall appearance seems more harmonious. Unfortunately, hardware limitations still affect image quality. Brightness characteristics remain problematic, despite our efforts, and due to poor coverage of the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 colour gamut, delta E errors are still at a high level. Although calibration improved some aspects, the television still does not provide full satisfaction.

Let's see how A6N handles low-quality sources. When it comes to smoothing tonal transitions, the lack of features for reducing posterisation or smoothing such transitions in low-quality material like television or DVD may be noticeable to more demanding viewers. As for digital processing, the model was presented correctly and the branches were free of the characteristic jaggedness. The picture has strong three-dimensional modelling and a soft look, which may appeal to viewers who prefer this kind of image style.

When it comes to tonal transitions in low-quality material, the function called "Distortion Reduction" (setting “minimum”) effectively improves the gradation, eliminating unsightly tonal transitions. However, this setting on Philips televisions is quite aggressive – while it does not blur grain or good quality material, it can introduce unwanted effects and blur elements that should remain clear with a poorer signal.

In terms of image scaling, Philips PUS7009 performs reasonably well. A major advantage is the lack of cropped edges of the image, meaning no overscan, which allows for displaying the full frame without losses. The image is noticeably enhanced, making characters and backgrounds, such as the model or branches in the background, appear quite detailed and natural, even with lower quality signals. Although scaling is not perfect, as it can remove desired details in the distance, the results are good enough to satisfy most users.

The 60 Hz panel in Hisense A6N will probably satisfy people who like watching movies, because the TV offers an "ultra motion smoothing" feature that lets you adjust the image's judder, making it more choppy or smoother, with a soap‑opera effect. When it comes to motion blur, it’s rather average; there’s quite noticeable smearing, especially on dark backgrounds, which is a fairly typical trait for this class of TVs.

Philips PUS7009 does not have motion smoothing features, which means there's no option to adjust the picture for a choppier or smoother, theatrical effect. Such features could positively affect the viewing of dynamic scenes. In terms of motion blur, this model is equipped with a 60 Hz VA panel, which delivers slightly worse results than the IPS panel variant. The VA panel introduces minimally greater motion blur, although the differences are not significant and should not pose a problem for most viewers.

Hisense A6N is a TV that will likely appeal to casual gamers, mainly because of its 60 Hz panel, which may not satisfy more demanding users. Still, it offers a few features that can make gaming more enjoyable. The TV supports ALLM (automatic low latency mode), VRR (variable refresh rate) and Dolby Vision, allowing for better picture quality and smoother motion in games that support those technologies. What's more, the low input lag means in-game reactions are quick, which is crucial, especially in fast-paced titles. Thanks to these features, although the TV is not an ideal choice for demanding gamers, it offers solid support for those who value comfortable gaming without complicated settings. It's an ideal solution for people who want to enjoy gaming without heavy hardware requirements, while still having access to modern technologies that improve the gaming experience.

In terms of compatibility with consoles, Philips PUS7009 is likely to satisfy casual gamers. Although equipped with HDMI 2.0, it offers features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and Game Bar. ALLM automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, which speeds up responses during gaming, and VRR adjusts the refresh rate to minimise screen tearing. The Game Bar provides quick access to game settings and monitors key parameters, although visually it falls short compared to competing solutions. However, more demanding gamers may feel underwhelmed. Philips PUS7009 does not support advanced HDR formats in games, and the 60 Hz panel limits its ability to display smooth and detailed images in dynamic scenes, which may not satisfy fans of fast-paced action games.