Philips PML9009 / 9019 / 9059 vs Samsung OLED S90F (QD-OLED)

Philips PML9009 doesn't really operate at the highest values in HDR materials. Most effects with brightness around 550 nits won't leave us thrilled with the lighting effects, although they are quite stable, which is a plus, and a considerable difference can be felt between SDR materials. It's worth noting that we can achieve a good result only in one scenario, that is in the film "Gemini," where the flashlight as the sole light source can really shine. Why in this scene? The answer is quite simple. The scene itself doesn't have a large amount of black, and the flashlight isn't as large an object as the sun in the first and last scenes. Overall, the brightness measurement results in HDR materials aren't a solid basis for recommending this television for viewing productions that use a wide color gamut. However, it's worth mentioning that this model can cover it in a not too bad 93% degree in the case of the DCI-P3 palette.

The biggest difference between the 65-inch S90F and the other versions is brightness. The QD-OLED panel can reach up to 1700 nits in laboratory tests, which is over 500 nits more than the version with a WOLED matrix. This translates to a significantly stronger and more immersive HDR effect. In most scenes, the bright parts of the image look stunning, and we must admit that we were positively surprised, as we expected results closer to the WOLED version, but what we got is an effect that impresses even in films. As with every OLED, there are moments when the panel must reduce brightness a bit. This mainly concerns full-screen, very demanding scenes – for instance, in the last test scene from the movie “The Meg,” brightness drops to around 800 nits. However, it's hard to consider this a flaw because it's still an excellent result, unprecedented in OLED TVs in this price range. Everything suggests that the 65-inch S90F could be one of the best choices this year for those looking for a strong OLED at a reasonable price. Another advantage of the QD-OLED matrix in HDR content is its colour gamut coverage. Thanks to quantum dots, the television achieves nearly 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut and almost 90% of the BT.2020 gamut. These are values that place it alongside much more expensive models and make it exceptional in its class.

The best factory mode used during our tests was "Filmmaker". Here, we will examine both SDR and HDR content. The key differentiator is primarily the EOTF curve in the wide colour gamut materials and gamma in those recorded "the old way". Starting with SDR films and series and the most basic thing we can observe, which is white balance, we see a significant red colour dominance. This led to a yellow tint across the whole image, causing unnaturally looking faces and yellowed whites. This issue is also clearly visible on the "ColourChecker" palette, where all colours have shifted towards their warmer counterparts. Looking at an even more significant graph, the gamma responsible for the contrast of the image, we see considerable errors beginning right from the start. From the left, the value we measured, indicated by a combined ellipsis, clearly spiked upwards, causing complete merging of details in the darkest scenes. This state of affairs persisted up to 10% brightness on the screen, after which it dove below the reference orange line, leading to a deterioration in contrast, which, as we know, Philips PML9009 is already lacking. In HDR materials, white balance issues were very similar to those in SDR content. The discrepancy appears when checking the EOTF curve, which governs the rate of brightness increase and severely limited it, resulting in an unnaturally dark image. As for the colours themselves, there were more reasons for concern here, as the television's low luminance caused a huge disparity between the actual state and the correct one, which is perfectly visible on the error graph, often exceeding the scale.

Samsung S90F, like most modern televisions, offers several picture modes, but in keeping with our tradition, we checked it in the most important one, which is Filmmaker. This setting makes the picture look much more natural than in the default, often oversaturated modes. It is neither overly vivid nor artificially dimmed – just closer to what you should actually see. However, this doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The S90F had noticeable shortcomings in white balance, particularly in the blue range, which created a slightly yellowish filter effect on most scenes. One might argue that it looks more “cinematic” because it’s warmer, but let’s not kid ourselves – George Lucas didn’t shoot Star Wars in sepia 😉 (you’ll find a comparison with a scene as always below). In HDR materials, there was also an issue with brightness management. The EOTF curve clearly showed that the television brightens the image more than it should, which led to some effects looking too intense and deviating from the reference. Fortunately, many of these flaws can be eliminated through professional calibration – we will discuss the effects of this procedure later in the test.

Philips PML9009, like most leading manufacturers, has been providing advanced tools for calibration processes for years. Here we find 2-point and 20-point greyscale adjustments, as well as an advanced CMS (Color Management System). The differences resulting from calibration are evident, and even someone who doesn't pay attention to image quality (although there probably aren't many like that here) will notice the positive difference. Both SDR and HDR materials have undergone quite a transformation. The former and the latter have primarily shed the ugly yellow tint resulting from the red colour dominance in white balance. As for the SDR materials and gamma, although it is not perfectly modelled and still loses dark details, the rest of it is at more than a decent level, and minor errors will not be noticeable. The colours themselves look far better, and with low deltaE errors, they are almost reference-quality. On the other hand, HDR materials, due to the unit's low luminance, have not been optimised as we would have liked. Although the white balance has been largely normalised, a slight blue tint can still be observed here and there. Fortunately, the EOTF curve turned out to be much more accessible, allowing for practically perfect geometry. Unfortunately, due to the screen's too low brightness, the colour errors remain quite high.

Calibration quickly revealed that the S90F has a significant reserve of capabilities. The image in SDR immediately gained a natural quality – classic films no longer looked like someone was applying a yellowish filter, and the colours regained their proper character. It's a return to the atmosphere of the original, without the impression that someone tried to "age" it forcefully. In HDR content, the difference was even more pronounced. The EOTF curve was managed to nearly reference level, and any deviations are so subtle that most viewers wouldn't even notice them. In practice, the S90F shows an image very close to ideal post-calibration. Compared to the WOLED version, it even performs better – mainly due to a wider coverage of the colour palette, which makes the colours look fuller and more vibrant.

Judging by how PML9009 Philips handled tonal transitions, the image scaling test should perform just as well. This time, we are checking the TV’s algorithms responsible for enhancing the quality of images that were recorded in lower quality. Such images can be found, for example, in various TV shows or older films. In this regard, Philips PML9009 performs quite mediocrely and drastically blurs the image. This is particularly noticeable on fine branches or the model's hair.

Let’s revisit the issue of tonal transitions, which performed remarkably well. Within the unit, we will find several levels of smoothing. Even the lowest one can effectively eliminate any jerky tonal transitions and will be suitable for the vast majority of materials. More importantly, none of the settings for this function soften the effect of film grain, which is extremely important in terms of alignment with the director's vision. However, we would like to point out that sometimes it may turn out that fine details are blurred.

S90F performs really well here, although there are some points that are common across most Samsung TVs. The noise reduction feature can effectively smooth out unwanted colour transitions in lower-quality materials like television or YouTube, making them look simply better. However, it should be noted that it works quite aggressively and can also soften elements that we wouldn’t want to alter, such as facial details. Therefore, if we want to use it, it’s best to use it in the "medium" setting and be aware of the compromise it brings. The upscaling itself is of a high standard – low-quality materials are pulled towards an image resembling 4K. The only caveat is that the S90F can still have issues with so-called overscan, meaning slight trimming of the edges in very low-quality materials such as 576p and lower.

Philips PML9009 has been equipped with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 120 Hz. This is the essential minimum for watching all kinds of sports and is recommended for comfortable gaming in favourite titles on consoles or PCs. The manufacturer, for those who dislike the characteristic judder of footage recorded at 24 fps or those requiring a high degree of motion smoothness, such as when watching football matches, has prepared an effective system for improving the sharpness of moving images. In the dedicated tab, we will find a "Smoothness" slider responsible for eliminating judder and a "Motion Blur Reduction" setting that helps to increase the sharpness of dynamic elements. The function works very well and granularly, meaning each setting has a real impact on motion perception. With such a set, every user will find their sweet spot. In the picture, we present our choice, which is slight smoothing without the soap opera effect.

A matter directly related to motion is the response time of the pixels in the panel itself. The best in this regard are of course OLED panels, followed by units based on IPS and ADS screens, and lastly VA. Despite the generally good quality of the systems responsible for smoothening the image, the use of a VA panel carries consequences in the form of black smear behind fast-moving objects. Although in the tested television this should not occur frequently, it will be noticeable here and there.

S90F is an OLED with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, but in practice, what matters most is how it performs at 120 Hz, as this frequency is the most important when watching sports. The QD-OLED panel is no different in this regard from WOLED panels – the pixel response is nearly instantaneous, so motion is rendered with surgical precision. The effect is easy to predict. The image is practically free of motion blur, making gaming on consoles, matches, or other sports broadcasts a tremendous pleasure on the S90F.

Fans of movies and series have not been forgotten either. Like every Samsung television with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and above, the S90F is equipped with a proprietary motion smoother called “Picture Clarity.” Here, we find two sliders – blur reduction and judder reduction – which allow you to improve the smoothness of content recorded at 24 frames and tailor the effect to your own preferences.

Philips PML9009, equipped with HDMI 2.1 connections with full bandwidth, supports all functions dedicated to gamers. The most basic ones, such as VRR and ALLM, are a given, but G-Sync, FreeSync, or playing in HDR Dolby Vision with low input lag are not. These features activate without any problems, and during the tests conducted, they presented no obstacles. Such preparation of the television is certainly its strong point, and it can be said that it is a unit dedicated to gamers. For more advanced users, we also mention that the PML9009 is equipped with the HGIG mode, which will be particularly felt by gamers, as there are still relatively few games that support Dolby Vision. This mode primarily allows for the adjustment of HDR effects to the capabilities of the television on a special board, to prevent dimming and burning of the image.

The television additionally implements a special menu - GameBar. This allows for editing unit settings "on the fly," meaning without having to exit the game. In it, we will also find functions such as activating a crosshair or black level correction for better visibility of opponents in shadows.

In a brief summary of this paragraph, the Philips PML9009 is a unit that will undoubtedly attract gamers' attention. Thanks to its versatility, it will allow for playing any title in the highest quality without compromises. Especially since features such as VRR, ALLM, G-Sync, FreeSync, or gameplay in HDR Dolby Vision will provide an even greater immersion in the favourite title.

The S90F is a television that genuinely brings a lot of joy when gaming. To start with, we get four proper HDMI 2.1 ports, which means you can connect all consoles and PCs without having to figure out which device takes priority. This is a convenient and practical solution, which is not at all a given with other manufacturers. Additionally, there are key features such as: automatic game mode (ALLM), which automatically switches the screen to low latency settings, and VRR frame synchronization that operates over a wide range from 48 to 144 Hz. This ensures the picture remains smooth, whether we're playing fast-paced online shooters or more relaxed narrative titles. The Game Bar also deserves attention – a panel that allows quick access to several handy extras. For example, you can turn on an extra crosshair in the middle of the screen, enlarge the minimap, or, in the case of PC, change the aspect ratio. Finally, there's also Samsung's unique Game Motion Plus mode. Its task is to smooth out older or poorly optimized titles, and it actually works quite well. With this mode, even less polished games can look better and provide more enjoyment than on other televisions that theoretically offer the same technical parameters.