Samsung DU7192 (IPS) vs Philips PUS7000

The maximum luminance in HDR materials is 245 nits, which is often surpassed by even lower results. Such values will definitely not be sufficient for comfortable viewing of HDR materials, due to the lack of appropriate image dynamics and colour distortions caused by the low brightness of the unit. Although the manufacturer has equipped its device with an HDR format offering dynamic metadata, HDR10+, which is what we're talking about, is very rarely used compared to Dolby Vision, which Samsung has not yet introduced in its televisions. It’s also worth mentioning that Samsung DU7192 offers only 82% coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is another reason we shouldn't provide a signal in a wide dynamic range, as colour losses will be very noticeable. Samsung DU7192 delivers high-quality image that will satisfy most users.

Unfortunately, the PUS7000 is not suitable for watching HDR content. This screen is simply too dark. A brightness level of 200 nits is insufficient to display this format correctly. Even if a HDR signal message appears on the screen, the image will resemble a standard SDR recording. Therefore, it’s better to stick with the latter format to avoid errors in displaying bright scenes, as you will read below. The situation is worsened by the fact that this is a classic LCD model without additional layers that improve colours, such as QLED or PFS. As a result, colours in HDR may seem washed out. Ultimately, this provides a worse effect than in the standard SDR format, which is simply better suited to the capabilities of this panel.

The best factory mode we used throughout the testing process was "Filmmaker". This, like the vast majority of modes, had its flaws. Starting with the most basic graph, which is white balance, we can notice a significant dominance of red colour, both in SDR mode and HDR. Although in the latter there was also some green, which didn’t have a major impact on the overall perception. A graph with such results, in both cases, gives us an image characterised by strong yellowing, clearly visible on whites and on the faces of the actors. Another important graph, if not more important, is gamma. This, which is supposed to control contrast in materials with a standard colour palette, was quite good in factory mode with one "but" regarding the beginning. In the darkest scenes, it was significantly lowered, resulting in strong brightening, which left the film lacking contrast and suspense overall. As we mentioned, HDR materials regarding white balance remained at a similar level. The main change is the EOTF curve graph. At the very beginning, we can observe a bulge, which, just like in the case of gamma, strongly brightened the darkest scenes. However, after that, the graph significantly changed its characteristics and the measured result dived below the reference line, causing the film to lose even more dynamism.

We tested the television in movie mode, which theoretically should provide the best and most natural colours. And indeed, this mode is quite correct; however, when we connected the calibration equipment, its biggest flaw became apparent. The PUS7000 has significant shortcomings in displaying reds. Poorly tuned white balance and too low saturation of this colour cause the image to appear too cool. As a result, one might get the impression that the displayed content lacks vibrant colours. The situation is worsened by the fact that both SDR and HDR content are excessively brightened. This is confirmed by the gamma curve and EOTF graphs, which show that the television displays the image brighter than it should. This causes scenes to lose their depth and can make them seem slightly washed out. Fortunately, in the Philips menu, we find plenty of features to improve these aspects, so we immediately proceeded to calibration to see what we could extract from this screen.

Samsung has equipped even its lowest-end TVs with advanced tools for carrying out the calibration process. So we got to work, and the results of our efforts are more than satisfactory. The white balance, which previously had a strong yellow tint in both scenarios, now looks much, much better, even if there are slight deviations from the norm. The picture will still look significantly cleaner than it did before the calibration process. We managed to model the gamma in SDR materials very well, allowing the image to be as contrasty as the TV permits. The EOTF curve has also changed its face and doesn’t brighten or darken the image in such a drastic manner. However, it is worth mentioning that in the case of HDR materials, the deltaE errors are still very high, but this is due to the unit's insufficient brightness.

After professional calibration, it’s evident that the PUS7000 responds well to image adjustments. In this price range, that’s not a given. The effects are best evaluated in two scenarios, depending on the content we plan to watch. SDR performs the best. After our adjustments, the image looks really good. Most colour errors have dropped below level 3, which is the threshold at which discrepancies usually become visible to the naked eye. Movies, series, sports, and regular television present naturally, without unpleasant deviations. If someone mainly watches classic channels or streams in HD quality, the difference after calibration will be noticeable straight away. However, it must be said clearly that the PUS7000 is still not a television suited for proper HDR, and calibration doesn't change much in this regard. The reason lies in the hardware: colours remain too unsaturated. The television lacks solutions that widen the colour gamut, such as PFS filters or a quantum dot layer, so the panel simply cannot display the intense colours required by HDR. This is most evident in reds, which still look washed out. This limitation cannot be circumvented through menu settings, as it stems from the design of the backlighting and the panel itself.

Let's return for a moment to the tonal transition smoothing function. We can set it in only two ways - off and auto. As you can easily guess, the first of these causes significant issues with gradation. However, if we set the second option, both movies and series will offer us smooth colour transitions. It is worth mentioning, though, that this function has its drawbacks. It heavily interferes with the director's intent, softens the film grain effect, and worse, often misinterprets small details, blurring them as well. Consequently, we consider that this function does not exist and do not recommend using it, as this is how the smoothness of tonal transitions was tested on the tested display.

The next thing we will check in this paragraph is the image scaling process, which is extremely important when watching material in lower resolution. Unfortunately, as this is the manufacturer's lowest model, this function doesn't work very well. All details are heavily blurred, and a characteristic white halo forms around the characters.

The PUS7000 handles digital image processing quite well. The distortion reduction feature deserves praise, as it effectively smooths unwanted tonal transitions even at a low setting. However, it has its downside: with too aggressive operation, it can introduce undesirable artifacts on the screen. It would be a good idea to experiment with this setting to find the golden mean between a smooth image and the clarity of details.

The upscaling, or enhancing the quality of lower materials to 4K, is decent. The image after processing is very "soft," which is typical of almost all Philips TVs. The edges are plastic and smooth, making the image look cohesive. If someone finds it too soft, it can always be adjusted with the sharpness slider in the menu for a more pronounced effect.

Despite the fact that Samsung DU7192 is the lowest model in the manufacturer's portfolio, it has implemented a motion smoothing system. Although it is quite limited in features compared to higher models, its very existence is a significant plus in the context of competition in a similar price range. The maximum refresh rate that we will give to the tested television is 60 Hz, which is entirely sufficient for films and series, although not when it comes to sports. In the motion smoothing menu, we find two functions responsible for improving smoothness. These are "Motion Blur Reduction" and "Clear Motion (LED)". We'll discuss the latter a bit later. Let's focus on the former, as it is quite mysterious. Unfortunately, despite its presence, we did not find any usefulness. At each of the settings, the picture looked the same, characterised by the typical judder known from materials recorded at 24 fps.

The panel Samsung DU7192 features an average response time. It's worth mentioning that due to this specific type of panel, it is better than VA panels in a similar price range. Therefore, it can be said that it won't be the worst in terms of watching sports.

In this regard, we actually have no good news. It might seem that the biggest downside is the lack of a 120 Hz panel, but in this price range, that's actually the norm, and it's hard to expect more. However, the worst part is that the television has no motion smoothing features. There are no supporting systems in place for either movies or sports. We have to come to terms with the fact that the image on the PUS7000 is processed "raw." This means that during dynamic scenes or fast camera movements, motion can appear choppy or unclear. We have no option to enable any smoothers that could alleviate this effect.

The Samsung DU7192 television is equipped only with HDMI 2.0 ports, which isn’t surprising considering the device’s price and its consumer profile. Therefore, it’s also logical that we won’t achieve maximum quality on the latest generation consoles. That’s why it only features the most basic options for gamers, namely ALLM. It’s a pity the manufacturer didn’t implement at least a GameBar, as this is now standard, even in lower-end TVs, and could offer significant conveniences in terms of quickly changing settings.

Even though the PUS7000 isn’t marketed as a gaming TV, it doesn't perform as poorly in this category as one might expect. True, it doesn't support 120 Hz refresh rates, which is understandable at this price point, but the manufacturer has included several important features that significantly improve the console gaming experience. The most important of these are VRR and ALLM technologies. VRR is responsible for synchronising the screen with the number of frames generated by the console. This means the image doesn't "tear" and remains consistent even during sudden drops in frame rates while playing. On the other hand, ALLM is a solution that automatically switches the TV to a mode with the lowest latency immediately after detecting a signal from the console. All these parameters are easily accessible thanks to the Game Bar feature. This is a special control panel for gamers that can be brought up on the screen at any time. It allows for a quick view of current settings and connection status without interrupting gameplay, which is a very convenient solution.