Samsung QN990F vs Philips PUS7000

Samsung QN990F is one of the bright televisions, and this is immediately apparent in tests. In measurements, it achieved around 1300 nits, which in practice allows you to enjoy films as their creators intended. Bright scenes have the right strength, lights shine, and the impression is truly cinematic. In standard test patterns, sequences number 1, 3, and 5 performed the best – there, brightness remained around 800-1000 nits, and the image looked very natural. In more difficult segments, it could dip to around 600 nits, but the level was still sufficient for details to be clearly visible. However, it should be added that with such highly contrasted shots, the halo effect returns – the same one we mentioned regarding blacks. Bright elements can leave a glow on dark backgrounds, and this is immediately noticeable. As we are dealing with a QLED, the colour palette is expanded, and the colours present themselves impressively. The problem is that with such a flagship model, we expected better numbers. 91% coverage of DCI-P3 and about 67% BT.2020 are results that can be considered solid but not outstanding. This gives an image that is vibrant and appealing; however, the competition in this and lower price ranges can show even more.

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.

We tested the QN990F in Filmmaker mode, which is the best out-of-the-box setting available. Right from the start, we noticed a few significant issues. The biggest problem was with white balance. Due to too little blue, as well as incorrect ratios between red and blue, the image—especially in scenes with a lot of white—appeared too yellow, and at times even orange. On the Color Checker palette, these errors didn't look dramatic as they hovered around a value of 4, but in everyday viewing, especially with strong whites, they were most noticeable. We also noticed problems with brightness management—the TV struggled to maintain details in the smallest parts of the image, mainly due to how it manages backlight zones. Fortunately, Samsung provides plenty of room for adjustment when it comes to setting corrections. We know that with proper calibration, much more can be extracted from this screen.

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.

After carrying out the calibration, we managed to bring the white balance into order and eliminate the earlier shortcomings in shades of blue. As a result, the picture no longer looked like it had a slight yellowish filter – the whites are cleaner, and the whole thing presents itself much more naturally. We also managed to tame the brightness characteristic in HDR content to some extent. The television now handles maintaining detail in blacks much better and does not lose them as much as before. However, when we look at the EOTF curve and how the QN990F reproduces brightness in films, it is evident that it still tends to accentuate details in dark areas more strongly. This is a characteristic feature of Mini-LED technology and, more specifically, how it is managed by the QN990F, which is practically impossible to eliminate completely. Despite this, after calibration, the picture looks significantly more natural, mainly due to the correct exposure of white light. The final effect is definitely more pleasant to the eye and closer to what we expect from a flagship television.

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.

The QN990F deserves the highest praise for its upscaling capabilities. The processor responsible for 'lifting' classic TV to 8K resolution does a really decent job. Watching footage in 576p, we had no illusions that we would suddenly see a miraculous transformation like in an advertisement, where the image magically turns into crystal-clear 8K. Nevertheless, the final effect was surprisingly good; the picture looked clean and sharp. It's just a shame that the TV, like most Samsung models, has an overscan issue, which slightly cuts off the edges of the screen from the left side.

When it comes to image processing, Samsung offers a feature called "noise reduction," which in theory should improve tonal transitions in older materials, where they are usually more noticeable. Unfortunately, here we felt quite disappointed. The feature performs poorly – it struggles with unwanted banding and can even introduce its own artifacts. On the plus side, it’s worth noting that the TV doesn’t remove film grain when using this feature, but in practice, that’s a poor consolation when the noise reduction itself turns out to be practically useless.

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.

QN990F can easily be called one of the fastest TVs in the world. In 4K mode, it can display images at a frequency of up to 240 Hz, which until now was more associated with gaming monitors than with living room TVs. However, in everyday viewing, what's more important is how it handles an 8K signal at 120 Hz – and it performs very well here too. Motion remains smooth, and the TV handles even the most demanding content without breaking a sweat. Additionally, there's the motion smoother, or "Image Clarity." Thanks to this, you can adjust the picture to your preferences – leave it slightly cinematic with a bit of judder or switch to maximum smoothness, which works brilliantly for things like sports broadcasts.

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.

It has to be said straightforwardly – the QN990F is one of those televisions that scream they were designed with gamers in mind. Samsung has been developing its gaming solutions for years, but here we have a true package. Sure, it lacks Dolby Vision support in games, which is a downside that will always come up in discussions. However, aside from that, the list of features is truly impressive. To start, we have the Game Bar – a handy menu that allows you to quickly check and change game-related settings. You can see things like VRR enabled, frame rate, or aspect ratio settings there. It's like a little “dashboard” so you don’t have to dig deep into the menu to fix something. Since the word VRR was mentioned: yes, variable refresh rate is present here and works flawlessly. Plus, there's ALLM, which automatically switches the television to game mode as soon as the console is turned on. These may seem like small details, but together they make using the QN990F simply convenient and hassle-free.

However, the greatest impression comes from the number of ports. Four wireless HDMI 2.1 ports as standard is already great news, as there's no need to choose whether to connect the console, the receiver, or maybe even the PC. There's comfortably enough room for everything here. And if we add another micro HDMI (which we recommend connecting directly to the console), hidden within the casing, then in practice we have five inputs in full 2.1 standard. Let’s also add support for high refresh rates – 120 Hz in 8K or even 240 Hz in 4K – and we get a television that not only keeps up with the new consoles but also feels ready for consoles that aren’t even out yet.

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.