Philips PML8709 vs Samsung The Frame 2025 (LS03F)

Looking at the contrast results, we expected that the algorithms responsible for the zones in the Philips PML8709 would be at least decent. However, what we encountered during testing is difficult to explain. The average brightness we managed to achieve was just 350 nits, which is definitely too low to fully enjoy HDR effects. In practice, the TV barely stands out compared to an average SDR. The situation becomes even more surprising in test scenes, such as the second one from the movie Life of Pi or Sicario 2. Small light elements achieve just 120 nits there, making them practically imperceptible. Such a level of brightness is completely below modern HDR standards and significantly diminishes the experience of watching high-quality content. The only bright spot in this category is the very good coverage of wide color gamuts – DCI-P3 at 97% and BT.2020 at 83%. This ensures that colors are saturated and well-reproduced, which can somewhat improve the overall experience of watching HDR materials. However, the lack of adequate brightness means that even this cannot save the Philips PML8709 in this category.

The Frame LS03F is a television that can surprise with its brightness. The maximum luminance reaches around 650 nits, which already looks solid on paper. But as we know – lab tests are one thing, and real film scenes are quite another story. When watching HDR materials in natural conditions, The Frame 2025 maintains very good results. In most film scenes, peak brightness stayed at around 550–650 nits. This is enough to feel the difference between standard picture and that in HDR quality – bright highlights, reflections on water, or moonlight look distinct and impressive.

It's also worth noting that the LS03F is a QLED television, which translates to solid colour saturation. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space reaches about 92%, allowing for vibrant, intense colours in HDR content. It's not at the level of top premium models, but for a lifestyle screen – the result truly deserves recognition.

Though theoretically the Filmmaker mode in the Philips PML8709 should provide natural colour reproduction, in reality it resembles a store mode more. In the white balance, both for HD and 4K content, there is a clear dominance of blue. This causes the image to appear washed out and cold, which is particularly noticeable in the comparative image below.

The brightness characteristics also leave much to be desired. Both gamma and the EOTF curve exhibit excessive screen brightness. As a result, there is a loss of detail in both the brighter and darker areas of the image, further diminishing its credibility and naturalness. Bright elements appear unnaturally flat and little varied.

These significant issues with white balance and brightness characteristics lead to noticeable errors in colour reproduction, which can easily be seen in films as well as the Colour Checker test. The colours are inaccurate, affecting the overall image quality and visual experience. The factory settings require significant improvement in order to fully enjoy the potential of this television.

When it comes to picture quality right out of the box, even in Filmmaker mode, which is supposed to be the closest to reference, there were some issues. In both HD and 4K HDR content, we noticed clear deviations in white balance. The picture was heavily skewed towards red and blue, giving the screen a distinctive pinkish hue. This effect was most noticeable in bright scenes – for example, in shots with a lot of white, where neutral light should naturally dominate. In such moments, the screen clearly took on pink tones, which is also evident in the attached comparative photo. As for brightness characteristics – it wasn't as bad as one might expect given such colour inaccuracies. Analysis of the gamma curve and EOTF showed a slight brightening of the image compared to the reference, but not enough to drastically spoil the viewing experience.

Philips offers advanced image calibration tools in its televisions, which we decided to fully utilise. The results? Although we managed to improve many aspects, it wasn't without difficulties. White balance was one of the biggest challenges – despite our efforts, it could be called fighting against windmills. We were able to significantly correct it, so the picture now looks much better than in the factory settings, but it is still far from perfect. Especially in some scenes, a subtle dominance of blue is visible, although not as intense as before. We achieved a significant improvement in brightness characteristics – gamma now appears much more stable. The EOTF curve looks correct at first glance, however, when analysing movie content, it is evident that the television has trouble maintaining the proper characteristics. The algorithms are "struggling", trying to adjust brightness, which may be due to the limited number of dimming zones that do not always handle more complex scenes well. Overall, the picture after calibration looks much more pleasing to the eye – colors are more natural, and colour reproduction errors have been minimised. Although it is still not perfect, the Philips PML8709 now presents itself much better than in the factory settings.

After calibration, the movie mode gained a completely new quality. The issue of the pink tint, which was previously clearly visible, especially in bright scenes, has been effectively eliminated. Colours started to look significantly more natural, and the white balance no longer dominated the rest of the image. It was no longer the same oversaturated "picture from a box" – everything took on coherence and a cinematic character. Additionally, the tendency of the TV to slightly brighten scenes, previously visible in the EOTF curve analysis, has been partially corrected. Of course, within the limits of what the design allows without local dimming – it's difficult to speak of perfect brightness management here. Nevertheless, the final effect was definitely closer to what one might expect from a mode named Filmmaker.

The distortion reduction feature in the Philips PML8709 smooths tonal transitions, but its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. We recommend setting this option to "Medium" - at this level, the effect is noticeable but not excessive. Unfortunately, compared to other Philips models, the smoothing effect is less effective, meaning that certain tonal transitions may still appear somewhat uneven. An additional drawback is that this feature also smooths other details, such as the textures of materials like shirts, which can affect image sharpness.

As for image scaling, the television performs very well. The image appears smooth and free of noticeable "jaggies". This effect may appeal to many users, although some might prefer a more vivid look. Fortunately, the television allows for adjustment of the sharpness parameter, enabling us to tailor the image to individual preferences.

LS03F is equipped with an NQ4 processor, which is responsible for improving image quality – especially in lower-quality materials. In practice, it works surprisingly well, particularly when it comes to older content and recordings with lower resolution. Activating the "noise reduction" feature delivers noticeable results. The television effectively smooths tonal transitions and removes digital noise that can appear in darker areas of the image. Compared to previous generations, there is a clear improvement – earlier, this feature often smoothed everything too much, including details that it shouldn't have removed. In this year’s model, the smoothing still occurs, but it happens in a much more acceptable way. Textures of materials, skin, or fabric details are not as heavily muted as before – the image retains more naturalness. However, this does not change the fact that film grain is still removed by the television, which may not appeal to everyone. On the other hand, it's no longer such an aggressive intervention as in previous models. It's also worth mentioning that the LS03F may struggle with very weak signals – for example, from VHS tapes or low-resolution video. In such cases, we noticed slight clipping of the image at the edges – the so-called overscan. This can lead to situations where a small part of the image (e.g., subtitles at the bottom edge) gets cut off.

Philips PML8709 is one of the few models with mini-LED technology on the market, offering a refresh rate of 60 Hz. While it’s not a panel for the most demanding gamers, it should satisfy those who mainly watch movies. The TV is equipped with a “Motion Style” feature, which is a motion smoother that allows you to adjust the fluidity of motion according to your preferences – from a more “plastic” look to a cinematic aesthetic with clearly visible frames.

The new feature in The Frame for 2025 is a 144 Hz refresh rate display. Yes – in a television primarily associated with displaying works of art, you can now not only watch Van Gogh, but also comfortably play on a console or follow fast-paced sporting events. This is a significant step towards greater versatility. In the case of Samsung movies, as usual in models with a 120 Hz display and above, it allows you to adjust motion fluidity according to your preferences. You can set a more cinematic reproduction that maintains frame rate or opt for complete image smoothing. The range of options is broad, allowing you to tailor the effect to your tastes – regardless of whether the screening is meant to look like classic cinema or a performance on a modern theatre panel.

*this part of the test refers to the model LS03FAU in sizes 55 and 65 inches, which is equipped with a 144Hz display; the sizes 43 and 50 inches have 60Hz displays, and consequently perform much worse in terms of motion fluidity.

Philips PML8709 is a television aimed more at casual gamers, mainly due to the 60 Hz panel, which won’t meet the expectations of the most demanding users. However, for those who appreciate gaming at a more moderate pace, this model may prove sufficient.

The television offers several gamer-friendly features, such as ALLM (automatic switching to game mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate), which help in providing smoother image display without annoying stutters. Furthermore, in terms of HDR, we find the implementation of HGiG, which adjusts the HDR effect to the specifics of games, ensuring a more natural image in appropriately optimised titles. Unfortunately, there is no support for Dolby Vision mode, which may be noticeable in games that utilise this format.

A nice addition is the presence of a basic "Game Bar," which allows for quick previewing and modification of the most important settings related to gaming. It’s a simple but useful touch, especially for those who frequently change their configuration between different types of gameplay. Despite some limitations, the Philips PML8709 offers a solid set of features for less demanding gamers.

As we mentioned earlier – although The Frame likely displays images and artwork for most of the time, Samsung recognised that a Van Gogh fan could just as easily be an avid gamer. And it must be said that The Frame 2025 has almost everything to become a fully-fledged gaming TV.

Onboard, we find support for ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) thanks to the implementation of a single HDMI 2.1 port. The TV handles lower resolutions at higher refresh rates effortlessly and features an expanded Game Bar – already known from other Samsung models – which allows for quick preview and adjustment of key gaming-related settings. For this, it gets extra points from us. Noteworthy is also the proprietary motion smoother, Auto Motion Plus Game, which – and this is worth emphasising – works without increasing input lag. Samsung remains the only manufacturer that has managed to implement this feature in a practically unnoticeable way regarding delays. The result? Much better fluidity in games, especially those that struggle to maintain a stable 60 frames. This solution can genuinely improve gaming comfort in more demanding titles – particularly on consoles that don’t always manage full fluidity, especially in AAA games.

As for the downsides – the lack of Dolby Vision is already something we consider standard in Samsung TVs, so there’s not much to specifically nitpick here. However, the problem lies elsewhere. In the latest version of the Tizen system, the HGiG option has disappeared. Literally – it’s gone. This is a significant inconvenience when configuring the console for proper HDR content display in games. It's hard to understand why such a decision was made, but one thing is certain – this needs to be fixed as soon as possible. We’re talking about a brand that has set standards for gaming on TVs for years. If HGiG returns – and we hope it does – The Frame LS03F can confidently aspire to be a proper gaming TV. Not only as a decoration on the wall, but as equipment that truly enhances the gaming experience.