Philips PUS7009 (IPS) vs Dreame S100

In terms of HDR quality, PUS7009 (IPS) performs very poorly. A brightness level of 250 nits doesn't allow for enjoyment of HDR effects, and the image resembles more of a standard SDR. There’s no talk of dynamic effects or vivid bursts of light. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is only 75%, which is definitely insufficient. The lack of full colour coverage means that the colours are not as vibrant as they should be, resulting in a flat and unimpressive image. There are no aspects to commend this model in the context of HDR.

The Dreame S100 is a relatively bright television. In movie mode, the brightness we measured reached around 600 nits. This is a really good result, although not the highest considering the competition in this price range. In full-screen scenes, it's clear that the television can generate an image that hits the mark in terms of brightness. Unfortunately, when more complex scenes appeared on the screen, the local dimming algorithm in this model tried above all to maintain the deepest blacks. However, this came at the expense of the HDR effect – and in a drastic way. In such scenes, the brightness of the bright elements fell below 100 nits, which is a downright tragic result, far from any HDR effect. This aspect can be improved, but there are caveats. You just need to change the local dimming setting in the television's menu; however, then the blacks in such scenes simply turn grey. It's a pity that Dreame wasn't able to refine the local dimming algorithms better, and the S100 is another example that the number of local dimming zones doesn't always translate into a better picture. As a consolation, it's worth noting that the Dreame S100 is marketed as a 'QLED' type television, although it actually uses a PFS LED filter. As a result, the colours are appropriately saturated, and our measured DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage exceeded 94%.

The television was tested in movie mode, which – despite its name – does not provide correct image display. The white balance in both 4K HDR and HD/SDR content is characterised by drops in red, making the image cooler and the colours lose their natural warmth. The gamma brightness characteristics and EOTF curve confirm that the television has issues maintaining appropriate brightness – it boosts it significantly, resulting in an unnaturally washed-out image. This effect can be seen in the comparisons below, where everything looks as if it has a milky filter applied. Additionally, the limited coverage of a wide colour gamut also does not promote quality – colour checker attempts indicate significant colour variations, making it difficult to achieve faithful image reproduction.

We tested the Dreame S100 in "movie" mode and definitely recommend using this setting for watching all kinds of content. Interestingly, in the deeper settings of the TV, we also find a dedicated "Filmmaker" mode, which is now available from almost every manufacturer. However, in the case of the Dreame S100, we do not recommend using it – it blocks all settings related to the picture and does not allow for any configuration in the menu - not even a motion smoother. So how do the factory colours fare in the S100? Not too bad, but not great either. The TV itself had a noticeable blue tint, which is clearly evident in our white balance measurements. As a result, the picture was artificially brightened, and the colours had a slight bluish tint. This is also confirmed by the Color Checker palette, which showed how the colour samples leaned towards blue, generating quite significant colour errors. On the other hand, the picture looked definitely better in HDR mode, where the colour errors were not as prominent, although they were still far from ideal. Here, the white balance was also too heavily skewed towards blue, causing quite significant errors in color reproduction.

After calibration, the picture has significantly improved, especially in terms of white balance, which is now more stable, and the shades have taken on a natural quality, eliminating the earlier impression of a rather cool picture. The calibration has brought noticeable benefits in terms of tonality – the shadows and midtones are now more realistic, and the whole seems more harmonious. Unfortunately, hardware limitations still affect the quality of the image. The brightness characteristic remains problematic, despite our efforts, and due to poor coverage of the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 colour gamut, delta E errors are still at a high level. Although calibration has improved some aspects, the television still does not allow for complete satisfaction.

The Dreame S100 has proven to be a device very amenable to professional calibration. In its menu, we found a plethora of advanced options that allowed us to effectively correct factory errors. Thanks to the advanced white balance correction – both in SDR and HDR content – we completely eliminated excess blue components. The image instantly became much more natural and pleasant to view. After fully tuning the colours, the errors in the Color Checker test dropped below a Delta E value of 2-3. For the average viewer, this means that any colour distortions became almost impossible to see with the naked eye. It's really a nice surprise, as often new brands in the TV market have significant problems with the correct implementation and functioning of sliders in the calibration menu. Here, everything worked as it should. The only thing we need to criticise is the way the TV manages its brightness in HDR. Due to the specific nature of the local dimming algorithms, our measured EOTF curve shows anomalies. In places where high highlights should appear, there is a slight bump in the curve above the reference line. In practice, this results in unnatural brightening of certain, the brightest elements in movies or games. Despite this minor flaw, professional calibration brings a huge, very positive change to this model.

If we talk about tonal transitions in low-quality material, the feature called "Distortion Reduction" (set to "minimum") effectively improves the gradation, eliminating undesirable tonal transitions. However, this setting on Philips TVs is quite aggressive – while it doesn't blur grain or high-quality material, it may introduce unwanted effects and blur elements that should remain sharp with poorer signals.

In terms of image scaling, Philips PUS7009 performs reasonably well. A significant advantage is the absence of cropped edges, meaning no overscan, which allows for displaying the full frame without loss. The image is noticeably improved, making characters and backgrounds, such as the model or branches in the background, look fairly detailed and natural, even with lower quality signals. Although the scaling is not perfect, as it can remove desired details in the distance, the results are good enough to satisfy most users.

For scaling and digital processing in the Dreame S100, the technology used is proudly called Dreamind™ Pro AI by the manufacturer. However, it must be clearly stated that this is not a proprietary processor but rather a marketing term for a chip from MediaTek – specifically, the model MT5889. Unfortunately, we are talking about a rather outdated unit from a time when MediaTek lagged significantly behind the competition in terms of performance. This, unfortunately, has a direct impact on the image, as this chip also handles that. The upscaling in the S100 is fairly average, and the processor has a tendency to artificially over-sharpen edges (fortunately, this can be somewhat tempered with the sharpness slider in the menu). In the options, we also find a feature called "Contour Smoothing," which theoretically is supposed to improve tonal transitions. In practice, it contributes almost no improvement – setting it to any level rarely eliminates visible colour banding, but it can unnecessarily blur elements of the image that should remain sharp.

Another issue is the phenomenon of overscan (cropping the edges of the frame), which is practically visible all the time. Although there is the possibility to set the screen to display the full frame in low-resolution materials, it requires activating the aforementioned Filmmaker mode. And as you may know, this mode completely blocks any changes to other sliders in the picture menu. In our test tables, we noted that the television offers an option to disable overscan, as such a function technically exists in the system – however, in everyday use, while maintaining reasonable picture settings, you will not be able to take advantage of it.

Philips PUS7009 does not have any motion smoothing features in films, which means we cannot choose whether the picture should be more choppy or more cinematic. These features could improve more dynamic scenes. As for motion blur, despite using a 60Hz IPS panel, the situation looks quite good. The response time between pixels is better than in versions with a VA panel, which keeps motion blur at an acceptable level and does not significantly affect the viewing comfort of dynamic scenes.

When it comes to motion fluidity, the Dreame S100 performs really well. It features a 144 Hz refresh rate panel, although in reality, the vast majority of people using it in a conventional way will still be limited to 120 Hz (as this is what today's hardware allows aside from PCs). Thanks to the high refresh rate, the image in motion remains really sharp, largely due to the well-functioning MEMC motion smoother. In the menu, we find predefined modes that enable the TV to efficiently generate artificial frames, which effectively enhances the fluidity of dynamic sports shots, but also helps eliminate motion judder in film and TV series material recorded at 24 frames.

In terms of compatibility with consoles, Philips PUS7009 is suitable for casual gamers. Despite using HDMI 2.0, the TV offers access to features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and Game Bar. ALLM automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, allowing for faster responses while gaming, while VRR dynamically adjusts the refresh rate to reduce screen tearing. The Game Bar is a tool that provides quick access to game settings and real-time parameter monitoring - although we believe it looks the weakest compared to competing Game Bars.

Unfortunately, more demanding gamers may be disappointed. The Philips PUS7009 does not support advanced HDR formats in games or high refresh rates, due to the use of a 60 Hz panel. The lack of support for these features limits the TV's ability to deliver smooth and fully detailed experiences during fast-paced gameplay.

The Dreame S100 seems almost like the ideal screen for gamers. The television is equipped with 2 HDMI 2.1 ports with a bandwidth of 40 Gbps, allowing features such as automatic game mode (ALLM) or VRR frame synchronization in the range of 48-144 Hz to work seamlessly on consoles. On board, we also find a well-designed gaming panel (Game Bar). It allows you to continuously preview the most important parameters - from the activated picture modes, to the number of frames rendered by the console, right through to the option of adding a crosshair in the centre of the screen. All of this looks great on paper; however, the biggest issue with the S100 is its implementation of HDR in games. The television does not have a correctly implemented HGiG format. This means a clueless user may misconfigure the console during the initial setup of the screen. Poor configuration can result in an image that is too dark or overexposed (as a guideline: we suggest setting the brightness in the Xbox console menu to around 600 nits, and in the PS5 to 12 clicks). The Dolby Vision format also proves problematic, as it often did not activate at all on the XBOX – Dreame S100 line. And when it was eventually activated, playing was impossible due to the very high input lag often exceeding 100ms. If the manufacturer manages to improve the HDR gaming experience with an update, the S100 will be truly outstanding hardware for gamers. For now, however, compromises must be accepted.