Philips PUS7009 (IPS) vs Sony BRAVIA 7 II

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.

Sony Bravia 7 II handles HDR very well and, above all, is simply a bright television. In the correct viewing mode for watching, Professional, we measured about 2,000 nits of peak brightness, so the panel’s capabilities are truly large. Of course, in Mini-LED sets a test-pattern result is only part of the story, because much still depends on how the TV controls the backlight in real scenes. Here Sony’s algorithms perform really well. Depending on the scene, the brightness we measured in films ranged from about 1,100 to as much as 1,700 nits. That’s a level at which HDR has proper punch and bright highlights can be genuinely impressive. It’s not perfect in every situation. With small bright elements on a very dark background, the Bravia 7 II clearly prioritises maintaining good black levels, so their brightness can fall to around 500 nits. It still looks good, but it’s clear the TV doesn’t always manage this without compromise.

Colours

The second thing that has a huge impact on HDR is, of course, colour. And this is where True RGB was meant to deliver one of the biggest changes. Looking at the panel’s capabilities alone, the Bravia 7 II performs very well. We measured roughly 98% DCI-P3 coverage and 88% BT.2020, so the potential for showing highly saturated colours is substantial. In RGB TVs the matter is a bit more complex. When we repeated the same measurements with a film-like background applied, gamut coverage dropped to about 92% DCI-P3 and 78% BT.2020. Those are still good numbers, especially for an RGB Mini-LED TV, but they show that the final result largely depends on how the algorithms drive the three backlight colours. In most scenes the Bravia 7 II handles this well and colours retain strong saturation. The biggest differences are visible in blue shades, where samples start to deviate more noticeably from the reference values and coverage is weaker than for the other primaries. True RGB therefore offers genuinely greater potential, but, as with brightness, a lot depends on what’s actually happening on screen.

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.

To evaluate the factory colours we chose the Professional mode, because it performs best among the available presets. It's not perfect. In SDR the white balance is slightly biased toward magenta, so some scenes look a little warmer and less neutral than they should. A bigger issue is the gamma, which sits closer to 2.5 than 2.4. As a result the image is a bit too dark in places, especially in the mid-tones. In HDR the situation is better. As brightness increases there's a little too much red, but it isn't something that really jumps out while watching. Overall the Professional mode is a good starting point, though you can get a bit more out of it with calibration.

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.

After calibration the Bravia 7 II can look significantly better. First and foremost, we managed to set the white balance very well in both SDR and HDR. Gamma can also be improved, and after correction it runs very close to the reference value. For most users those changes will have the biggest impact on the picture. There is, however, a limitation with the colours themselves. On the Bravia 7 II Sony does not provide access to a traditional CMS that would let us adjust individual hues separately. Much is left to the algorithms controlling the True RGB backlight. If the TV reproduces a specific colour inaccurately, we are not always able to do anything about it. In our measurements this is most apparent in parts of the reds and blues, where errors can still be quite large. That does not, however, undermine the value of calibration. Correctly setting the white point and gamma strongly affects the whole picture, so even without the ability to precisely correct every colour the difference from the factory settings is noticeable.

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.

Scaling and digital processing are among the strongest points of the Bravia 7 II and one of Sony's biggest advantages over the competition. Sony has for years excelled at digital image processing, and it's clear here too. Above all, the 'Smooth Gradation' function works very well, smoothing weaker tonal transitions in poorer-quality content. The safest setting is low, but we'd comfortably recommend medium as well. The effect is stronger, and the TV still handles fine detail very delicately. Some minor details may be slightly smoothed, but Sony does it much more subtly than many other brands. Upscaling is also very good. Lower-resolution content is nicely upscaled to 4K; the image looks clean and retains a lot of detail. Of course the TV won't magically turn native HD into true 4K, but the Bravia 7 II does very well with what can be pulled from such a source.

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.

The Bravia 7 II uses a 120 Hz panel, so in terms of motion handling it delivers everything you'd expect from a TV of this class. With sport or games at 120 fps the picture is suitably smooth, and for films Sony provides an advanced motion interpolation system. You can therefore adjust the level of interpolation separately and choose whether to retain a more cinematic motion or achieve noticeably greater smoothness. Motion blur itself is a bit worse. The VA panel used isn't among the fastest, and moving objects can show a slight trailing, especially against darker backgrounds. It's not at a level that will seriously disturb normal viewing, but last year's Bravia 7 was better in this regard and had a noticeably faster panel.

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.

Bravia 7 II has pretty much everything you'd want from a good console TV today. It supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR from 48 to 120 Hz and ALLM, so when you start a game the TV automatically switches to low-latency mode. HGiG works correctly, so once you configure HDR on the console the TV won't try to brighten the image on its own. Just remember to turn off tone mapping in the TV's menu. Another plus is Dolby Vision in game mode, which will be especially useful for Xbox owners. Sony also includes its own Game Menu, where you can quickly view key signal info, check VRR or change gaming settings without digging through the full TV menu. The only thing missing from the feature list is support for 1440p at 120 Hz. Our biggest complaint is not really about the features but the connectors. The Bravia 7 II has four HDMI ports, but only two of them support full HDMI 2.1 with 48 Gbps bandwidth. One of those is also the eARC port. So if you connect a soundbar or AV receiver via HDMI, in practice you only have one full HDMI 2.1 left for a console or PC. With a single console that's fine, but with a PS5, an Xbox and an audio setup it starts to feel cramped. That's hard to justify from Sony. In cheaper TVs two HDMI 2.1 ports can still be accepted, but in a model of this class, especially in 2026, we'd expect all four ports to be HDMI 2.1.