Samsung QN900D Neo QLED 8K vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

The Samsung QN900D easily showcases its high capabilities in light production during synthetic tests – 1400 nits is truly an impressive result. It also demonstrated these capabilities in the first scene of the movie "Life of Pi," where we see a brilliant burst of the rising sun. However, due to issues with the dimming algorithm, some problems can be observed here. In the test scenes from "Sicario 2" and the second scene from "Life of Pi," these values are not as high, averaging around 500-600 nits. While this may not be the worst result among Mini LED TVs, more could be expected given the price of the television. Nevertheless, the television deserves praise for covering a wide colour gamut of DCP P3 at 96%. Although there are technologies offering higher values, this result is still satisfactory.

The Philips PQS9000 is a moderately bright TV — in our HDR scenes it reached roughly 450 to just over 500 nits. That’s enough to notice a difference compared with SDR. Sun reflections, lamps or flares have a bit more punch than on basic TVs, whose brightness often tops out around 300 nits. It’s not, however, a level where bright elements look especially striking. The biggest limitation remains contrast. Without local dimming, brightening a bright object also lifts the black level around it. So there’s no clear separation between strong highlights and a dark background, and it’s that kind of pairing that really shows what HDR can do. The PQS9000 offers more than the cheapest models, but despite decent brightness the effect remains fairly basic.

Colours

Philips deserves praise for the colours. Although the manufacturer markets this model as QLED, it actually uses a PFS phosphor instead of quantum dots. The solution itself doesn’t prevent good results. On test patterns and in measurements of film scenes we recorded about 94% DCI-P3 coverage and 75% BT.2020. For this class of TV that’s really good. In practice this means the vast majority of colours used in HDR films and series will have appropriate saturation. Lush greens or intense reds aren’t a problem and add appeal to the picture. Limitations are easier to notice in some games and rarer content that use the most saturated shades of the wide BT.2020 gamut. In those situations, displays with wider colour coverage, such as SQD or RGB LED, can show more. At its price point the PQS9000 has nothing to be ashamed of.

The QN900D television offers a Filmmaker mode that is designed to watch movies in the most natural way possible; however, this mode is not without its flaws. For HD content, the white balance shows a dominance of red and blue, which causes the image to shift towards pink hues. In contrast, for 4K HDR content, the situation is reversed – the reduction of blue and red levels results in warmer scenes and a shift towards yellow tones. This is confirmed by Color Checker tests, which clearly show that the colour samples veer in that direction.

When it comes to brightness and the associated contrast, the gamma is significantly distorted. The biggest issue is a noticeable jump at the beginning of the curve, indicating that dark details are overly brightened, causing the image to lose depth in the darkest areas - this is due to local dimming. For 4K HDR materials, the EOTF curve looks quite good, but it remains below the reference level, impacting the overall dynamics of the image.

The factory picture settings for Movie mode on the PQS9000 unfortunately need tweaking. In SDR the biggest problem is an excess of red in the white balance, which makes whites, greys and skin tones too warm, in places even slightly pink. Gamma runs below the reference across most of the range. The TV therefore brightens midtones and highlights, making the image look flatter than it should.

In HDR the white balance itself performs significantly better. Apart from minor deviations the components sit close together, so there isn’t the same obvious tint as in SDR. The EOTF curve, however, shows a slight brightening of parts of the image, and the biggest issue appears when measuring the wide colour gamut. Many shades deviate substantially from the target, with errors reaching ΔE 8–9. The good gamut coverage we praised earlier therefore doesn’t mean the TV hits specific colours accurately. It can display a wide range of colours, but out of the box it doesn’t use that range very precisely.

After calibration, the Filmmaker mode can truly be called worthy of its name. The white balance for both HD and 4K HDR content has significantly improved, resulting in colours that are more natural and consistent. The image has gained in realism, with pink hues in HD content effectively eliminated, as well as the yellow haze in 4K HDR content. Thanks to the calibration, the television now offers much better colour reproduction, positively impacting the viewing experience.

When it comes to brightness, the situation with gamma is now the opposite – a clear drop is visible at the beginning of the graph, making the darkest details harder to discern. The EOTF curve for 4K HDR content has remained largely unchanged and is still below the reference level, indicating that the television still struggles to maintain adequate brightness. This is related to the aggressive dimming algorithm that affects the overall brightness of the image. You can see how the television fights to maintain high brightness or perfect black.

Despite the limitations associated with local dimming, the Samsung QN900D has improved in colour reproduction quality, as confirmed by the Color Checker test results – the colour samples are now much closer to the references, making the image more natural and pleasant to the eye.

Calibration brought a big improvement, especially with SDR content. We managed to even out the white balance and remove the earlier colour cast, and the Color Checker measurements now look very good. Colours are much closer to what they should be on screen, so with regular TV or SDR movies we can be happy with the result. Unfortunately HDR spoils that a bit. On the one hand it's limited by the panel itself, because calibration won't improve contrast or replace local dimming. On the other hand there are colour errors we couldn't correct because the CMS settings, i.e. colour management, were greyed out and inactive. That loses Philips points with us. The white balance can be fine-tuned, but without access to wide gamut controls you can't as effectively sort out colours in HDR. It's a shame, because the SDR results show the potential is there, but we weren't allowed to fully make use of it everywhere.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in lower-quality materials looks fantastic – the Noise Reduction feature very effectively smooths out tonal transitions while getting rid of film grain. Although the removal of grain isn't always desirable, the overall final effect is very aesthetically pleasing, especially for those who prefer a cleaner image.

When it comes to upscaling, or image scaling, QN900D shows the tremendous capabilities of the new processor with AI technology. Photos and materials in lower resolution are scaled while retaining many details – for example, a photo with a model looks amazing, free of unnecessary jagged edges, and the branches in the background are not overly serrated.

Digital image processing on the Philips PQS9000 performs well, although we have a few reservations. The "Distortion Reduction" function helps smooth tonal transitions in lower-quality sources, but it works rather unevenly. It can improve one part of the picture, only to, moments later and still within the same scene, lose its way and show banding between shades again. On the plus side, it doesn't strip away film grain or fine noise, so the image retains its texture. We found the "Medium" setting worked best and that's the one we recommend.

The upscaling to 4K itself is adequate, though the image is very soft. Edges are heavily smoothed, which may leave some viewers wanting more clarity. In that case, it's worth slightly increasing the sharpness in the TV menu, as this will help emphasise edges more. Don't overdo the sharpness slider, though, or you'll get artificial halos instead of an improvement.

Samsung QN900D is currently the fastest television in the world – literally. A refresh rate of 240 Hz in 4K resolution is an amazing value that PC gamers will surely appreciate. As for movie fans, they won't be disappointed either – Samsung offers a 10-level scale in the picture clarity settings, allowing users to adjust the image. We can choose whether the television should provide a smoother, theatrical effect at the highest settings, or a more cinematic one, with a visible frame, at the lowest settings.

In terms of motion handling the Philips PQS9000 performs exceptionally well for an LCD TV. It's not just about the 144 Hz refresh rate, but above all how quickly the panel itself responds. At 120 Hz you can hardly see the typical trailing smears behind moving objects. What's particularly pleasing is that this also applies to darker backgrounds, where many VA panels clearly struggle. Here motion remains clear, and in this respect Philips has pleasantly surprised us.

The "Motion Styles" feature is used to adjust how motion is displayed. It includes two sliders: "Smoothness" and "Blur Reduction", allowing you to tailor the effect to the material you're watching and your personal preferences. Our suggested settings are shown in the photo. Treat them as a starting point and see which level of smoothing suits you best.

Samsung QN900D is a television that offers excellent compatibility with consoles and a range of features that gamers will appreciate. It has 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, although unfortunately without the full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. Nonetheless, for the average user, this is more than sufficient. Additionally, the television supports Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which means smoother images and no screen tearing during dynamic gameplay. The G-Sync and FreeSync technologies are also noteworthy, providing optimal compatibility with consoles and computers equipped with the appropriate graphics cards, minimising stuttering effects and ensuring a smooth picture.

One of the unique features available only in Samsung televisions is the Xbox Game Pass app, which allows for game streaming without the need for a console. This is a very convenient solution that lets you enjoy your favourite games without having to purchase additional hardware. Furthermore, the QN900D has Game Bar – a special panel that enables quick access to gaming-related settings, making game mode setup quick and intuitive.

Another interesting feature is the Auto Motion Plus Game function, which is a special motion smoothing mode that can increase the frame rate (works up to a maximum of 4K@60Hz). Importantly, this does not cause a significant increase in input lag, allowing players to enjoy both greater image fluidity. All these features make the Samsung QN900D an excellent choice for those looking for a gaming television with the highest possible parameters.

Features for gamers

In terms of gaming features the Philips PQS9000 has a lot to offer. Four HDMI 2.1 ports let you connect multiple devices without having to choose which one gets the full capabilities. Consoles can use 120 Hz at Full HD, 1440p and 4K, and a PC can also run 144 Hz at 4K or 240 Hz if you drop to Full HD. There's also VRR, which matches the refresh rate to the frame rate and prevents screen tearing. Its range runs from 48 to 240 Hz, with the upper limit applying to Full HD mode.

It also includes ALLM, so the TV switches itself into game mode, and a properly working HGiG, which is handy when setting HDR on the console. There's a Game Bar for quick access to settings and signal information. The list even includes Dolby Vision gaming, but it's hard to enjoy because of very high input lag. Apart from that caveat, the feature set is really solid.