Philips PUS8209 vs TCL A300W NXTVision

Unfortunately, this is where the problems start. A maximum brightness of 280 nits is definitely too low to experience the true effect of HDR. In practice, the image resembles standard SDR more, so it's hard to talk about deeper visual experiences. On the plus side, the colour gamut coverage is 91.4% DCI-P3, which will be sufficient for most films. It's also worth noting that the image is stable and there are no issues with sudden brightness or colour changes. Overall, HDR on this television is more of a formality than an actual added value. If we're looking for genuine HDR emotions, this model may not meet expectations.

When it comes to brightness, the TCL A300W is definitely the dimmest TV among all frame-style models, such as Samsung The Frame or Hisense CanvasTV – and unfortunately, you can see that right away. In our measurements, peak luminance reached only around 400 nits, and on test movie screens, this value dropped to 350 nits. That’s definitely too little to feel the real "magic" of bright HDR effects. As a consolation – the TV is equipped with a PFS LED coating (which is something like QLED), which provides very good coverage of a wide colour gamut, both DCI-P3 and BT.2020. In addition, there is full support for all popular HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision – which somewhat compensates for the shortcomings in brightness and helps improve the overall experience of materials in this quality.

Philips PUS8209 offers many picture modes, but the best of them, without a doubt, is the Filmmaker mode. Despite its proud name, it has its distinct problems. For HD content, the white balance is characterised by a strong dominance of red, causing the image to be significantly warmer than it should be in reality. The brightness characteristic (gamma), although correct in mid-tones, has serious issues at the beginning and end of the graph. Drops in shadows result in a loss of detail in dark areas, and spikes in bright areas make some elements look unnatural.

For high-quality content in 4K HDR, the situation reverses. In this case, blue dominates, leading to an artificial image boost effect, reminiscent of unnatural retail settings. Such an image looks unappealing and does not align with the creators' intentions. An additional problem is the EOTF curve, responsible for brightness in HDR materials. It deviates significantly from the reference graph, causing the image to appear too dark, stripping depth and detail from HDR content.

Against this backdrop, the errors in the Color Checker test and deviations in colour palette reproduction are exceptionally large, which further negatively affects the overall image quality. The Filmmaker mode, while the best among those available, requires substantial corrections to truly convey the full vision of the director.

TCL A300 offers several picture modes, but without a doubt, the movie mode performs the best. Unfortunately, even though it is the best option available, it is not free from errors. Both in HD and HDR content, the image has a noticeably too warm hue – it has a slight pink tint, which is particularly noticeable in snowy scenes. Instead of pure white, we get a pinkish coating that spoils the natural perception of colours.

The management of brightness is also lacking. In the case of older HD materials, the image often seems too dark – confirmed by an elevated gamma value. Conversely, with HDR content, the effect is the opposite – the image is overly bright, as we observed in scenes from the film Pan. Such a lack of consistency also affects colour accuracy – a test with a ColorChecker showed that many samples clearly deviate from reference values.

Fortunately, TCL allows for manual adjustment of settings, so we decided to check how the television would perform after our professional calibration. The effects of this adjustment are described below.

After calibration, the white balance for HD and 4K content has significantly improved. While we haven't achieved a perfectly flat characteristic, the result is definitely better than before. The image on the television no longer appears either artificially warm or overly cold, which significantly enhances the naturalness of the displayed content. The brightness characteristic (gamma) has also been adjusted – the most significant issues at the beginning and end of the graph have been mitigated. The EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness in 4K HDR materials, has been stabilised, eliminating problems with excessive dimming of the image. In the colour palette test, some imperfections can still be seen due to the average coverage of the wide colour gamut, which is a limitation of the hardware itself. Nevertheless, the final result is clearly better than pre-calibration – the image looks more natural and approaches the expectations for Filmmaker mode.

After our professional calibration, the TCL A300 has literally been given a new lease on life. The image has stopped being too warm, and the colours finally look as they should – as confirmed by the ColorChecker test, where the colour samples finally started hitting their marks, at least to some reasonable degree. It was also possible to partially correct the brightness management – the image is now more balanced and less "wobbly" between different types of content. Of course, certain limitations can't be bypassed – a slightly visible blooming effect still occurs, but that's a characteristic of the technology, not something that can be eliminated even after professional settings.

Generally: after calibration, the A300 looks significantly better and gains a whole new quality.

The television offers a “Distortion Reduction” feature that effectively improves the gradation of tonal transitions, particularly when set to the minimum level. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost – the feature also smooths out details like material textures. On the plus side, it’s worth noting that the operation of this option does not negatively affect the film grain, which remains intact.

As for image scaling (upscaling), the television generates a plastic, soft image that generally looks pleasant. However, in the background, issues with aliasing of certain elements, such as branches or small details, can sometimes be noticed, which may decrease the quality of the reception. Despite these minor imperfections, the overall experience of scaling is satisfactory.

TCL A300 handles tonal transitions in high-quality films very well, but the question arises – how does it perform with weaker materials? The TV is equipped with a tonal smoothing feature; however, its effectiveness can be described in one word: “random”. In one scene, it may work and improve the gradation, but when turned off… the effect remains the same. There is a lack of consistency and predictability here.

Image scaling is also not one of A300's strong points. On the test pattern, the main character actually looked better than on the raw signal, but with thin lines – like fonts or background details – there was noticeable jaggedness and aliasing. On the plus side, the TV does not cut off the image and has no issues with overscan, but the overall quality of scaling is rather average.

The 60 Hz panel in the Philips PUS8209 is mainly suited for watching movies, but here you can also feel a certain shortcoming. The television does not offer any motion smoothing that would allow you to adjust the fluidity of the picture to individual preferences, which for some users may be disappointing.

TCL A300 is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, which should instantly satisfy virtually everyone - both gamers and sports fans. Motion is fluid and the image is clear even during fast scenes. Additionally, the television offers a motion enhancement feature called "Motion," where we find two sliders on a 10-point scale. These allow you to adjust the effect to your own preferences - from a classic, filmic look with visible frames to a very smooth (though already unnatural) image reminiscent of a soap opera effect. This way, everyone can find a setting that suits them.

Philips PUS8209 offers basic features useful for gamers, such as variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic low latency mode (ALLM), and Game Bar, which makes managing settings easier.

Unfortunately, due to the 60 Hz panel, the TV will not meet the expectations of more demanding gamers who are looking for higher fluidity and precision of image. Additionally, this model does not support any HDR mode dedicated to gaming, such as HGiG or Dolby Vision, which further limits its capabilities in this regard.

The TCL A300 is a television designed not only to transport us to a digital art museum but also into the full-fledged world of gaming. It offers practically everything you can expect from gaming hardware: two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz refresh rate, support for VRR and ALLM.

It also deserves credit for the proper implementation of the HGIG mode – something that competing Hisense sometimes struggles with. The television handles lower resolutions (e.g., Full HD) with ease while maintaining high refresh rates, which will be appreciated by owners of older consoles or PCs.

Additionally, there's an attractive and clear GameBar that facilitates quick access to settings for gamers. The A300 is indeed well-prepared for gaming at the highest level – it’s just a shame that issues with ghosting somewhat detract from its overall appeal as a gaming device.