Sony X75WL vs Philips OLED909

The luminance chart for the X75WL Sony television showed a maximum value of 350 nits, which unfortunately is not an impressive result. The television does not surprise with its brightness, and all the HDR scenes we tested lacked depth and the appropriate lighting effect that should accompany HDR content. Additionally, the tragic coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette makes it difficult for the television to reproduce rich colours, which significantly affects the overall viewing experience of HDR content. The lack of adequate brightness and poor colour coverage means that HDR effects are very limited in this model.

Philips OLED909 impresses with its HDR effect quality, achieving up to 1500 nits of peak brightness in tested scenes. This is an excellent result, placing this television among the best OLED models on the market. The MLA panel, also used in models like the Panasonic Z95A and LG G4, plays a crucial role here, allowing for exceptionally bright and detailed reproduction of dynamic scenes. However, it is worth noting that in the most demanding scene from the film The Meg, brightness drops to around 700 nits. This is a typical phenomenon in OLED technology, where intensely bright full-screen images cause a reduction in luminance. Nevertheless, the HDR effect still looks very good, and the television performs better than most competitors under similar conditions. The wide colour gamut coverage also deserves praise. The OLED909 offers 95% coverage of DCI-P3, ensuring that the television guarantees the ability to display vibrant and realistic colours.

Colour reproduction tests for the model Sony X75WL are conducted in film mode, which offers the best picture settings but also has its flaws. The biggest issue with the X75WL Sony is the white balance – for both HD and 4K HDR content – which is characterised by a dominance of blue. As a result, the entire image feels too cool. The colour checker confirms these errors, showing that colours lean towards cooler shades. Regarding brightness characteristics, the contrast gamma is at quite a decent level; however, the same cannot be said for the EOTF curve. There are significant issues with maintaining the appropriate brightness – the image is either too bright or too dim, which affects the visual perception of the content.

Like other TVs, the Philips OLED909 has been tested for colour reproduction in factory modes. The best mode was found to be Filmmaker Mode; however, despite its name, it is not without faults.

The biggest problem is the white balance. In both HD and 4K HDR content, there is a noticeable dominance of green and red hues, resulting in a clear yellow tint on the screen. This effect is particularly visible in test materials, for example, in a scene with Tom Cruise in the foreground, where the difference compared to a calibrated image is very clear.

As for the brightness characteristic, in HD materials, the gamma was excessively boosted - it was below the reference value of 2.4, giving the image a “milky” filter and impacting overall clarity. For 4K HDR content, we observed the opposite phenomenon – at the beginning of the EOTF curve, there is a noticeable drop, indicating issues with reproducing the smallest details in dark scenes. Although Filmmaker mode offers acceptable quality, noticeable errors in white balance and brightness characteristics show that the TV requires additional calibration to fully realise its potential in colour reproduction.

X75WL Sony is one of those cases where image calibration may not be heavily spectacular, but it provides a very good improvement in colour perception. The white balance, both for HD and 4K materials, has been significantly improved – we no longer have a strong dominance of cooler shades. The gamma curve also appears more stable, which translates to better image quality. However, the biggest issue remains the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness in 4K materials. Due to the technological limitations of the television (IPS panel and lack of local dimming technology), it's hard to talk about significant improvement, as we can't squeeze more out of this model. Despite these limitations, the tonality of the image has been significantly improved.

Philips OLED909 offers tools for image calibration, significantly improving its quality. After calibrating the Filmmaker Mode, the television displays a much more natural colour reproduction. The white balance after calibration looks very good. Although we noticed slight blue tint deviations in HD content, the errors fall within acceptable limits, and the picture is significantly better than in factory settings. The brightness characteristics, including gamma and EOTF, have also been clearly improved. The television no longer has issues with excessive brightening or dimming of the image. Both dark and light details are now rendered correctly, making the picture look very good in every scene. After calibration, Filmmaker Mode on the Philips OLED909 offers excellent picture quality that will meet the expectations of even the more demanding users. The calibration fully utilises the potential of this model.

In the case of low-quality tonal transitions, the Sony X75WL television performs poorly. The lack of any feature to improve tonal transitions results in noticeable imperfections in colour gradation. However, it can be noted that the digital processing is quite good – the image is displayed without overscan, and the overall presentation is relatively good thanks to the added slight sharpness, which some users may appreciate.

Philips OLED909 offers a distortion reduction feature designed to smooth tonal transitions. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this feature leaves much to be desired. Setting it to "Medium" achieves some effects, but it comes with the risk of blurring important details in the image. For this reason, we do not recommend using this option unless you are looking to soften visible artifacts at the expense of detail.

As for image scaling, the TV presents a very pliable image, which may appeal to viewers who prefer a softer picture. Those expecting sharper clarity will also find a solution, as image scaling can be adjusted to individual preferences in the settings.

The X75WL Sony television features a 60 Hz panel, making it more suitable for watching movies than for fast-paced gaming. This model includes a motion smoother called Motionflow, which allows the user to adjust the picture on a 10-point scale. Smoothness adds intermediate frames, thus increasing motion fluidity, and the image becomes more theatrical while minimising the judder effect. Clarity reduces motion blur, which is especially useful during fast-paced scenes, such as sports or dynamic action in films. With this feature, the user can tailor the fluidity and sharpness of motion to their own preferences.

The Philips OLED909 with a 144 Hz panel offers excellent image fluidity, which should satisfy both movie lovers and gamers. Additionally, the TV is equipped with a motion smoothing feature called "Motion Style," which allows for precise adjustment of image fluidity according to personal preferences. In the settings, we find two sliders: "Fluidity," which adjusts the smoothness of motion in films, and "Motion Blur Reduction," which helps eliminate minor artifacts and distortions in dynamic scenes. This feature works well, ensuring that even quick movements on the screen are clear and readable.

X75WL is not the best TV for gamers. It only has the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature and a basic Game Bar, which are not sufficient to satisfy more demanding users. In this price range, one would expect support for features such as VRR or 120 Hz refresh rates – although in FULLHD, which are already standard – unfortunately, they are lacking here. This is a big downside for Sony, as the competition offers much more for gamers in a similar budget.

Philips OLED909 is a TV that meets practically all the requirements of gamers. Equipped with ALLM (automatic low latency mode), VRR (variable refresh rate), and support for Dolby Vision, it guarantees an excellent gaming experience. Additionally, the TV offers very low input lag, ensuring that the response to player movements is instantaneous, which fans of dynamic games will particularly appreciate.

The TV effortlessly supports any resolution at 120 Hz, and even higher refresh rates. The HGiG function, responsible for correctly displaying HDR content in games, works as it should, making the picture in game mode balanced and aligned with console manufacturers' guidelines.

The OLED909 is also equipped with a Game Bar feature, which allows for quick preview and adjustment of gaming settings. Although the interface of this solution seems less visually appealing than that of competitors, it serves its purpose by offering all the essential options in one place.