Compare: Philips The One (PUS8959 / PUS8919 / PUS8909 / PUS8949 vs Hisense U6NQ

Philips PUS8959, also known by other designations under the abbreviation PUS89 (depending on the retail network), is a model from the popular series The One. Its biggest standout feature is the Ambilight system, which continues to make a great impression. The three-sided backlighting adjusts to the image on the screen, making films, series or games literally extend beyond the edges of the TV. The One is also a good option for gamers. The 120 Hz panel and low input lag make games run smoothly, and the motion on screen is clear. We tested several dynamic titles on the console, and the TV handled them without any issues – no stuttering or delays. Additionally, support for HGiG allows for better rendering of HDR effects in games. This is a great solution if we care about matching the image with what the creators intended. The picture quality is good, particularly during the day. With a brightness level of 550 nits, The One performs well even in well-lit rooms, and Dolby Vision in HDR movies delivers vivid colours and sharp details. However, the ADS panel has its limitations – black in dark scenes more resembles a grey shade, which can be noticeable when watching in a darkened room. When we watched movies with the lights off, the lack of depth in the blacks was somewhat striking. The Titan OS operating system is something that still needs refinement. It’s fast, but the limited number of applications can be frustrating for those used to more extensive platforms like GoogleTV. In daily use of Netflix or YouTube, it works flawlessly, but if we're counting on more advanced features, the system may not meet expectations. Overall, the Philips The One is a good choice in its price range. The Ambilight system impresses and significantly enhances the viewing experience, especially in the evening. It’s also a solid option for gamers, thanks to the smooth image and low input lag. Although the black level isn't perfect, and the operating system needs improvement, the TV excels in everyday use. For fans of unique solutions like Ambilight, this is a proposal that definitely deserves attention.

Hisense U6NQ is a really interesting model from the Chinese manufacturer. It is the first MiniLED from the 2024 series and the only one with a 60 Hz refresh rate. Starting with picture quality, the MiniLED backlighting combined with a VA panel does its job – the contrast is good, and evening movie watching is a pleasure. The stable HDR effect, support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and solid colours make it handle most everyday tasks well. The Vidaa system operates smoothly – it's fast and intuitive, without any annoying stutters. It lacks a few popular apps like Spotify or Tidal, but most users will find what they need here, including the ability to record programs to a USB stick or external drive. And what about motion fluidity? It's quite decent. The option to choose between 4K at 60 Hz and Full HD at 120 Hz is a nice addition, especially if we're gaming on consoles that often don’t offer perfect 4K at 120 frames. Features such as VRR and ALLM further enhance the comfort of occasional gaming. However, there are some drawbacks. Motion blur issues are noticeable in dynamic scenes, and the absence of any function to reduce this effect doesn't help. In terms of picture quality, this TV places a very strong emphasis on brightness, which sometimes leads to situations where black takes on a slight blue tint in more challenging conditions. In short: Hisense U6NQ is a good choice for those looking for a TV that offers good picture quality and a user-friendly operating system. It's not without compromises, but for its price, it performs really solidly.

The television Philips PUS8959 is based on an ADS panel, which offers slightly different parameters compared to the popular VA panels. In the tested screens, the contrast was around 2000:1, making the black level far from ideal. ADS panels are known for their weaker contrast compared to VA panels, which in practice means that instead of deep black, we see more navy or grey shades. However, the ADS panel is still better than the standard IPS panel, which cannot achieve such a level of contrast. Additionally, the Philips PUS8959 is not equipped with local dimming technology, which could improve these parameters. The absence of this function exacerbates the effect of shallow blacks, particularly noticeable in dark scenes, such as those in the movie "Sicario 2". Instead of intense black, the screen generates a silvery glow, which can be bothersome, especially when watching in darker conditions. All of this leads to a visual experience that lacks depth, and details in dark scenes are not as well visible as one might expect from higher-end screens. Despite the lack of local dimming, the television is equipped with what is known as Global Dimming. The television is capable of completely dimming the panel to achieve higher contrast, but at the cost of details that may blend together, for example, lights in the test screen from the movie Oblivion. It’s worth noting that the model we received for testing has quite noticeable blobs resulting from uneven backlighting, although this isn't a dealbreaker; one should consider when purchasing that we might receive a similar piece.

The tested 55-inch model is equipped with a VA panel, which provides deeper blacks compared to IPS/ADS panels. The use of this technology alone ensures that the contrast reaches a quite decent level. It’s also worth noting that the Hisense U6NQ, as a MiniLED television, features 160 local dimming zones in this version, which significantly improves the picture quality in many scenes. During tests, for instance in the film Oblivion, the television demonstrated good separation of the hologram lights, while the contrast remained at a satisfactory level. Unfortunately, in more demanding material, such as the Pioneer Kuro test pattern, a noticeable drop in quality was observed. In such scenes, the dimming zones did not function correctly, leading to a significant reduction in contrast. Similar issues occurred in scenes from the film Sicario 2, where the blooming effect was clearly visible, suggesting the television's difficulties with precise management of the backlight zones. Despite these drawbacks, the overall contrast level of the U6NQ can be considered solid, particularly in this price category. The television performs well in most standard scenes, and its capabilities in displaying blacks are better than those of models with other types of panels.

The luminance graph for Philips PUS8959 shows that the television can achieve around 550 nits of brightness, which can be considered a satisfactory level. Such brightness allows you to feel the effects of HDR, which stand out particularly in more demanding scenes. In the tested patterns, the television performed quite well, even in challenging sequences like those from "Sicario 2". Due to the lack of local dimming, the television does not dim small bright elements, and they shine at the full "power" of the television but at the cost of silvery blacks, which we mentioned in the paragraph about black levels. It’s also worth praising Philips PUS8959 for its good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, which is around 94.5%. This ensures that the colours are vivid and close to the creators' intentions, which further enhances the quality of HDR effects and the experience of watching high dynamic range content.

Hisense U6NQ offers a stable HDR effect, which is a rarity in TVs with local dimming. On most streaming platforms, in films and series recorded in 4K, the TV delivers consistent performance – in every tested scene, regardless of difficulty level, brightness is around 450 nits. This is a pleasant surprise, as many models in this class exhibit distinct differences – some scenes are well-lit, while others are heavily dimmed by dimming algorithms. However, the Hisense U6NQ prioritises maintaining higher brightness, which comes at the cost of blacks, as noted in the paragraph about the contrast test.

The HDR effect on the U6NQ is satisfying, offering a noticeable 'punch' of light in bright moments, although it's worth remembering the aforementioned blooming, which can be visible in challenging scenes. In terms of colour, the TV also performs adequately – the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is 89%, while BT.2020 is 71%. While these are not results that would impress more demanding users, for beginners in the world of high-quality materials, the U6NQ is a solid choice. As such, it presents an interesting option as an 'entry-level' TV for home cinema.

The television Philips PUS8959 has been tested in the best, theoretically most precise picture mode – Filmmaker. Although the name suggests film quality, it unfortunately falls short of perfection. The biggest issue in this mode is the white balance, both in HD and 4K content. It is characterised by a significant dominance of the red colour and drops in the green levels, resulting in unnatural colour reproduction. For example, white elements of the image have a noticeable pink hue, and the green is less intense, which diminishes the overall naturalness and colour balance. The ColorChecker test confirms these errors – it is clearly visible how the colour samples "deviate" from the proper values, which can best be observed on the sample squares that should precisely reproduce the colours. The lack of accuracy in this regard affects the realism and fidelity of the image, which is particularly undesirable in Filmmaker mode.

As for the brightness characteristics, the gamma graph resembles a roller coaster – with small elements displayed on the screen, the brightness is excessive, causing details to become overly exposed. Conversely, at higher gamma values, the image loses contrast and becomes too dark, making the whole appear lacking in dynamism. Similar problems can be observed in the EOTF characteristics – the television is unable to accurately reproduce the brightness levels, negatively impacting the overall picture quality.

Hisense U6NQ in Filmmaker mode offers really decent colour reproduction, although it's worth remembering that differences between individual units can be noticeable. The model we tested was pleasantly surprising, especially with HD content in SDR quality. The white balance was correct here, and errors in the range of 3–4 ΔE should be acceptable for the average viewer. The television performed slightly worse in reproducing colours with 4K HDR material. The dominance of blue tones led to unnatural cool shades on the Colour Checker chart, giving the image a "store" character. Combined with issues in brightness characteristics – gamma and EOTF curve caused some parts of the image to be too dark – the Filmmaker mode in this case loses some of its credibility. Although the factory settings of the tested unit deserve praise, particularly in SDR, there were still minor shortcomings that would require adjustments to fully utilise the television's capabilities.

After calibration, the Philips PUS8959 shows a significant improvement in colour reproduction, especially in HD content. The white balance is exceptionally even, and the Delta E error values are below 1, which can be regarded as an outstanding result. Additionally, the gamma, which affects brightness in lower quality materials, performs very well, maintaining a stable level at 2.4, leading to an appropriate balance between bright and dark areas of the image.

When it comes to 4K HDR materials, there is also a noticeable improvement. The white balance, although not as perfect as in HD content, no longer suffers from excessive red exposure, making the image appear more natural and harmonious. Unfortunately, regarding the EOTF characteristic, it’s difficult to speak of any significant improvement, which stems from the structural limitations of the television that prevent substantial enhancement in this aspect.

Nevertheless, overall, it looks much better after calibration, making the Philips PUS8959 one of those televisions where it's truly worth investing time in precise calibration to achieve satisfactory image quality.

Although the factory settings of the Filmmaker mode on Hisense U6NQ were quite good, we decided to undertake calibration to fully assess the capabilities of this model. Only after such a procedure can one see how the television performs under ideal conditions. In the case of SDR content, which was already at a high level, we managed to further improve the white balance. However, the biggest change came from adjusting the brightness characteristics – gamma was optimised and no longer causes excessive darkening of the image, which improves its naturalness.

For 4K HDR content, calibration also yielded positive results. We eliminated the issue of blue dominance, which resulted in a more balanced and natural image. However, managing brightness in HDR materials remains a more complicated issue. The EOTF curve, although it had problems with image darkening in the 10–30% brightness range under laboratory conditions, reveals other shortcomings in real scenes. The television tends to overly brighten the smallest elements on the screen. As a result, this leads to noticeable halo effects around bright objects. This phenomenon, which we mentioned earlier in the context of contrast and HDR, arises from the technological limitations of the model and is often difficult to eliminate.

In short: although the Filmmaker mode with factory settings performed decently, calibration allowed us to achieve an even better effect – minor adjustments resulted in a more balanced image, particularly in HDR content. For users seeking the highest quality picture, calibration will be a beneficial step.

The gradation on the Philips PUS8959 television looks very good, offering smooth tonal transitions in most scenes. Occasionally, minor issues can be detected, especially in transitions between certain colours, where subtle inconsistencies are noticeable. However, these imperfections are subtle enough that they do not significantly impact the overall viewing experience and can be considered completely acceptable. In everyday use, the television provides good enough gradation quality to satisfy even more demanding users, maintaining the naturalness of the image and a lack of glaring tonal distortions.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in Hisense U6NQ is at a very good level. In most scenes, there are no obvious issues with colour blending, which provides a pleasant and cohesive visual experience. However, a more discerning eye may notice minor imperfections in specific cases, such as the scene with the blue sky in Kingsman or the final scene with the red background. These subtle shortcomings are, however, so minor that they shouldn't affect the image perception for most users. Overall, the television performs very well in this category.

When it comes to smoothing tonal transitions, the "Distortion Reduction" function in the minimum position performs quite well, effectively smoothing tonal transitions without excessive impact on other elements of the image. In testing, I did not notice that the reduction negatively affected the structure of the image, such as film grain or details of objects – everything remains in its place, which is a big plus for users who value the natural look of film material.

As for digital processing, the image looks pretty good, although it features very softened contours, giving it an almost "leafy" character. This effect may evoke mixed feelings – some users will appreciate the fluidity and delicacy of this type of presentation, while others may find it too gentle, losing detail. It is a matter of individual preference, but it must be admitted that Philips PUS8959 provides quite subtle yet effective tools for improving tonal transitions without excessive interference with the natural character of the image.

With high-quality materials like 4K, tonal transitions on U6NQ look really good – colours blend nicely and the image is consistent. Unfortunately, when we switch to lower resolution content, the television doesn’t offer any extra features that could improve this aspect. An example is the test with the light bulb, where it’s clearly visible that the television struggles with reproducing subtle tonal transitions.

On the other hand, digital processing performs quite well. The image looks lively, is pleasantly soft, and free from excessive artifacts. Moreover, thanks to the sharpness settings, it can be tailored to individual preferences – whether towards a softer or sharper image. Overall, while upscaling lower quality materials could be better, the television handles image processing well.

Philips PUS8959 TV is equipped with a 120 Hz panel, which should satisfy more demanding users, especially those who love watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing games. Such a high refresh rate allows for significantly smoother images, being a key aspect during dynamic scenes and fast actions.

For those who prefer watching movies, the TV offers an additional motion smoother that allows adjustment of the frame rate according to personal preferences. The Philips PUS8959 features a 10-step adjustment for functions called "Smoothness" and "Motion Blur Reduction". The "Smoothness" function increases the number of frames through interpolation, making movement on the screen smoother, reminiscent of the so-called "soap opera effect". Meanwhile, "Motion Blur Reduction" focuses on minimising streaking and improving motion clarity, which is particularly noticeable in dynamic sequences such as action scenes or fast sports shots.

Hisense U6NQ offers native refresh rates of 60 Hz at a 4K resolution, but the manufacturer has added a feature that allows for an increase in refresh rate to 120 Hz, at the cost of reducing the resolution to Full HD. This is a solution we have previously seen in TCL televisions, such as C655 or C655 PRO. This gives the user the option – higher motion fluidity or full resolution. This makes sense, especially considering that many new generation console games do not achieve full performance in 4K at 120 Hz.

When it comes to movies, the television is equipped with a motion smoother feature, which allows you to adjust the motion characteristics to your own preferences. This enables a more cinematic effect or increases fluidity in dynamic scenes. Overall, Hisense U6NQ offers sensible solutions in terms of motion fluidity that should satisfy both gamers and movie enthusiasts.

Philips PUS8959 is a television that will surely please gaming enthusiasts. It supports most modern technologies useful during gameplay, such as HGiG, allowing for better representation of HDR effects in games. As a result, the image is more aligned with what the game developers intended to achieve.

The television also supports displaying images at 120 Hz, ensuring smoothness and dynamism, particularly important during action games and sports broadcasts. The Game Bar feature provides quick access to game settings, making it easier to adjust the image according to user preferences without interrupting gameplay.

Unfortunately, the Dolby Vision mode does not offer low input lag, which may be noticeable during dynamic scenes. Nevertheless, thanks to the HGiG feature and high refresh rate, the Philips PUS8959 remains an attractive choice for gamers, offering good image quality and suitable smoothness during gameplay.

Hisense U6NQ gives the option to choose between 4K at 60 Hz and Full HD with 120 Hz refresh rate. This solution may appeal to gamers who want to decide what is more important to them – higher resolution or smoothness. The TV supports features like ALLM and VRR, which help in providing smoother gameplay. A nice addition is the GameBar – an easy-to-use panel that allows quick adjustments to picture settings and checking statistics. We also find the Dolby Vision Game mode here, which operates with low input lag, a big plus for console enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it lacks HGiG, which could further improve HDR quality in games. Nevertheless, the Hisense U6NQ performs quite well as a gaming TV, especially for those who play occasionally and do not require the highest refresh rate in 4K. It is a solid choice for less demanding users.

Philips PUS8959 TV offers impressive results in terms of input lag, making it a great choice for gamers. For 120 Hz content, the lag is less than 6 ms, which is an absolutely excellent result and allows for immediate response in games, especially in dynamic titles. For 60 Hz content, the input lag is 15 ms, which is also an outstanding result and ensures comfortable gameplay in most cases.

Unfortunately, the Dolby Vision mode does not perform as well, as the input lag increases to 31 ms. While such a result may be acceptable for less dynamic content, for demanding gamers it may prove insufficient, impacting precision and reaction speed. Nonetheless, in standard modes, Philips PUS8959 still offers remarkable performance, making it a competitive choice in the TV market for gamers.

The Hisense U6NQ TV offers a very low input lag of 14 ms, making it a good choice for gamers, especially those who prefer dynamic titles. It's also worth noting that the Dolby Vision mode in games works really well here. This is a pleasant surprise, as on many other TVs, this HDR mode performs only mediocrely.

Philips PUS8959 works excellently as a monitor for use with a PC. With support for chroma 4:4:4, it provides full colour clarity, which is crucial for text work – fonts are sharp and readable, regardless of the background they are on. This makes using office applications, browsing the internet, and graphic editing comfortable and precise.

Additionally, the low input lag provided by the television ensures smooth and responsive operation, which is important both during everyday tasks and in more dynamic applications, such as gaming or multimedia editing. Philips PUS8959 is an excellent choice for users looking for a television that also functions as a PC monitor, offering high image quality and user comfort.

As a screen for working with a computer, Hisense U6NQ performs quite decently. The fonts are readable enough, so it's perfectly adequate for everyday writing or browsing the internet.

When it comes to gaming, the TV supports G-Sync, but only at 4K resolution at 60 Hz. Unfortunately, if someone was hoping for 120 Hz smoothness in 1080p with G-Sync enabled, they might be disappointed – this TV does not offer that. It's a bit of a shame, as it could have been a good option for gamers who prefer smoothness over resolution.

Philips PUS8959, equipped with an ADS panel, offers quite decent viewing angles, definitely better than those found in VA panels. The image retains its quality even when viewing from a wider angle – colours are vivid, and contrast does not deteriorate as much as in VA panel televisions. Because of this, watching the television from different spots in the room still allows for enjoyment of well-saturated colours and overall image quality, which makes Philips PUS8959 perfect for larger rooms and during shared viewing with family or friends.

The viewing angles on the Hisense U6NQ are average, which is typical for VA panels. Thanks to this technology, we gain better contrast and deeper blacks, but at the expense of image visibility at wider angles. It’s a classic compromise – in TVs with IPS panels, the situation is reversed, where the viewing angles are wider, but the contrast and blacks suffer in quality.

Philips PUS8959 features a satin finish on the panel that effectively dampens light reflections, which is beneficial when using the television in bright daytime conditions. However, such a finish causes blacks to take on shades of grey during the day, losing their depth and intensity, which impacts the perception of the image in darker scenes.

A brightness level of 562 cd/m² allows for comfortable television use during the day, even in well-lit rooms. The image is bright enough to cut through daylight, and the reduction of reflections ensures decent visibility of content, making Philips PUS8959 a good choice for rooms where the lighting level cannot always be controlled.

Hisense U6NQ performs well in bright rooms thanks to the satin finish on the panel, which effectively reduces reflections. The average brightness on SDR content, such as standard television, is 488 cd/m², which is more than sufficient for comfortable viewing even in slightly challenging lighting conditions.

Philips PUS8959 is equipped with a three-sided Ambilight system – a flagship patent of this brand, which has been enjoyed by a dedicated group of fans for years. Ambilight is based on dynamic lighting of the wall behind the television, adapting to the content displayed on the screen, significantly enhancing the viewing experience, especially in a darkened room. This effect is unique and adds a certain kind of "magic" to watching, making many users choose Philips specifically for this feature.

When it comes to the operating system, Philips PUS8959 uses Titan OS – a system that is still in the early stages of development. There are visible growing pains, especially since Philips has moved away from Android in most of its models. Titan OS has a limited number of available applications. This is frustrating for those accustomed to a broader ecosystem like GoogleTV. Additionally, the television does not have AirPlay functionality, which limits its compatibility with Apple devices and may be a drawback for users looking for a flexible way to stream content.

The user features of Philips PUS8959 are a mix of pros and cons. The remote control that comes with the television is quite annoying – it requires aiming directly at the screen, which can be inconvenient. On the other hand, the voice function works without the need to aim, but it only supports English. On the plus side, the remote is backlit, making it easier to use in the dark. The television lacks PiP (Picture-in-Picture) functionality and the ability to record programs, which is a significant omission. However, the television is equipped with Bluetooth, allowing users to connect headphones or a keyboard, which can be useful – especially given the limited number of available applications, which may encourage the use of the built-in web browser.

The Vidaa system that powers the Hisense U6NQ is undoubtedly one of its stronger features. It’s quick, operates smoothly, and most importantly – it doesn't suffer from annoying stutters that can be frustrating in other TVs. It’s great that you can use voice search in Polish, which significantly eases operation. There are plenty of apps available, but unfortunately, there’s a lack of music apps like Spotify or Tidal. It’s a shame because a TV is not just for movies and series – some people would probably love to use it for listening to music too.

Additional features include the ability to record TV programs onto a USB drive or external hard drive. There's also AirPlay and Miracast, so it’s easy to stream content from a smartphone. The built-in Bluetooth is handy too, allowing you to connect headphones, a mouse, or a keyboard. The only thing that's really missing here is the PiP (picture-in-picture) feature. If it were added, the TV would be complete in terms of functions. Nevertheless, the Hisense U6NQ offers plenty and will comfortably satisfy most users.

Although the Titan OS system on the Philips PUS8959 TV is still in its early stages, it deserves praise for supporting Polish subtitles embedded in films, which is a significant convenience for users dealing with external files. If we want to play a film from a connected USB device, the TV will do this without any major issues, providing a comfortable viewing experience without the need for additional subtitle configuration.

As for photos, the TV should have no major difficulties playing them. It supports most popular formats, although there is a lack of support for less common standards, such as HEIC used in Apple devices. This means that some photos, especially from newer Apple devices, may require prior conversion to a more standard format in order to be played on the Philips screen.

The built-in file player in Hisense U6NQ should satisfy most users. It supports Polish characters and allows for easy editing of displayed subtitles, which is a big plus. Unfortunately, it lacks support for the AV1 codec, which may be an issue for those wanting to play newer video formats. However, for less demanding users, the player's features will be fully adequate.

The sound on the Philips PUS8959 unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired. While you can hear low frequencies in the playback, the bass is very weak, which results in overall unsatisfactory sound quality. The television performs averagely, especially when compared to more advanced sound systems available on the market.

Despite the average quality of the speakers, the television supports all essential audio codecs, which may please users utilizing external home theatre systems. Thanks to compatibility with various audio formats, the Philips PUS8959 can offer a good audio experience when connected to the right external speakers or amplifier, providing a fuller, more cinematic sound.

Hisense U6NQ is equipped with a standard set of speakers rated at 20 W, which is typical for this class of televisions. The sound is decent, but nothing stands out particularly. However, it is a plus that it supports all popular audio codecs, including DTS and Dolby Atmos. This way, we can easily connect a home theatre or soundbar, achieving significantly better audio experiences than from the built-in speakers.

Philips The One (PUS8959 / PUS8919 / PUS8909 / PUS8949 vs Hisense U6NQ

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

TV efficiency during daytime

Details about the matrix

TV features

Playing files from USB

Apps

Sound