Philips OLED909 vs TCL C6KS / C69KS / Q6CS

Philips OLED909 impresses with its HDR effect quality, achieving up to 1500 nits of peak brightness in tested scenes. This is an excellent result, placing this television among the best OLED models on the market. The MLA panel, also used in models like the Panasonic Z95A and LG G4, plays a crucial role here, allowing for exceptionally bright and detailed reproduction of dynamic scenes. However, it is worth noting that in the most demanding scene from the film The Meg, brightness drops to around 700 nits. This is a typical phenomenon in OLED technology, where intensely bright full-screen images cause a reduction in luminance. Nevertheless, the HDR effect still looks very good, and the television performs better than most competitors under similar conditions. The wide colour gamut coverage also deserves praise. The OLED909 offers 95% coverage of DCI-P3, ensuring that the television guarantees the ability to display vibrant and realistic colours.

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%.

Like other TVs, the Philips OLED909 has been tested for colour reproduction in factory modes. The best mode was found to be Filmmaker Mode; however, despite its name, it is not without faults.

The biggest problem is the white balance. In both HD and 4K HDR content, there is a noticeable dominance of green and red hues, resulting in a clear yellow tint on the screen. This effect is particularly visible in test materials, for example, in a scene with Tom Cruise in the foreground, where the difference compared to a calibrated image is very clear.

As for the brightness characteristic, in HD materials, the gamma was excessively boosted - it was below the reference value of 2.4, giving the image a “milky” filter and impacting overall clarity. For 4K HDR content, we observed the opposite phenomenon – at the beginning of the EOTF curve, there is a noticeable drop, indicating issues with reproducing the smallest details in dark scenes. Although Filmmaker mode offers acceptable quality, noticeable errors in white balance and brightness characteristics show that the TV requires additional calibration to fully realise its potential in colour reproduction.

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 OLED909 offers tools for image calibration, significantly improving its quality. After calibrating the Filmmaker Mode, the television displays a much more natural colour reproduction. The white balance after calibration looks very good. Although we noticed slight blue tint deviations in HD content, the errors fall within acceptable limits, and the picture is significantly better than in factory settings. The brightness characteristics, including gamma and EOTF, have also been clearly improved. The television no longer has issues with excessive brightening or dimming of the image. Both dark and light details are now rendered correctly, making the picture look very good in every scene. After calibration, Filmmaker Mode on the Philips OLED909 offers excellent picture quality that will meet the expectations of even the more demanding users. The calibration fully utilises the potential of this model.

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.

Philips OLED909 offers a distortion reduction feature designed to smooth tonal transitions. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this feature leaves much to be desired. Setting it to "Medium" achieves some effects, but it comes with the risk of blurring important details in the image. For this reason, we do not recommend using this option unless you are looking to soften visible artifacts at the expense of detail.

As for image scaling, the TV presents a very pliable image, which may appeal to viewers who prefer a softer picture. Those expecting sharper clarity will also find a solution, as image scaling can be adjusted to individual preferences in the settings.

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 Philips OLED909 with a 144 Hz panel offers excellent image fluidity, which should satisfy both movie lovers and gamers. Additionally, the TV is equipped with a motion smoothing feature called "Motion Style," which allows for precise adjustment of image fluidity according to personal preferences. In the settings, we find two sliders: "Fluidity," which adjusts the smoothness of motion in films, and "Motion Blur Reduction," which helps eliminate minor artifacts and distortions in dynamic scenes. This feature works well, ensuring that even quick movements on the screen are clear and readable.

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.

Philips OLED909 is a TV that meets practically all the requirements of gamers. Equipped with ALLM (automatic low latency mode), VRR (variable refresh rate), and support for Dolby Vision, it guarantees an excellent gaming experience. Additionally, the TV offers very low input lag, ensuring that the response to player movements is instantaneous, which fans of dynamic games will particularly appreciate.

The TV effortlessly supports any resolution at 120 Hz, and even higher refresh rates. The HGiG function, responsible for correctly displaying HDR content in games, works as it should, making the picture in game mode balanced and aligned with console manufacturers' guidelines.

The OLED909 is also equipped with a Game Bar feature, which allows for quick preview and adjustment of gaming settings. Although the interface of this solution seems less visually appealing than that of competitors, it serves its purpose by offering all the essential options in one place.

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.