Philips PUS8500 vs TCL C69K / Q6C

When it comes to HDR performance on the PUS8560, it's safe to say that it's rather average. The brightness of the panel is around 350 nits, so we consider this to be the absolute minimum for watching content in this format. However, it’s not a result that will impress viewers looking for the best possible picture.

On the plus side, it's worth noting that the PUS8500 series – including the PUS8560/12 tested here – is marketed as a QLED television. And indeed, we can expect a wider colour gamut here. This model is equipped with an additional filter (PFS), and the DCI-P3 coverage of around 90% should suffice for most users. This filter operates very similarly to quantum dots. As a result, colours are quite well-saturated. It's not an outstanding result, but it's entirely sufficient for watching movies and series from streaming platforms.

In terms of brightness, TCL C69K / Q6C is a moderate model. In optimal movie conditions, it shows its full potential, reaching a maximum of around 600 nits. In scenes with large, intense light sources, the HDR effect can be truly satisfying, giving a cinematic glow. However, it's important to keep in mind that when managing the backlight zones, there are situations where parts of the image are dimmed, and at times become barely visible. This suggests that there is still a lack of proper optimization of the algorithms, although considering the technical parameters in this price range, the overall construction still looks very good.

We tested the television on the best available factory settings, that is, in Film/Filmmaker mode – this is the mode we recommend for everyday viewing. Unfortunately, it is not without its flaws. Both in HD and HDR content, the image had a distinct tendency to pinkness, caused by an excess of red and blue in the white balance. Another issue turned out to be excessive brightness of the image, as confirmed by both the gamma graph and the EOTF curve. This characteristic was responsible for the loss of detail and washed-out colours in more challenging HDR scenes we mentioned earlier. All of this led to quite significant colour reproduction errors – in extreme cases, the delta E value exceeded 7, while the threshold for visibility of errors for the human eye is about 3. This situation can be improved through calibration, and you can read about its effects below.

The Filmmaker Mode, which has been introduced in this year's TCL TVs (including the C69K / Q6C), is definitely the best choice "to start with". This is the mode we recommend for everyday movie and series viewing. Unfortunately, as is often the case, best does not mean perfect. In SDR materials, the image turned out to be too warm, with a strong red tint in the white balance. The opposite impression was had with HDR content – here the image became cooler than it should have been, due to an excess of blue. Additionally, there is the brightness characteristic, which at times resulted in overexposures. In practice, this translated to fairly noticeable errors in color tests, which is difficult to accept in a mode branded as "by the creators".

The Dutch manufacturer offers quite a large dose of settings in its products, so as usual, we decided to tinker with them a bit. The effects are immediately noticeable – we managed to correct the white balance, which made the image cease to appear overly pinkish. The brightness characteristics were also partially equalised, of course within the limits that the television itself allows. The picture is no longer so excessively brightened, and the overall reception after calibration is definitely better than in the factory settings of the Filmmaker mode.

You could only nitpick about the characteristics of the EOTF curve, which still indicates that the image tends to brighten HDR content. Despite our efforts, the darkest parts of the scenes can still be too bright, and the brightest ones do not always reach their full contrast potential. However, it must be clearly stated that we are dealing with a typically budget-oriented design – one cannot expect reference-quality rendering of HDR content from it.

Calibration has definitely helped this model – it improved the balance, toned down the aggressive colour palette, and brought the image closer to what one can expect from a well-configured movie mode. However, there are certain limitations that cannot be overcome.

Through white balance adjustment, we were able to significantly reduce the tendency of ChooseTV C69K / Q6C to distort colours, which resulted in a very good final outcome. After calibration, the problem of excessive warming of scenes in SDR and over-cooling of the image in HDR disappeared. However, it's worth analysing the brightness characteristics more closely. While in SDR content there are few complaints – the picture looks really good, especially in older films, TV programmes, or on YouTube – it performs much worse with HDR content. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests that everything is fine, but in practice (EOTF in films), the limitations of the actual construction become evident. This model tends to excessively brighten small parts of the frame, while in other situations, it darkens the entire scene too much. The effect of calibration is therefore undeniable, and in terms of colourimetry, ChooseTV C69K / Q6C gains a lot. Unfortunately, certain limitations arising from local dimming management simply cannot be bypassed.

Philips PUS8560 offers a deinterlacing function, hidden under the name “distortion reduction”. And while it indeed serves its purpose, smoothing out problematic tonal transitions, it operates a bit too broadly. In practice, it affects not just colourful gradients but also softens faces, clothing textures, and furniture surfaces. This undermines the authenticity of the image – especially in films where natural texture is of great importance. However, if someone is looking for smoothing at any cost, it’s best to set this option to “Low”. For cinema image enthusiasts – we definitely do not recommend it.

On the plus side, the quality of scaling older materials is worth noting – the PUS8560 model handles them surprisingly well. The image retains a natural softness without artificially boosted sharpness. It’s also worth mentioning that the TV correctly displays very low-resolution content, avoiding issues with image cropping (so-called overscan).

In terms of image scaling, TCL C69K / Q6C performs quite well. Lower quality content is presented acceptably, and due to the lack of overscan issues, the image is displayed in full without any cropping. However, don’t expect miracles – materials of very low quality won’t gain a second life here, as the image processor has its limitations.

On thin lines and details, there is noticeable jaggedness, which reveals the lack of more advanced image enhancement algorithms. It's also a shame that the C69K / Q6C lacks a feature for smoothing tonal transitions. As a result, in older films or video materials, color banding can be visible and may become distracting during extended viewing.

The Philips PUS8560 is a television equipped with a 60 Hz refresh rate panel, which already limits its capabilities for displaying dynamic content right from the start. Watching sports or playing on a console is not one of the more enjoyable experiences. The situation is further worsened by the absence of any option to improve film fluidity. In the menu, you won’t find settings that would allow for the activation of motion smoothing or even a slight motion blur for films recorded at 24 frames per second. You can imagine the effect. The image can appear choppy, especially in shots with panoramic camera movements.

The use of a 144 Hz panel in TCL C69K / Q6C is a significant advantage in this price range. This represents an important step forward compared to its predecessor (C655 PRO), which only offered 60 Hz at 4K. The difference is particularly noticeable when watching sports or gaming – the ball, players, and dynamic action in games are displayed more clearly and without losing detail. An interesting feature is also the panel's ability to operate at 240 Hz (which the manufacturer does not officially mention) – we will revisit this topic in relation to the PC gaming mode. TCL has also added a feature for movie fans: “Motion Clarity.” This allows users to adjust the picture to their own preferences using two simple sliders. We can either leave the visible film frame or opt for a very smooth one, "

Although the Philips PUS8560 is not designed with gamers in mind, the manufacturer has equipped it with a few features that may prove useful when connecting a console. Onboard, we find automatic switching to game mode (ALLM), as well as a simple connection status information bar – the so-called Game Bar. It doesn't make a particularly visual impression, but it serves its purpose. The presence of variable refresh rate (VRR), operating in the range of 48 to 60 Hz, may come as a surprise. This is not a wide range, but for less demanding games or titles with unstable frame rates, VRR can help reduce the tearing effect. However, this is the only element that can be considered beyond the minimum.

It must be clearly stated that the PUS8560 is not equipment for gamers looking for a responsive screen and full support for modern console features. It lacks HDMI 2.1 ports, the refresh rate is limited to 60 Hz, and the panel's response time is not among the fastest. This model may at best suit people who play occasionally and want to enjoy the Ambilight system.

TCL C69K / Q6C is a television that can confidently be called equipment designed for gamers. Here we have 4K at 144 Hz, VRR support, automatic game mode (ALLM), and Dolby Vision Gaming. Additionally, there's a practical Game Bar, which is a panel with the most important settings within easy reach – handy when we want to change something quickly during gameplay (e.g., aspect ratio: Yes, it can be done!). The wide range of VRR, reaching up to 240 Hz, is noteworthy. However, this option is mainly for PC gamers looking to go below native 4K resolution. In this case, the television can spread its wings and show additional smoothness, particularly in fast e-sport titles. For consoles, we stick to the standard limit of 120 Hz, but even so, the possibilities are truly extensive. The only minor criticism is slight ghosting that can sometimes be seen in dynamic scenes. Other than that, C69K / Q6C offers everything gamers expect from a television.