Sony Bravia 3 50' (VA) vs Philips PUS7000

Interestingly, in the 50-inch version, the Bravia 3 performs slightly better in terms of brightness than its larger variants. In measurements, it achieved around 370 nits, which still aren’t values that can compete with top-tier TVs, but are sufficient to speak of a semblance of HDR effect. For some users, this level will be acceptable; others will consider it typical for SDR content, where striking highlights or strong contrasts are not expected. So it must be clearly stated that the Bravia 3 is not a TV for those who want to squeeze maximum quality from the most challenging film materials.

However, this doesn’t mean that everything is average. Sony has equipped this model with an additional PFS filter, which works similarly to the solutions used in QLED TVs. As a result, the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut has increased to over 91 percent. In everyday use, this means livelier, more saturated colours and a more pleasant image quality. Even if it lacks strong lighting effects, movies and series can look significantly more appealing than in its predecessor, the X75WL.

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.

Sony Bravia 3 was primarily tested in movie mode, which immediately turned out to be the best choice among the factory settings. It's not a perfect picture, but compared to the eco mode that the TV suggests right out of the box, the difference is clear and positive. In movie mode, one can notice a certain issue: the image appears too warm, which stems from a lack of blue in the white balance. Nevertheless, in SDR content, the final effect can still be considered quite decent and satisfactory for everyday viewing. Much more serious errors emerge in HDR materials. The Color Checker analysis showed significant deviations, and poor brightness management combined with limited colour gamut coverage further exposes the shortcomings of the picture in this mode. All of this makes HDR on the Bravia 3 seem unconvincing and can spoil the impression left by the quite decent SDR content settings. Fortunately, this is not a hopeless situation. Various errors can be somewhat mitigated, and some can even be completely corrected through professional calibration. That's why we decided to check how the TV would perform after such adjustments.

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.

The calibration allowed us to extract significantly more from the ChooseTV 3 than we could have expected at the beginning. Firstly, we managed to correct the deficiency of blue, which previously caused a noticeable warming of the image. After a slight adjustment in the white balance, most of the errors in the Color Checker measurements for SDR content practically disappeared. The shades of white gained a natural quality, and brightness management in gamma stabilised to an almost ideal level, not exceeding the threshold of human eye perception. Therefore, it can be confidently said that in SDR content, after a few tweaks in the settings, ChooseTV 3 performs really remarkably. Much worse, although still decidedly better than before calibration, are HDR contents. The white balance was managed to be sorted out, however, the limitations of the IPS panel are insurmountable. The lack of local dimming means that even the smallest elements can be overexposed, which is immediately noticeable. Colour-wise, the effect has also improved, although it is far from perfect – many errors still exceed the threshold of four, and even five delta E units, which means they remain visible to the human eye. It was already clear earlier that ChooseTV 3 is not a television designed to impress with HDR quality. Nevertheless, it is pleasing that in SDR content, after calibration, the image can look really great, and in this category, the television has positively surprised us.

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.

Bravia 3 brings more to the Sony TV family than just a shared name. It stands out primarily with its ability to enhance the quality of weaker materials thanks to the processor used. Of course, we won't find the advanced XR chip known from more expensive models here, but even so, it's fair to say that the image in lower resolutions looked surprisingly good. Scaling worked effectively, and most parts of the screen were devoid of the typical excessive edge tearing found in budget constructions. The feature that improves the fluidity of tonal transitions is also noteworthy. At the high setting, it performs quite well, effectively masking gradient imperfections without a significant loss of detail. It does occasionally happen that the algorithm smoothingly blurs elements that should remain sharp – for example, faces – however, in the overall assessment, the effect is beneficial. The best results were achieved precisely at the highest setting, and this option could be recommended to those watching lower quality content.

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.

The fluidity of motion has never been a strong point of televisions equipped with 60 Hz panels, and the Bravia 3 is no exception. Nevertheless, Sony has added something that might appeal to those who are more sensitive to the way images are displayed. This refers to the proprietary motion smoother, Motion Flow, which offers users a lot of adjustment options. With it, you can make the picture smoother, almost theatrical, or stick to a more cinematic style with the characteristic judder, which many people simply associate with a filmic vibe. These functions work for content with lower frame rates, such as movies and series recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second, which is the type of material we encounter on a daily basis. It is precisely in this area that the motion smoother proves to be one of the most important features for everyday use of the television, and here the Bravia 3 performs really well.

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.

Bravia 3 isn't gear for eSports enthusiasts or fans of late-night marathons with a controller in hand. The lack of 120 Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports closes the topic before it even has a chance to develop. This is a TV for the casual gamer who, after work, fires up FIFA or racing games, not for someone who measures every frame in a spreadsheet. Nonetheless, Sony has added a few nice extras to ensure it’s not too bare. ALLM works as it should, automatically switching the TV to game mode (low latency). We even find a simple Game Bar here, which is clear and straightforward. However, the biggest curiosity is the PlayStation Portal app. Thanks to it, you can launch games from your PS5 wirelessly and see them on the TV screen straight away. Sounds great, but it only takes a few minutes to feel significant delays. In our opinion, it’s more of a showcase of capabilities than something that can be used on a daily basis. If someone really wants to play, it’s better to plug the console in with an HDMI cable and forget about wireless issues.

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.