Philips PUS8359 (IPS) vs LG MRGB85B

The quality of the HDR effect on the Philips PUS8359/12 television is also not impressive. A brightness level of 280 nits is too low, resembling standard SDR more than true HDR, which is clearly evident on the five tested test cards. Additionally, the television does not impress in terms of colour gamut coverage – just 76% DCI-P3 is a result that can be considered poor, especially compared to other models in a similar price range.

LG MRGB85 offers moderate brightness. On test patterns it reaches around 700 nits, which is a decent result in itself. In real movie scenes, however, values are lower and most often fall in the 400 to 600 nits range. Bright, wide shots look best. In scenes with large areas of black the TV noticeably reduces luminance, attempting to keep contrast as high as possible. The HDR effect is therefore visible, but it is far from the level offered by more advanced Mini-LED designs. Particularly in darker parts of films, the limitations of the edge-lit backlight and imprecise local dimming become apparent again.

HDR colours

A much stronger suit of the MRGB85 is its colour. The TV covers around 95% of the DCI-P3 colour space and 74% of BT.2020, so HDR content can look vivid and impressive. Colours are well saturated, and the difference compared with basic LCD TVs is clearly noticeable. It is worth noting, however, that this is not a classic RGB backlight, where each of the three primary colours is generated by a separate diode. Red is produced by a PFS phosphor, which expands the palette and achieves more saturated red tones. This solution performs well for colour reproduction, but it does not change the limitations of the local dimming. The diodes are not driven independently in the way the series name might suggest... so it turns out that Mini RGB is not the same as Mini-LED RGB!

The most faithful factory mode in terms of compliance with the source material turned out to be "Film," which was used in our tests. However, like other factory modes, it also had its drawbacks. Both in SDR and HDR materials, we noticed issues with white balance, where the dominance of green and red resulted in a yellowish hue. This effect was particularly evident in the form of yellowed whites and unnatural skin tones. The "ColourChecker" palette test showed that each colour was shifted towards warmer tones, which affected the accuracy of colour reproduction. A key aspect of the image is also contrast and brightness, which can be assessed by analysing the gamma charts and the EOTF curve. In the gamma chart, we observed significant deviations – both excessively high values that caused loss of detail in the shadows and excessively low values, which led to a drastic drop in contrast. Compared to gamma, the EOTF curve performed better, only slightly brightening the image, which had a less negative impact on overall quality.

We tested the TV in Filmmaker Mode because, of the available presets, it produced the image closest to reference. The out-of-the-box colour reproduction wasn’t perfect, though. The biggest deviations were in the white balance, with too much red and not enough blue in the image, so the overall picture shifted noticeably towards warmer tones. Whites took on a slightly yellowish tint, and skin tones and bright areas didn’t always look natural. It wasn’t a fault that ruined the viewing experience, but in a direct comparison with the same panel after calibration the difference was clearly visible.

Philips, in both its cheaper and more expensive models, offers a wide range of tools for image calibration. We used them to improve the quality of the displayed image, although it was not as straightforward as it might seem. We managed to adjust the white balance, improve the gamma, and fine-tune the EOTF curve; however, despite these efforts, the deltaE errors remained at a very high level. The main causes were limited coverage of the DCI-P3 palette and low maximum brightness, which significantly affected the final outcome. While the overall presentation is much improved, the design features of the television did not allow us to achieve spectacular results.

Calibration primarily corrected the white balance and removed the previously noticeable warm cast. After the correction, whites no longer had a yellow tint and colours became more neutral and natural. The biggest improvement was seen in SDR material, where the picture looked even and much closer to the reference. A similar effect was achieved in HDR. After calibration the image became more controlled, although not all of the TV’s limitations could be eliminated. The main issue remained intense reds, which were not always reproduced with sufficient precision. In practice the MRGB85 handles everyday SDR content very well, but in more demanding HDR material its limitations are still clearly visible.

In this paragraph, we'll take a look at two functionalities. We'll once again examine the function responsible for tonal transitions, but we'll also check how the television handles image scaling. The option responsible for smooth gradation is called "Distortion Reduction". As we've established, it does a pretty good job of smoothing out inconsistencies. However, we must point out two things: we are unable to enable it for HDR content, and it blurs details in films.

The television being tested cannot boast the best image scaling. There is a noticeable overall blurriness in the image, but worse still, it blurs details. This is particularly evident on the branches and the model's hair. A characteristic white halo around the figures is also visible.

Upscaling and digital image processing perform quite well in the LG MRGB85. The Alpha 8 AI 4K Gen7 processor efficiently upscales lower-resolution material, and you can easily turn off overscan regardless of the source. The TV also handles compression artefacts well. The "Smooth Gradation" function can effectively reduce visible banding and tonal unevenness, but it isn't always precise. At higher settings it can also smooth out fine details, such as the texture of materials. A plus is that it doesn't remove film grain. The safest option is the "Low" or "Medium" setting, which offers the best compromise between artefact reduction and preserving detail.

Philips PUS8359 is not the best choice for watching sports. The lack of even basic motion smoothing features means that the picture in dynamic scenes isn't sharp enough. Despite using an IPS panel (43 and 55'), which theoretically should provide better clarity than VA panel variants, there’s no noticeable improvement in terms of motion blur. In photos of fast movement, it’s clear that the figure of the little green man is distinctly blurry, indicating that the TV struggles to maintain sharpness in dynamic shots.

The LG MRGB85 is fitted with a VA panel with a native 144 Hz refresh rate, so its motion handling is very good. The TV easily handles 120 Hz content from consoles and higher refresh rates when connected to a PC. That matters not only for gaming but also when watching sport, where camera motion is noticeably smoother than on basic 60 Hz panels. There’s also the TruMotion system, which lets you set the level of motion smoothing yourself. You can keep a more cinematic motion or increase smoothness, which works well for live sports and TV programmes. The adjustment range is wide, so you can easily tailor the motion smoothing to your own preferences.

In terms of console compatibility, Philips PUS8359 is mainly suitable for casual gamers. Although the TV is equipped with an HDMI 2.0 port, it offers features such as Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and Game Bar. ALLM automatically switches the TV to low-latency mode, making quicker reactions during gaming easier, while VRR smoothly adjusts the refresh rate, eliminating screen tearing issues. The Game Bar provides quick access to game settings and ongoing parameter monitoring; however, in our opinion, it performs worse compared to competitors' solutions.

However, more demanding gamers may feel disappointed. Philips PUS8359 does not support advanced HDR formats in games or higher refresh rates, which is due to the use of a 60 Hz panel. These shortcomings limit the TV’s ability to deliver smooth and detailed experiences during fast-paced, dynamic gameplay.

When it comes to gaming, the LG MRGB85 performs by far the best. The manufacturer hasn’t skimped on the kit and has essentially carried over the full suite of features from pricier TVs into this model. You get three HDMI 2.1 ports with full 48 Gb/s bandwidth. Each supports 4K 120 Hz from a console, and when connected to a PC also 4K 144 Hz. So you don’t need to worry which port to plug your console or PC into, as they all offer the same set of capabilities.

On board you’ll also find VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium, NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible, ALLM and HGiG. Dolby Vision Gaming is included too, allowing supported games to use high refresh rates and dynamic HDR simultaneously on Xbox. Rounding it off is Game Optimizer, a handy in-game menu. Without leaving the game you can change the picture profile, brighten shadow detail or check the current frame rate. In terms of gaming features, the MRGB85 therefore offers almost the same as significantly more expensive LG models.