PHILPS PUS9060 vs TCL C6K

The One is bright enough to enjoy films recorded in HDR format. The average brightness of this model is around 500 nits, so we can easily expect a pleasant viewing experience with films from streaming platforms. Of course—there's always room for improvement, because when it comes to brightness, you can never have too much for this type of content. Unfortunately, a disappointing surprise may be the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut that the PUS9060 offers. Although the manufacturer boasts the use of a QLED filter here (it’s actually PFS LED), it's hard to speak of any positive effects from its operation. 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut is certainly not a level to brag about in 2025—especially in a television marketed as QLED.

TCL C6K is a moderately bright television that can showcase its full capabilities in the best movie conditions – the maximum brightness is around 600 nits. In scenes with large, intense light sources, the HDR effect can be truly satisfying, providing a sense of cinematic sparkle. However, it's important to remember that with local dimming management, there are situations where some elements become dimmed, and sometimes even barely visible. It is clear that there is a lack of proper optimization of the algorithms, although looking at the technical parameters in this price range, the build quality performs very well.

We tested the PUS9060 in the best factory mode applied to it – of course, we're talking about the movie mode. Unfortunately, the best in this case does not mean good. The image in this mode was clearly yellowish and leaned towards orange tones. The white balance on this television was definitely too warm, giving the entire scene an artificial, somewhat "tanned" appearance. This directly resulted in significant colour inaccuracies, which in the worst cases exceeded a delta E value of 6 – thus, they were visible to the naked eye. The situation was reversed in HDR mode, where the image became too blue and too cool in perception. Additionally, there was a slight boost in brightness – the gamma curve and EOTF suggested that the television slightly brightens the image, which was also evident in the comparative image below.

This year's TCL televisions have introduced the Filmmaker mode, and it must be said that it is definitely the best choice right out of the box. This is the mode we recommend for everyday viewing of movies and series. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the best does not mean perfect. In the case of SDR content, the image was too warm, as the red was quite prominent in the white balance. On the other hand, with HDR content, we had the opposite impression – the image became cooler than it should have been, due to an excess of blue. There is also the brightness characteristic, which at times led to overexposure. In practice, these issues combined resulted in quite noticeable errors in colour tests, which are hard to accept in a mode advertised as “by the creators”.

Thanks to calibration in movie mode, we managed to completely eliminate the yellow-orange tint, which significantly improved the reception of the entire scene. The image has become much more visually pleasing, though it still falls short of reference settings. It may now appear slightly bluish, but it is still a considerable improvement compared to the factory settings.

Unfortunately, we could not significantly improve the brightness characteristics, but this is more about the design of the television itself - the lack of local dimming limits the possibilities for precise brightness management. The PUS9060 simply cannot dynamically adjust luminance like more advanced models do. Nevertheless, after calibration, the overall reception is much more enjoyable, especially in film material.

Thanks to the white balance adjustment, we were able to significantly reduce the C6K's tendency to distort colours, which resulted in a very good end result. After calibration, we won't observe the effect of excessive warming of scenes in SDR or overly cooling the image in HDR. However, it is worth taking a closer look at the brightness characteristics. In SDR content, it's hard to have major objections – the picture looks really good, especially in older movies, TV shows, or material from YouTube. It performs significantly worse with HDR content. An analysis of the EOTF curve suggests that everything is fine, but in practice (EOTF in movies), the limitations of the construction become apparent. The television tends to excessively brighten the smallest fragments of the frame, and in other situations, it can overly dim the entire scene. The effect of calibration is therefore noticeable, and regarding colourimetry, the C6K has really gained a lot, but certain limitations resulting from local dimming and actually from its management by the C6K simply cannot be overlooked.

In the PUS9060, we find another version of the image processor known by Philips as P5 Perfect Picture, which aims to enhance the image – especially the imperfect ones. The TV includes a distortion reduction function, which serves to smooth tonal transitions, meaning those "colour joins" we mentioned earlier. This function does its job very effectively – there’s no strong gradation of colours, but unfortunately, it operates quite aggressively, occasionally dimming desired elements like material textures or film grain. So, it can be seen as a bit of a compromise. We wouldn’t generally recommend using this function for movies, but for more casual content – like YouTube or regular TV – it’s absolutely suitable.

The P5 processor also enhances the quality of lower resolution images, and it does this quite effectively. The test image with the model is very soft – sometimes almost too soft – but this can be easily improved with the sharpness slider, adjusting it to one’s own preferences. It’s also pleasing to see that the TV doesn’t clip the edges in SD materials – which unfortunately still happens in some TV models.

TCL C6K performs quite well in terms of upscaling. Lower quality materials appear acceptable, and the absence of overscan issues means the image is displayed in full, without cropping. However, one cannot expect miracles – very low quality content won't come to life here, as the image processor has its limitations. On thin lines or details, there is characteristic tearing visible, which indicates a lack of advanced image enhancement algorithms. It is also a shame that the C6K lacks the function of smoothing tonal transitions – in older films or video materials, colour banding can be noticeable and may be distracting during longer viewing sessions.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is equipped with a 4K panel featuring a 144 Hz refresh rate, so we can confidently say it’s suitable for both watching sports and gaming. And indeed it is. But what about movies, which are most often recorded at 24 frames? As with most of the TVs we’ve tested with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and above, the PUS9060 offers two sliders in the motion smoothness options. The “Smoothness” slider allows you to adjust the effect in films – you can set the picture to be smoother, resembling a theatrical effect (higher settings), or more cinematic, with a slight “judder” (lower settings). Additionally, there is a feature called "Motion Blur Reduction," which limits motion blur – and this is a very useful feature, especially when watching sports.

TCL C6K uses a 144 Hz panel, which is a significant advantage in this price range. It's an important step forward in comparison to the previous model C655 PRO, which only offered 60 Hz in 4K. The difference is especially noticeable when watching sports or playing games – the ball, players, or fast action in the game are displayed more clearly and without losing detail. An interesting fact is the panel's ability to operate at 240 Hz, which the manufacturer doesn't mention in official materials. We will return to this topic when discussing the PC gaming mode.

TCL has also added a feature for movie watchers: "Motion Clarity," which allows users to adjust the image according to their preferences with two simple sliders. You can either keep the visible film frame or opt for a very smooth, almost theatrical effect. This way, everyone can find settings that match their taste.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is a true gaming monster – it has practically everything you could expect from a modern gaming television. It features VRR, ALLM, and also includes HGiG implementation, which helps set up HDR in games as intended by the developers. The television supports every possible resolution at 120 Hz, including 1080p, 1440p, and full 4K – so regardless of whether you're playing on Xbox, PS5, or PC, everything works as it should. It also comes with a simple Game Bar, a special menu for gamers that allows you to quickly check if the ALLM mode is indeed working in low latency mode.

And of course – Ambilight TV. Let’s face it – without LEDs on the back, it’s not a true gaming rig. 😉 The multicoloured backlighting really adds to the atmosphere, especially in the evening. It may not appeal to everyone, but younger gamers will be thrilled – it just looks impressive.

The TCL C6K is a television that can confidently be called equipment designed for gamers. We have 4K at 144 Hz, VRR support, an automatic gaming mode (ALLM), and Dolby Vision Gaming. On top of that, there's a practical Game Bar, which is a panel with the most important settings handy – useful when we want to quickly change something during gameplay (e.g. screen ratio: Yes, you can!). Notably, it has a wide range of VRR, reaching up to 240 Hz. However, this option is mainly for PC gamers who drop below the native 4K resolution. In that case, the television can spread its wings and show additional smoothness, especially in fast e-sport titles. For consoles, we stick with the classic limit of 120 Hz, but the possibilities are still quite broad. The only slight drawback is some minor motion blur that can occasionally be seen in dynamic scenes. Other than that, the C6K offers everything gamers expect from a television.