Philips OLED769 vs Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV

Philips OLED769 performs quite well, especially in movie scenes with small light points. The television surprises with its brightness, reaching around 800 nits, which is an impressive result. This means that small light sources, like street lamps at night or stars in the sky, are vivid and full of detail. However, the biggest challenge for this model is the scene with a full-screen sun glare. In such moments, the brightness drops to around 250 nits, which isn’t very impressive. This is a typical issue with cheaper OLED displays, which struggle to maintain high brightness across the entire screen.

When it comes to the brightness of the television and how it handles bright elements while watching films, it's just average – similar to the contrast. The average brightness level of the Hisense S7NQ is around 500 nits. This is a value that allows you to feel the hints of true HDR, but it's definitely not enough to speak of remarkable effects. However, the television should be praised for its colour gamut coverage – films look very colourful and vibrant. Thanks to the use of a PFS LED (QLED) coating, the device is able to cover more than 90% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and over 72% of the wider BT.2020 palette. For a television of this class – these are really very good results.

The "Film" mode turned out to be the best factory setting in terms of fidelity to the original material, and it was on this setting that we based our tests. However, like other factory modes, it was not without its flaws. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly went wrong in the SDR and HDR materials.

In both cases, the white balance was disturbed by excessive dominance of green and red colours. This phenomenon created a yellowish tint that spilled over the entire image, leading to issues such as yellowed whites and unnatural skin tones. These problems were clearly highlighted on the "ColourChecker" palette, where each of the samples was shifted towards warmer shades.

As for contrast and brightness, in the Philips OLED769, we can look at two key graphs: Gamma for HD content and the EOTF curve for 4K HDR content. In the case of the first graph, the gamma value is below the optimal level of 2.4, resulting in the bright parts of the image being lightened. This means that bright elements may be somewhat overexposed, losing detail and depth. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve for 4K HDR content performs really well. The graph shows that the television effectively reproduces details in both the brightest and darkest parts of the image, translating to a realistic and dynamic representation of scenes.

Let's check how the Hisense S7NQ CanvasTV performs in terms of colour reproduction in its best factory mode, which is Filmmaker. Right from the start, it’s clear that it’s definitely better than in dynamic or standard mode, but there are still a few things to nitpick. In terms of image quality from HD signals, the colours are slightly skewed – there’s a dominance of cooler blue tones and a lack of red. This makes the image seem a bit too cool.

A similar effect is noticeable in 4K content, but it’s more pronounced there. The excessive exposure of blue tones and lack of red makes the image appear distinctly cold. However, the biggest issue with this TV isn’t the colours themselves but the way brightness is managed. The unit we tested slightly increased brightness compared to the reference value. The result of this is indeed better visibility of details, but at the cost of significantly lighter blacks – which makes the entire image seem more "flat."

A similar phenomenon was observed in the 4K signal – the slightly inflated curve at the beginning of the EOTF graph indicates that the TV has a tendency to overexpose certain scenes. Fortunately, this effect can be improved through professional calibration, which we will discuss in the next point.

After professional calibration, Philips OLED769 truly shines in terms of colour accuracy. The television has been completely rid of any yellow tint in both HD and 4K content. The Colour Checker test confirms that deltaE errors are minimal, occasionally exceeding 2, which means we can talk about almost perfect renderings of the director's vision.

When it comes to contrast, the situation is equally impressive. For 4K materials, there wasn't much to improve from the start, while the gamma graph has been significantly enhanced. As a result, dark and bright parts of the image are represented with greater accuracy, leading to realistic and dynamic scene reproduction.

The calibration has unlocked the full potential of this television, both in terms of colour and contrast. Philips OLED769 now offers vivid, natural images of high quality that will delight any user, whether they're watching movies or using other multimedia.

The results we achieved after calibrating the Hisense S7NQ are really very good. Thanks to the calibration, we managed to eliminate excessive blue tone exposure and deficiencies in red with HD signals. A similar, albeit slightly weaker effect was also achieved with 4K HDR content. Brightness management in HD materials has also improved – the television no longer struggles with brightening the image "overall".

However, there are things that cannot be circumvented. The character of the EOTF curve has hardly changed, and the lack of local dimming means that the smallest elements on the screen will always be slightly overexposed. You just have to come to terms with this when choosing a television with a similar type of backlighting. Nevertheless, the final effect is very good and should fully satisfy the vast majority of users.

When it comes to lower quality materials, the distortion reduction in the Philips OLED769 does well at smoothing tonal transitions, especially at the minimum setting. It's worth noting that at this setting, film grain isn't blurred, which is a pleasant surprise, as such negative phenomena often occur with other manufacturers. Overall, it's quite a decent solution. However, it should be noted that this setting doesn't work in HDR mode, where gradation issues are much more pronounced. In HDR mode, the television struggles with smoothing tonal transitions and may present more noticeable distortions and noise, reducing image quality in dynamic scenes.

As for digital processing, the Philips OLED769 performs well. The model in the picture isn’t overly jagged, and the branches in the background lack the characteristic artifacts. The television achieves this effect by avoiding artificial sharpening, which may be an advantage for some users. However, others may find this less appealing, as they prefer a more vivid, sharper image rather than a subtle effect. This effect can be mitigated by using a higher setting for the "Sharpness" parameter.

Equally important is how the television handles tonal transitions with a poorer signal – for example, in older films, on television, or on YouTube. Unfortunately, despite the presence of the “Smooth and Gradient Picture” feature, which was supposedly meant to improve this aspect, its functionality is really poor. It’s barely noticeable that it has any real impact on the visibility of colour transitions.

The image scaling is also disappointing. Yes, you can see that the television is trying to “pull up” the quality, but the end result is far from ideal. The image often appears slightly jagged, which is particularly noticeable in the example of tree branches in the background. Additionally, the Hisense S7NQ has a clear tendency to crop the image at lower resolutions, which could result in missing subtitles in the news or finer details in the image.

Philips OLED769 features a multi-level motion smoother called "Motion Style," which will please users who value the ability to adjust motion fluidity in films. With this function, the image can be set to appear more stuttery or fluid, reminiscent of a theatrical effect. It's a great solution for those who want to tailor the displayed content to their visual preferences. Gamers will also not be disappointed, as the television, like most OLEDs, is equipped with a 120Hz panel. This ensures extraordinary fluidity and dynamic imagery. Unfortunately, Philips OLED769 does not have the BFI (Black Frame Insertion) feature, which could further enhance the smoothness and clarity of motion. Despite this limitation, the television still offers excellent visual experiences for both cinema lovers and gamers. This is definitely one of its strong points.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the television performs really well. Although the S7NQ was primarily designed for displaying static elements – such as images – the manufacturer has used a panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. As a result, sports or games look really good on it.

For content that is not recorded at a high frame rate, the manufacturer has provided two features that allow you to adjust the picture to your own preferences. “Motion blur reduction” and “blur” operate on a 10-point scale, enabling a choice between a more cinematic image – with characteristic frame jumps – and a smooth effect reminiscent of a “soap opera.” How to set this up? That’s a personal choice – we leave the decision to you.

Philips OLED769 has been designed with gamers in mind, offering full compatibility with consoles and the highest quality gameplay. The television received the maximum rating in this category, providing everything your heart desires. With HDMI 2.1 ports fully supporting ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), the TV ensures smooth and hassle-free gaming. ALLM automatically switches the television to low latency mode, and VRR eliminates stuttering and screen tearing, resulting in smoothness and stability in gameplay. The Dolby Vision feature for gamers is another advantage, although it only works at 60 Hz. Most casual gamers will probably not feel the lack of a higher refresh rate, however, more demanding users may have some reservations. It allows for enjoying a dynamic range of tones and realistic images, enhancing the gaming experience. PC gamers will also not be disappointed, as the Philips OLED769 offers full compatibility with Nvidia graphics cards, thanks to support for G-Sync. This technology synchronizes the TV's refresh rate with the graphics card, eliminating tearing and stuttering, leading to excellent image smoothness.

Philips OLED769 is a television that perfectly meets the needs of gamers, offering a wide range of advanced features and technologies that significantly enhance game quality and user comfort.

Even though the S7NQ is an "image" type television, you can actually play games on it. Really. It has practically everything (except for HGiG mode) that a modern gaming television needs. The 144 Hz panel and two full HDMI 2.1 ports allow for seamless connection of two consoles, such as the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.

The television supports Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) without any stutters or issues. It also handles high frame rates at lower resolutions without any trouble. A shoutout to Hisense for the very attractive Game Bar – it displays all available image options, and additionally, we have the ability to enlarge the minimap or turn on the crosshair (because sometimes someone might actually want to "aim" 😉).

The only missing element – as we mentioned earlier – is the lack of proper implementation of HGiG mode. This is the feature responsible for automatically setting the image in games as the developers intended. It’s a shame because it's the only thing that separates the Hisense S7NQ from being a full-fledged gaming "monster".