Philips PUS8079 vs LG NANO82T6B

The maximum brightness in content with a wide tonal range at 202 nits is extremely low and practically prevents watching movies and series on streaming platforms in the highest quality. It's worth mentioning that in this case, using the HDR format equipped with dynamic metadata won't help either. Why won't it help? Because the only such format implemented in the television is HDR10+, which is extremely unpopular, and films recorded in this format are scarce. It’s also worth noting that PUS8079 uses WLED backlighting, which unfortunately is not the best solution, resulting in coverage of only 80% of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut. The effect of this reality is significantly less intense colours in HDR content.

The brightness of NANO82T, to be honest, is quite average, especially when compared to alternatives in a similar price range. With a maximum brightness of around 280 nits, it is not among the highest and may affect the overall viewing experience of HDR content. While many TVs in this price class offer brightness above 400-500 nits, LG NANO82T may seem less impressive. As a result, details in bright areas of the image may be less distinct, and the HDR effect is not as spectacular as one might expect.

The best factory mode in terms of colour reproduction and fidelity to the director's vision was "Film". While it was the best of the predefined modes, it still had significant discrepancies between what the filmmaker wanted to convey and what the tested television displayed. In both SDR and HDR materials (though to a lesser extent in the latter), the white balance, which is the most fundamental element responsible for image purity, turned out to be somewhat of a repeat of the vibrant mode, with a blue tint reminiscent of what you see in retail displays. Moving directly to the SDR materials and what affects contrast, namely gamma, we see it being severely reduced. This leads to cutting off already minimal contrast resources and brightening the entire image. In the EOTF curve, responsible for the increase in brightness pace in HDR materials, we instead see a strong drop below the reference line, which, given the limited light output of the television, significantly impacted the perception of those contents, which were even more dimmed. We won’t separate the quality assessments of the colours themselves since, in both cases, they achieved astronomical deltaE values, being simply completely different from what they should be.

The colour reproduction in LG NANO82T in Filmmaker mode, which is the best mode available from the factory settings, is not without its flaws. The primary issue is the white balance, where the graph shows dips in the blue colour level. This phenomenon results in a shift of colours towards yellow shades, causing the image to appear warmer than it should. Such deviation means that the colours on the screen are not naturally reproduced, which can be particularly noticeable in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. For example, the image below from the movie "Star Wars," where there are a lot of elements that should be white. The Color Checker test confirms that some colours are "shifting" into other shades, indicating that the TV does not display colours accurately.

In terms of contrast, the gamma graph analysis showed drops to a level of 2.1, while the optimal value should be 2.4. This means that the TV might display darker areas of the image brighter in certain scenes, reducing their depth and dynamism. Additionally, on the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness reproduction, a slight spike was noticed at the beginning. This phenomenon may result in excessive boosting of brightness in the brightest parts of the image, leading to a loss of detail in very bright scenes.

Luckily, Philips implements advanced image correction tools in all of its TVs. SDR content has benefited the most here, and the huge deltaE errors have been significantly corrected, with both white balance and gamma being substantially reworked. While we can't say it's reference-quality image, it's definitely better, and you can watch a movie or series without causing a headache, especially for your eyes. Naturally, HDR materials, due to the very low luminance of the TV, could not be corrected to the same high degree as those with a standard colour palette, but we managed to roughly straighten out the EOTF curve and the white balance. Unfortunately, that was all we could squeeze out of our unit, although it's worth noting that each unit is different and has entirely different errors, whether minor or major.

After calibration, the colour reproduction in SDR content on LG NANO82T is very good. The white balance has been effectively improved, resulting in natural and balanced hues across various scenes. The gamma has also been adjusted, providing more precise detail representation in both shadow and highlight areas of the image. Thanks to these corrections, the television performs excellently in everyday use, offering solid colour quality and clear, well-balanced images in SDR mode.

However, in the case of HDR content, the situation is not as good. The television does not support a wide colour gamut, limiting the depth and richness of colours that HDR can offer. The EOTF curve diverges from the ideal, leading to excessive highlighting of details in the bright areas of the image. Unfortunately, this approach results in significant colour reproduction errors, as confirmed by tests on Colour Checker. The low brightness level of the panel further negatively impacts HDR image quality, causing the dynamic range effects to not be fully realised, and colours appear washed out.

The television significantly improved after calibration, especially in SDR content. The improvement in white balance and gamma has greatly enhanced image quality, providing a more natural and consistent colour reproduction. Compared to the state before calibration, the difference is clear, and the television now offers better performance in daily use, particularly in standard dynamic range.

We will return once again to the issue of tonal transitions, but in the context of overall image quality improvement. As we can observe in the photo on the left, the gradation enhancement feature works brilliantly. Furthermore, it offers several settings, and each of them, even the lowest, provides a beneficial effect, and, what’s more, does not soften the film grain effect. We will repeat once again that this feature is the biggest advantage of the tested television.

Secondly, we will look at image scaling. Here, the tested television performed worse. We can notice, above all, the strongly jagged fine details and the characteristic white glow around figures. We must not forget about the significant artificial sharpening of the image.

If it comes to gradation in very low-quality materials, LG NANO82T gives us the option of a feature called "Smooth Gradation". In the "Low" setting, this feature slightly improves the most problematic tonal transitions, which is noticeable and useful for such content. In the "High" setting, it works even more effectively, enhancing tonal transitions, but at the cost of smoothing out details that shouldn't be smoothed. This is a compromise that not all users will appreciate.

When it comes to image scaling, NANO82T is not without certain limitations, particularly when playing content at lower resolutions. The television applies a gentle, artificial sharpness boost, making the image appear sharper. This effect mainly results from the overlay of artificial contours. For some users, this may be beneficial, as they prefer more pronounced and highlighted details. However, for those who value the naturalness of the image, this effect may be less attractive and too artificial. It’s a subjective issue that can impact viewers differently, depending on their visual preferences.

This paragraph, unlike the others, will be extremely short. The reason for this situation is the lack of implementation of even the most basic motion smoothing function, which was to be expected given the price of the device. We also note that we are dealing with a VA panel, whose sharpness will not be the best under the sun. This type of panel is mainly associated with high contrast, which goes hand in hand with a relatively slow response time, as we can clearly read from the panel analysis results. As you can see, from the images captured in quick motion, the picture is blurred, typical for this type of panel. Although it may not be the ideal option, it can conditionally be used for watching sports, although one must keep in mind the less than optimal sharpness in motion. It's worth mentioning that movies will exhibit stuttering, as the television does not have any, not even the simplest, motion smoother.

LG televisions, including the NANO82T, offer an interesting motion smoothing feature called TruMotion, which will satisfy most users who value control over the quality of the films they watch. The TruMotion function allows users to adjust the smoothness of the displayed films according to their preferences on a 10-point scale, enabling a personalised visual experience.

However, in the case of more dynamic scenes, such as games or action films, the television performs worse. The 60Hz panel and relatively slow pixel response times mean that motion clarity isn't ideal. The result is noticeable blurring and less smooth playback of fast scenes.

Overall, the LG NANO82T should satisfy those who primarily watch films and prefer more subdued content. However, for those who value dynamic, fast motion, we recommend looking for an alternative.

Philips PUS8079 offers only the most basic support for gaming in the form of ALLM, VRR, and Game Bar. The most important information is that thanks to the implementation of the feature responsible for dynamic refresh rate adjustment, the image is actually quite smooth for this price range and does not 'tear' the image.

A slightly greater nod towards gamers is the introduction of the Game Bar, allowing for settings adjustments 'on the fly'. This means we won’t have to exit the game to make any changes to the image. Importantly, it hasn’t been stripped of options known from higher models. We can find features such as shadow enhancement for better visibility in shadows and a colour filter for players with visual impairments.

While gaming on the console, LG NANO82T offers a range of features that can significantly impact the gaming experience, though it also has some limitations. Among the advantages, it is worth mentioning the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically adjusts picture settings by switching the TV to low latency mode. This is particularly beneficial for gamers who need a quick response to their actions. Another plus is the support for HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), as HDR games are displayed according to the creators' intentions, providing realistic and vivid visual effects. These features make the LG NANO82T offer a good gaming experience, although some aspects could be better, especially in dynamic scenes. Unfortunately, LG NANO82T has its limitations when it comes to gaming features. It lacks support for variable refresh rate (VRR), which can affect the smoothness of gameplay, especially in more dynamic games. The TV has a 60Hz panel, preventing the use of higher refresh rates. This is a significant drawback for gamers who expect smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. Additionally, the lack of G-Sync support limits image synchronization capabilities, which can lead to tearing and stuttering in games.

These shortcomings may mean that the LG NANO82T does not meet the expectations of the most demanding gamers who are looking for advanced features and the highest image smoothness.