Hisense A7NQ vs PHILPS PUS9060

We checked how the Hisense A7NQ performs with HDR, and there's no surprise here. The luminance chart showed a maximum brightness of 370 nits. The result? Exactly what one could expect – average. At around 350 nits, HDR doesn’t stand out much compared to SDR. Sure, there’s a subtle difference in more brightly lit scenes, but it’s not a show-stopping effect. In terms of wide colour gamut coverage, the result was 92% for DCI-P3 and 70.2% for BT.2020. These are decent values for a TV in this class, which uses a PFS coating – the same one that’s sometimes promoted as QLED. The colours look alright, but don’t expect something that competes with the best screens on the market. HDR on the Hisense A7NQ is more of an add-on than a "game changer". For those looking for solid image quality on a moderate budget – it’s definitely acceptable. However, if we expect full HDR capabilities, it’s worth looking at models from the higher price range.

The One is bright enough to enjoy films recorded in HDR format. The average brightness of this model is around 500 nits, so we can easily expect a pleasant viewing experience with films from streaming platforms. Of course—there's always room for improvement, because when it comes to brightness, you can never have too much for this type of content. Unfortunately, a disappointing surprise may be the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut that the PUS9060 offers. Although the manufacturer boasts the use of a QLED filter here (it’s actually PFS LED), it's hard to speak of any positive effects from its operation. 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut is certainly not a level to brag about in 2025—especially in a television marketed as QLED.

When testing the Hisense A7NQ in Filmmaker mode, we hoped for alignment with the manufacturer's intentions, but unfortunately, reality looks different. The main issue, as with most TVs, is the white balance. In the case of the A7NQ, we noticed a clear dominance of blue, which affected both lower-quality materials and 4K HDR content. The Color Checker test results confirm this, and the comparative images speak for themselves – the lead actress in "factory" mode looks cool and pale. It appears as though she has been stripped of life.

As for brightness characteristics, both gamma and the EOTF curve show that the image is overly bright. As a result, everything seems flat, lacking depth and contrast. This state of affairs certainly does not work in favour of the A7NQ and makes the image reception in factory mode leave much to be desired. If we expect natural colour reproduction and appropriate image depth, the A7NQ in Filmmaker mode is unlikely to impress us. It’s a TV that requires significant adjustment to bring out its potential.

We tested the PUS9060 in the best factory mode applied to it – of course, we're talking about the movie mode. Unfortunately, the best in this case does not mean good. The image in this mode was clearly yellowish and leaned towards orange tones. The white balance on this television was definitely too warm, giving the entire scene an artificial, somewhat "tanned" appearance. This directly resulted in significant colour inaccuracies, which in the worst cases exceeded a delta E value of 6 – thus, they were visible to the naked eye. The situation was reversed in HDR mode, where the image became too blue and too cool in perception. Additionally, there was a slight boost in brightness – the gamma curve and EOTF suggested that the television slightly brightens the image, which was also evident in the comparative image below.

Hisense A7NQ offers several tools that allow you to improve image quality, so we decided to take matters into our own hands and do some "digging" in the settings. Thanks to professional tools and measurements, we managed to correct the white balance, eliminating excessive dominance of blue in both HD and 4K content. This is a significant step forward, as in the Color Checker test, the errors in colour reproduction in lower-quality content dropped to a much more acceptable level. Unfortunately, 4K content still falls short of perfection – colour distortions are significant here and stem from the limitations of the television.

As for the gamma, we managed to set it at the correct level, which significantly reduced the excessive brightening of the image. However, the issue with the brightness characteristics in 4K content remains unresolved – the EOTF curve still shows excessive brightness across the entire screen. It's possible that a proper implementation of dynamic tone mapping could make a difference here, but as we mentioned earlier, this feature in Hisense A7NQ works rather poorly, instead of helping. Nevertheless, the calibration significantly improved the overall image perception. The director's vision is now much better represented than in the factory settings, which more demanding viewers will definitely appreciate.

Thanks to calibration in movie mode, we managed to completely eliminate the yellow-orange tint, which significantly improved the reception of the entire scene. The image has become much more visually pleasing, though it still falls short of reference settings. It may now appear slightly bluish, but it is still a considerable improvement compared to the factory settings.

Unfortunately, we could not significantly improve the brightness characteristics, but this is more about the design of the television itself - the lack of local dimming limits the possibilities for precise brightness management. The PUS9060 simply cannot dynamically adjust luminance like more advanced models do. Nevertheless, after calibration, the overall reception is much more enjoyable, especially in film material.

The Hisense A7NQ impresses with its smooth tonal transitions in 4K content, but unfortunately, we won't find any features here that improve this aspect in older, lower-quality materials. In such cases, colour transitions become more noticeable, which can slightly detract from the overall picture quality, especially in scenes with a lot of gradients.

When it comes to upscaling, the television performs surprisingly well. The image is clearly improved, though it comes with certain compromises. It can be seen that the TV adds a touch of artificial sharpness, and background elements, like branches, tend to exhibit slight "jaggies." However, these are details that will mainly catch the eye of those who pay attention to such nuances.

In the PUS9060, we find another version of the image processor known by Philips as P5 Perfect Picture, which aims to enhance the image – especially the imperfect ones. The TV includes a distortion reduction function, which serves to smooth tonal transitions, meaning those "colour joins" we mentioned earlier. This function does its job very effectively – there’s no strong gradation of colours, but unfortunately, it operates quite aggressively, occasionally dimming desired elements like material textures or film grain. So, it can be seen as a bit of a compromise. We wouldn’t generally recommend using this function for movies, but for more casual content – like YouTube or regular TV – it’s absolutely suitable.

The P5 processor also enhances the quality of lower resolution images, and it does this quite effectively. The test image with the model is very soft – sometimes almost too soft – but this can be easily improved with the sharpness slider, adjusting it to one’s own preferences. It’s also pleasing to see that the TV doesn’t clip the edges in SD materials – which unfortunately still happens in some TV models.

The Hisense A7NQ is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, which means that dynamic scenes – for example in sports or gaming – come across as rather average here. This is standard in this class of equipment, but it's worth noting that watching more intense, fast-moving content can leave a lot to be desired. However, when it comes to movies, the TV offers a motion smoothing feature that works on a 10-point scale. The "judder reduction" option allows you to adjust the smoothness of the image to your own preferences. At the lowest setting, you get a natural film frame rate, which will appeal to cinema purists. Conversely, the maximum setting provides a very smooth, theatrical image, which may be appreciated by those who prefer a more "smeared" motion.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is equipped with a 4K panel featuring a 144 Hz refresh rate, so we can confidently say it’s suitable for both watching sports and gaming. And indeed it is. But what about movies, which are most often recorded at 24 frames? As with most of the TVs we’ve tested with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and above, the PUS9060 offers two sliders in the motion smoothness options. The “Smoothness” slider allows you to adjust the effect in films – you can set the picture to be smoother, resembling a theatrical effect (higher settings), or more cinematic, with a slight “judder” (lower settings). Additionally, there is a feature called "Motion Blur Reduction," which limits motion blur – and this is a very useful feature, especially when watching sports.

Hisense A7NQ is a piece of gear that may pleasantly surprise gamers, although it's not without its flaws. The fact that it has a 60 Hz panel immediately suggests that the TV is not designed for the most demanding gaming scenarios. The motion blur we mentioned earlier can also be a drawback, especially in fast-paced games.

However, there are a few things worth praising. The TV supports ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which is not always standard in this price range. The biggest surprise, however, is that the A7NQ can display visuals at 120 Hz – albeit only in Full HD resolution, but it's still a significant nod to gamers. This provides the option to choose between smoothness and resolution, which is not obvious in TVs at this price.

A nice addition is the Game Bar, which is clear and practical – all the essential features are at hand without having to dig through the settings. However, it lacks support for HGiG, which could be a disappointment for gamers seeking perfect HDR in games.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is a true gaming monster – it has practically everything you could expect from a modern gaming television. It features VRR, ALLM, and also includes HGiG implementation, which helps set up HDR in games as intended by the developers. The television supports every possible resolution at 120 Hz, including 1080p, 1440p, and full 4K – so regardless of whether you're playing on Xbox, PS5, or PC, everything works as it should. It also comes with a simple Game Bar, a special menu for gamers that allows you to quickly check if the ALLM mode is indeed working in low latency mode.

And of course – Ambilight TV. Let’s face it – without LEDs on the back, it’s not a true gaming rig. 😉 The multicoloured backlighting really adds to the atmosphere, especially in the evening. It may not appeal to everyone, but younger gamers will be thrilled – it just looks impressive.