PHILIPS PUS9010 (IPS) vs TCL RM7L

In the Philips PUS9010 version with an IPS panel, the HDR brightness sadly performs worse than in the previously tested 55-inch variant with a VA panel. The difference reaches about 100 nits, which is noticeably significant given the relatively low values. While the VA version could exceed 500 nits, here the maximum brightness reaches around 400 nits. This level still allows for watching movies and series in HDR, especially on streaming platforms, but the effects are clearly more subdued. Bright elements don't have the same impact, and scenes requiring high luminance are less impressive. On the plus side, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is commendable. The IPS version offers about 91%, which is roughly 5% more than the variant with a VA panel. This translates into slightly better colour saturation in HDR content, despite the lower brightness. Colours can appear more vivid and cohesive, especially in colourful scenes.

TCL RM7L is a bright TV. In our measurements its peak brightness hovered around 1600 nits. That’s noticeably less than the C7L, which can get close to 2600 nits, but in real-world film scenes the difference between the models isn’t that large. In less demanding shots, where plenty of bright elements appear on screen, the RM7L can sustain around 1000 nits, and sometimes even a bit more, approaching 1500 nits. It performs worse in dark scenes with small points of light; then their brightness can fall to about 500 nits. This behaviour isn’t random. The TV deliberately dims small elements to better control the backlight and preserve higher contrast. This comes at the expense of their intensity, but it’s typical for TVs with local dimming in a similar price range.

Colour gamut coverage

In HDR brightness isn’t the only thing that matters, colour does too. Here the RM7L has a lot to show. Colours are strongly saturated and the wide colour gamut is one of its main strengths. In our measurements it reached about 96% of DCI-P3 and around 83% of BT.2020. It’s worth remembering, though, that on a TV with this kind of backlight the result can vary depending on the scene. On test patterns colours look best, while in films their saturation can be a little lower than on SQD Mini LED or QD-OLED TVs. The backlight design itself is interesting. The RM7L doesn’t use the classic red, green and blue LED set. TCL used two green LEDs and one blue, with red produced via a PFS phosphor. You can see this in spectrometer measurements, but it doesn’t have a major impact on the picture. Colours are still rendered correctly.

We evaluated colour reproduction, as always, on factory settings, focusing on the movie mode, which in the case of Philips usually offers the best starting point. This is also a good moment to show how much the same model of TV can vary depending on the panel used. Looking at the white balance, the overall tendency remains similar to the version with the VA panel. There is still excessive red in the whites, however, in the tested unit with the IPS panel, there are also losses in the blue channel. As a result, the picture has a slightly different colour character, which is well illustrated in the comparative materials. This is a very good example showing why ready-made settings downloaded from the internet do not always work even within the same model.

However, returning to the assessment itself, this unit performs quite well, especially in SDR content. Colour tests show correct saturation and colour consistency, without glaring errors that could hinder everyday viewing. In HDR materials, it is possible to notice slight losses in reds, but these are not flaws that completely spoil the image perception. The biggest limitations do not stem directly from the colours, but rather from the whites and blacks. The use of an IPS panel and slightly lowered gamma means that the image is slightly boosted in brightness, and weak blacks further affect perceived contrast. This makes everything look brighter, but at the same time, it lacks depth, especially during evening viewing.

Factory colours were checked in Filmmaker Mode, the best picture setting available to the user. TCL has been using it in its TVs for two years, and its purpose is to reproduce the image as faithfully as possible to the filmmakers' intent. On the RM7L it was indeed the best calibrated mode, though not without faults. The biggest issue was the white balance. An excess of red and blue made the image shift slightly toward pink tones. This was visible in both SDR and HDR. In addition, the brightness response was slightly boosted, so the picture looked a little brighter but at the same time less contrasty than it should.

After calibration, the picture has been brought to a really reasonable level. The whole thing looks cohesive and natural, and when it comes to colour reproduction, it's hard to definitively say whether we're dealing with a VA or IPS panel. This is a good sign, showing that the television has a solid foundation for further adjustments. The larger colour gamut in this variant is a plus, as it can subtly enhance the depiction of colourful scenes, especially in HDR content. However, this advantage is largely offset by the boosted blacks resulting from the use of an IPS panel. The limited depth of black affects perceived contrast, particularly when watching in a dark room. As a result, despite noticeable improvement post-calibration, the final rating remains the same as that of the variant with a VA panel. Better colours are not able to fully compensate for the weaker blacks.

Thanks to a fairly extensive calibration menu we managed to correct the vast majority of the issues described earlier. The biggest change was the white balance. After calibration it looks very good, so the image has lost its pinkish tint and become much more neutral. The luminance response has also improved. Both the SDR gamma and the HDR EOTF curve are now much closer to the reference values. The picture is no longer unnecessarily bright, and darker parts look more natural and have greater depth. Better luminance accuracy has also affected the colours, which after calibration are noticeably more accurate. Not everything could be set perfectly though. In HDR material the RM7L still interprets part of the signal in its own way and doesn’t always stick exactly to the reference curve. You can see this mainly in some darker scenes, where the TV can either slightly lift the shadows or darken them completely. That’s where the earlier impression of a slightly brightened, less contrasty image came from. Even so, the calibration delivers a very good result here. It removes the most visible errors and, above all, makes the picture much closer to how it should look.

In the Philips PUS9010, we find another iteration of the P5 Perfect Picture image processor, which aims to improve the quality of lower-grade materials. One of the components of this system is a distortion reduction function that smooths tonal transitions. It works effectively and actually reduces visible banding. Unfortunately, it does so quite aggressively. In practice, it can mute details such as material textures or film grain. This is a clear compromise, so we wouldn't particularly recommend it for movie sessions. For more casual content, like YouTube or regular television, it performs much better. The P5 processor also handles lower resolution materials quite well. The image is soft, at times even too soft, but it can easily be corrected using the sharpness slider, adjusting the effect to personal preferences. A positive aspect is also the absence of edge cropping in SD materials, which is still not standard in this class of televisions.

Upscaling and digital image processing are not the RM7L’s strong points. TCL has used a MediaTek Pentonic 700 chipset here, labelled MT5896, which isn’t among the best processors at handling lower-quality sources. The biggest issues appear with heavily compressed content from YouTube or regular broadcast TV. The processor can’t effectively hide posterisation and the characteristic banding between shades. The feature meant to smooth these issues does little to help and can also interfere with the picture too much, smoothing faces and fine textures, for example. For that reason it’s best not to use it.

Plain upscaling to 4K looks better. Lower-quality sources are reasonably sharp and retain a sufficient amount of detail. It’s not on a par with the best processors on the market, but for everyday viewing the result is perfectly acceptable.

Philips PUS9010 has a 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which will be appreciated mainly by sports fans and gamers. This is especially noticeable in dynamic scenes where the motion is sharp, and annoying blur is almost non-existent. When it comes to movies (standard 24 fps), Philips offers us a proven set of settings known from its higher series. Two sliders are used to control motion. “Smoothness” allows you to adjust the picture to your liking: at low settings, it maintains a cinematic character, while moving the slider to the right gives us a perfectly smooth, albeit slightly “theatrical” effect. Meanwhile, “Motion Blur Reduction” is a feature designed for sports – it ensures that fast-moving objects do not lose detail and remain clear.

The RM7L uses a 144 Hz VA panel, so right from the start it's well prepared for sports, games and other dynamic content. The high refresh rate also gives the motion interpolation more room to work, so it can generate additional frames. On the RM7L it performs well and, when set correctly, can noticeably improve motion smoothness without producing an excessive soap opera effect.

Philips PUS9010 is a solid machine for gaming. It has everything that’s important: VRR, automatic game mode (ALLM), and support for HGiG. The latter is fantastic – it allows you to set HDR in games exactly the way the developers envisioned. The TV handles 120 Hz refresh rates effortlessly at every popular resolution (1080p, 1440p, and 4K). It doesn’t matter if you connect a PS5, Xbox, or a powerful PC – everything runs smoothly and just as it should. Gamers will also appreciate the Game Bar. It’s a quick, clear menu where you can immediately see if the low latency mode is active. This is especially useful when frequently switching between different consoles. The whole experience is enhanced by Ambilight. Evening sessions with this backlighting create a whole different level of atmosphere; the image seems larger, and dynamic scenes are even more impressive. Even if someone isn’t a fan of such “gimmicks,” it’s hard to deny that it makes an impression.

When it comes to gamer-focused features, there's almost nothing but praise for the RM7L. The TV supports ALLM, VRR, Dolby Vision Gaming and works correctly with HGiG, so it's hard to point to any major gaps in that area. In practice that means automatic switching to a low-latency mode, smoother motion with variable frame rates and accurate brightness reproduction in HDR games. There's also a handy Game Bar. From it you can quickly check the frame rate, VRR status, signal format and aspect ratio, and change key settings without leaving the game. TCL has added a few extra options too, such as an on-screen reticle and brightening of dark areas, which can be useful in some titles. The biggest downside comes from using the Pentonic 700 processor. Only two of the four HDMI ports support the full HDMI 2.1 standard. With a single console that won't be a big issue, but if you hook up two consoles and a PC you might run out of ports, especially since one of those ports may also be needed for eARC and a soundbar.