Hisense E7Q / E79Q vs Philips PUS7000

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a mid-brightness TV, with a peak luminance level of around 350-380 nits. This is the absolute minimum that allows viewing HDR content in a way that's close to the creators' intentions, though without a distinct "wow" effect. The results of synthetic tests on white test patterns were confirmed in practice – in movie scenes, the bright parts of the image are stable and fairly even, but it's hard to talk about a true "burst of light" here. In everyday use, such as when watching Netflix or YouTube, the HDR effect is acceptable and is more than sufficient for most users. However, it must be said clearly – this is not the level of top-end screens, and one shouldn't expect that at this price. Fortunately, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q has an advantage that allows it to score quite a few points: it's a QLED panel of the PFS LED type, using an additional phosphor layer that improves colour reproduction. The measured range of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is around 92%, which means that the colours in most scenes are vibrant, well-saturated, and pleasing to the eye, especially for this price bracket.

Unfortunately, the PUS7000 is not suitable for watching HDR content. This screen is simply too dark. A brightness level of 200 nits is insufficient to display this format correctly. Even if a HDR signal message appears on the screen, the image will resemble a standard SDR recording. Therefore, it’s better to stick with the latter format to avoid errors in displaying bright scenes, as you will read below. The situation is worsened by the fact that this is a classic LCD model without additional layers that improve colours, such as QLED or PFS. As a result, colours in HDR may seem washed out. Ultimately, this provides a worse effect than in the standard SDR format, which is simply better suited to the capabilities of this panel.

In Filmmaker mode, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q television really managed to impress. After the first measurements, it turned out that the white balance was quite well tuned, with the only minor deviation being a slight tendency towards a purple hue, which we mentioned earlier. However, this did not significantly impact the overall character of the image – it remained cohesive and pleasant to view. A much bigger issue was the brightness characteristics (gamma) in SDR content and the EOTF curve in HDR films. The television clearly brightened the image, flattening contrast and taking away depth. Gamma values could drop from the reference 2.4 down to around 1.9, making the image look as though it was covered with a thin, milky layer. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be relatively easily corrected through calibration.

We tested the television in movie mode, which theoretically should provide the best and most natural colours. And indeed, this mode is quite correct; however, when we connected the calibration equipment, its biggest flaw became apparent. The PUS7000 has significant shortcomings in displaying reds. Poorly tuned white balance and too low saturation of this colour cause the image to appear too cool. As a result, one might get the impression that the displayed content lacks vibrant colours. The situation is worsened by the fact that both SDR and HDR content are excessively brightened. This is confirmed by the gamma curve and EOTF graphs, which show that the television displays the image brighter than it should. This causes scenes to lose their depth and can make them seem slightly washed out. Fortunately, in the Philips menu, we find plenty of features to improve these aspects, so we immediately proceeded to calibration to see what we could extract from this screen.

The biggest beneficiary of calibration in the case of the Hisense E7Q / E79Q was undoubtedly the SDR mode. It managed to achieve almost perfect image quality – most of the errors in the Color Checker test dropped below a value of 3, and often even 2, which is a remarkable result for this class of equipment. The biggest improvement came from aligning the brightness characteristic (gamma), which made the image no longer look blown out and regained natural depth. In HDR content, it was also possible to improve the colours and eliminate the purple tint that we mentioned earlier, but errors in the Color Checker measurements were still noticeable. This is due to the fact that – as is often the case with Hisense televisions – the screen manipulates brightness quite strongly, overexposing some colours. This was also indicated by the EOTF curve, which was slightly above the reference values, suggesting these minor issues with excessive brightening. Despite this flaw and the construction limitations that arise with HDR content, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q gained quite a bit after calibration. In everyday use, the television presents a coherent, natural, and pleasant-to-the-eye image, and the difference compared to the factory settings is indeed huge.

After professional calibration, it’s evident that the PUS7000 responds well to image adjustments. In this price range, that’s not a given. The effects are best evaluated in two scenarios, depending on the content we plan to watch. SDR performs the best. After our adjustments, the image looks really good. Most colour errors have dropped below level 3, which is the threshold at which discrepancies usually become visible to the naked eye. Movies, series, sports, and regular television present naturally, without unpleasant deviations. If someone mainly watches classic channels or streams in HD quality, the difference after calibration will be noticeable straight away. However, it must be said clearly that the PUS7000 is still not a television suited for proper HDR, and calibration doesn't change much in this regard. The reason lies in the hardware: colours remain too unsaturated. The television lacks solutions that widen the colour gamut, such as PFS filters or a quantum dot layer, so the panel simply cannot display the intense colours required by HDR. This is most evident in reds, which still look washed out. This limitation cannot be circumvented through menu settings, as it stems from the design of the backlighting and the panel itself.

In the case of Hisense E7Q / E79Q, upscaling and digital image processing are not the strongest points of this television. It is evident that the manufacturer has opted for simplicity rather than advanced image processing algorithms. The television does not offer any features that smooth tonal transitions or systems that enhance image clarity, which makes lower resolution materials look quite raw. Subtle compression edges can be seen on the screen, which better processors in other models can effectively hide.

During the testing of HD materials, we noticed that the E7Q tries to artificially boost detail, which sometimes works and other times has the opposite effect – the image becomes soft, slightly blurred, and at times even "watery." There is no aggressive sharpening that ruins naturalness, but there is also a lack of finesse in detail integration that better image processors provide.

The PUS7000 handles digital image processing quite well. The distortion reduction feature deserves praise, as it effectively smooths unwanted tonal transitions even at a low setting. However, it has its downside: with too aggressive operation, it can introduce undesirable artifacts on the screen. It would be a good idea to experiment with this setting to find the golden mean between a smooth image and the clarity of details.

The upscaling, or enhancing the quality of lower materials to 4K, is decent. The image after processing is very "soft," which is typical of almost all Philips TVs. The edges are plastic and smooth, making the image look cohesive. If someone finds it too soft, it can always be adjusted with the sharpness slider in the menu for a more pronounced effect.

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a television with a 60 Hz screen, so sports fans in 4K may feel a slight disappointment – you simply won’t see such smooth images here as in more expensive models with higher refresh rates. Fortunately, when it comes to movies, the situation is much better. Cinematic materials recorded at 24 frames per second can be displayed here using a motion smoothing feature, allowing the user to adjust the picture to their own preferences – more cinematic with visible frames or smoother, in a theatrical style.

In this regard, we actually have no good news. It might seem that the biggest downside is the lack of a 120 Hz panel, but in this price range, that's actually the norm, and it's hard to expect more. However, the worst part is that the television has no motion smoothing features. There are no supporting systems in place for either movies or sports. We have to come to terms with the fact that the image on the PUS7000 is processed "raw." This means that during dynamic scenes or fast camera movements, motion can appear choppy or unclear. We have no option to enable any smoothers that could alleviate this effect.

Hisense E7Q / E79Q is a really good TV for gamers, even though it doesn’t support 4K signal at 120 Hz. However, the manufacturer has included a set of features that until recently could only be found in more expensive models. There's ALLM, which is auto-switching to low latency mode, allowing the TV to activate game mode with very low input lag automatically. We also have VRR, working up to 60 Hz – while this may not look impressive on paper, in practice it is fully sufficient, as most console games don’t exceed this limit anyway. All these settings can be quickly found in the Game Bar panel, a convenient menu created specifically for gamers. From this level, you can change picture modes, turn on a frame counter, or even… an on-screen crosshair – in the Vidaa system amusingly called a “target point,” which is the result of a clumsy translation from the Chinese manufacturer.

Special praise should go to the ability to play in 1080p at 120 Hz, which significantly improves the fluidity and responsiveness of the image. This means that if someone wants to play a few titles at a higher refresh rate, they can simply lower the resolution and enjoy much smoother motion. Despite the lack of 4K@120Hz, the Hisense E7Q / E79Q really performs well as a gaming TV – especially for those who aren’t looking for perfection but a solid and fast screen for everyday gaming.

Even though the PUS7000 isn’t marketed as a gaming TV, it doesn't perform as poorly in this category as one might expect. True, it doesn't support 120 Hz refresh rates, which is understandable at this price point, but the manufacturer has included several important features that significantly improve the console gaming experience. The most important of these are VRR and ALLM technologies. VRR is responsible for synchronising the screen with the number of frames generated by the console. This means the image doesn't "tear" and remains consistent even during sudden drops in frame rates while playing. On the other hand, ALLM is a solution that automatically switches the TV to a mode with the lowest latency immediately after detecting a signal from the console. All these parameters are easily accessible thanks to the Game Bar feature. This is a special control panel for gamers that can be brought up on the screen at any time. It allows for a quick view of current settings and connection status without interrupting gameplay, which is a very convenient solution.