Philips OLED770 vs TCL C6KS / C69KS / Q6CS

The Philips OLED770 doesn't try to compete with the brightest OLEDs on the market, and it's actually hard to expect that, as it's the entry-level model in Philips' range for 2025. In our measurements, it reached a maximum of around 700 nits, which allows for enjoyment of HDR effects in scenes where light appears in spots – for instance, in the flash of headlights or a starry sky. In such moments, the picture can truly amaze. However, it's different when there are more bright elements on the screen. The TV, like many cheaper OLEDs, restricts luminance at that point, and the entire image noticeably dims. This was best seen in a scene from the movie The Meg, where the sun rises behind an oil platform – the brightness dropped to around 250 nits, which is almost three times less. The HDR effect remains pleasing to the eye, but it's worth being aware that this model performs best in scenes with less intense light. Fortunately, the OLED770 also has an ace up its sleeve – the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette is as high as 99%, so colours in movies and games are vibrant and very close to what the creator intended.

And what about HDR? Here the C6KS performs quite well and – as is becoming the theme of this review – just like in the C6K model. The maximum brightness generated by this television is around 600 nits. In bright scenes, this translates to a really solid, cinematic effect and generally, video materials look good here. However, it's important to keep in mind the specifics of the dimming algorithm in this model. When very small, bright points (e.g. stars) appear on a dark background, the television can quite significantly dim them. The goal is simple: to eliminate blooming and maintain the best possible black. It's a reasonable compromise. Most viewers will definitely appreciate deep, “true black” more than additional microscopic details, the display of which could cause the screen to appear greyed out. Such is the nature of local dimming technology in this price range, and one must be aware of this. It’s also worth noting that the TCL C69KS (C6KS) has an additional PFS coating, which is marketed under the QLED technology slogan. Thanks to this, the colours are saturated and vibrant – our measurements showed that the coverage of a wide colour gamut reaches as much as 92%.

The first measurements already show that the factory settings of the Philips OLED770 have a lot to improve, even in Filmmaker mode. The white balance chart clearly indicates a lack of blue, giving the image a slightly yellowish tint. In practice, white is not snow-like, but leans towards warmer hues – which some may even find appealing, but from a precision standpoint, this is a deviation from the norm. The gamma, on the other hand, tends to be on the darker side – the average value is around 2.6 instead of the reference 2.4. In mid-tones, the image appears muted and more saturated, which can look too "cinematic" but detracts a bit from the naturalness. However, the most significant issues are visible in colour reproduction. The average error is relatively high, and some colours – particularly shades of grey – deviate significantly from what should be seen. In everyday viewing, this means that sometimes colours may look less natural than we would wish.

In contrast to the more expensive C6K model, in the tested C6KS we don't find an option in the menu labelled as Filmmaker Mode. Is this a reason to cry? Absolutely not. Our tests showed that in practice, in terms of colour reproduction, the lack of this specific label makes virtually no difference. The best available Film/Cinema mode here offers an almost identical picture profile to the aforementioned Filmmaker in the more expensive model. So we get a very similar image, just under a different name. Therefore, if you were wondering whether paying extra for the C6K would give you better colours – the answer is: no, in both cases the base is the same and requires slight adjustments.

Philips OLED770 had shown signs from the start that it harboured significant potential, but it was hard to fully appreciate this in its factory settings. The image was often too warm, and some colours appeared as if they had lost their naturalness along the way. Calibration revealed that this television was very amenable to work – it responded to every adjustment and almost immediately unveiled another layer of its capabilities. The white balance was set in both SDR and HDR so that the yellowish haze disappeared and a neutral, clear white emerged. Gamma stabilised closer to perfection, which helped restore the naturalness of mid-tones, while shadows ceased to be artificially darkened, perhaps even with a slight brightening effect. The result was obvious... Movies are watched with greater ease; the image has cinematic depth without the feeling that something is overly darkened. However, the most interesting aspect was working on the colours. Factory errors were not dramatic, but slightly noticeable – skin tones could be too warm, and grey wasn’t always the shade we expected. After calibration, the error values dropped to around 2, and in many cases even below 1. This is a level that is definitely lower than the threshold of discernibility for the human eye. In other words, after correction, the colours finally “clicked” into place. Looking at the screen, we felt like the television had begun to speak with a full voice. Like an instrument that had finally been properly tuned.

Thanks to the white balance adjustment, the C69KS's tendency to distort colours has been effectively limited, leading to a very good final effect. After calibration, we will no longer see excessive warmth in SDR scenes or overly cool tones in HDR. However, it is worth noting the brightness characteristic. In SDR content, there are hardly any objections – the image looks very good, especially in older films, TV shows, or YouTube materials. Evaluating the television's performance in HDR is much more difficult. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests correct behaviour, but its practical variant shows certain limitations. The C69KS can overly brighten the smallest elements of the frame, while at other times it can dim the entire scene. Calibration has therefore brought clear benefits in terms of colour, but certain limitations resulting from local dimming and the way it is controlled by the C69KS cannot be avoided, which we also observed in the C6K test.

The problem of the previously mentioned colour connections can largely be mitigated thanks to the "distortion reduction" function, which is an algorithm for smoothing tonal transitions in Philips. It works best at a low level – effectively eliminating unwanted colour bands while not introducing strange artifacts or losing image detail. This is one of those features that is truly worth keeping on.

The issue of upscaling is somewhat less impressive. Images from lower resolution can be too soft, while in some parts the characteristic "jaggies" appear. The impression is that the algorithm is trying to reconcile two contradictory directions – smoothing and sharpening – and ultimately fails to find the golden mean. As a consolation, it's worth noting that the television does not have problems with overscan, meaning it does not cut off the edges of the image, which can sometimes happen in other competing models.

The C69KS handles upscaling quite well. The tested 576p content looks surprisingly decent – a considerable amount of detail is preserved, and the algorithm adds a subtle ‘rounding’ effect to sharp edges, making the image appear more cohesive. However, it doesn't perform as well when it comes to smoothing tonal transitions. The television practically cannot improve them, leaving the image in a rather raw state. With older materials, this can be simply exhausting, as the lack of additional processing highlights all imperfections.

The issue of the panel in the Philips OLED770 is not entirely straightforward. The manufacturer claims a 120 Hz panel, but our measurements showed that the screen can accept a 4K signal even at 144 Hz. This sounds like great news – because who wouldn't want an additional mode for PC gamers at this price? However, the reality turned out to be more complex. With 120 Hz content, the television behaves like most OLEDs – the image is absolutely clear, with no trace of blurring or smearing, ideal for both dynamic games and sports broadcasts. The problem only arises at 144 Hz. Unlike models with official support for this frequency, here we see the phenomenon of so-called frame skipping. This means that the television is unable to display all the frames – some of them are skipped, causing motion to lose smoothness and double outlines to appear on the screen. The effect resembles the operation of the BFI function, which Philips does not offer in this model anyway.

C69KS offers a simplified motion enhancement panel in movies, allowing users to adjust the intensity of the effect using a slider. This makes it easy to tailor the smoothness to personal preferences. It also deserves credit for the ability to utilise higher refresh rates – even though the panel operates natively in 4K at 60 Hz, by lowering the resolution to 1440p, modes of 120 and 144 Hz can be enabled, on both consoles and PC. This sounds like great news, however, in practice, the image at these settings trails exceptionally badly. The effect is so pronounced that the overall experience simply appears mediocre and loses its appeal in everyday use.

If someone is looking for a TV for gaming, the Philips OLED770 is a candidate that's hard to overlook. The mere fact that this is an OLED gives it a great starting point – perfect blacks and infinite contrast make evening sessions in atmospheric games look like they've been taken straight out of a cinema. Added to that is the Ambilight system, which uses LEDs on the back of the TV to extend the image onto the wall behind the screen. The effect is such that even just playing FIFA can look like a small spectacle, and in horror games, the atmosphere becomes really thick. On the technical side, it's also quite decent. The Philips OLED770 supports variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 120 Hz, has an automatic mode for gamers (ALLM), and for those using an Xbox Series X, Dolby Vision support in games is also available. You just need to know that in this mode, the input lag is slightly higher than standard, although still at an acceptable level. As a bonus, we also get the 'Game Bar', which is a special tool strip for gamers. It's not the most conveniently designed solution, but it allows for a quick view of key parameters without exiting the game. Overall, this gives a picture of a TV that has all the most important gaming features on one hand, and on the other can add something unique – Ambilight. And it's this mix of technology and visual effect that makes the OLED770 one of the better screens for gaming in a home environment.

If we overlook the smudging and lack of native 4K at 120 Hz, the C69KS is impressive in how well it performs for gaming. You get everything you would expect from a gaming TV: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Dolby Vision Gaming mode, and a consistently functioning HGiG. The TV can also operate at 120 or even 144 Hz at lower resolutions, making gameplay on console or PC smoother. Additionally, there's a clear Game Bar that allows you to quickly check key settings while gaming. As a result — despite a few limitations — the C69KS can be a genuinely successful screen for gamers.