TCL P7K / P79K vs Philips OLED910

When it comes to assessing HDR performance, we need to be clear and straightforward without any marketing fluff: the P7K/P79K is not and never was meant to be a champion in this area. The maximum peak brightness that this panel can generate hovers around just 300 nits. This represents a threshold, a sort of thin red line between what can be considered barely satisfactory HDR signal and what is, in reality, only slightly better than standard dynamic range (SDR), unfortunately leaning towards the latter. Synthetic tests confirmed this harsh reality – our measurements taken during movie sessions showed that the luminance in key bright scenes rarely exceeded 200-250 nits. Therefore, this is not a TV that would allow content created in a wide tonal range to truly shine, and that must be openly acknowledged.

Unfortunately, the issue of colour reproduction is presented just as conservatively. Although the manufacturer positions this model within the "QLED" family, owing to the use of a PFS LED filter, the results do not match the heightened expectations. The coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut reaches only 86%. Compared to the market, this is at best an average result, since most devices that utilise additional layers to expand the colour spectrum easily achieve values at a minimum of 90-92%.

OLED910 is simply an absurdly bright television for an OLED. All thanks to the new panel from LG Display, the Tandem RGB OLED, which Philips has branded as "META OLED". It is this panel that allows for over 2000 nits of brightness in films, which not long ago was completely unachievable in OLEDs. The way the television handles full-screen scenes flooded with bright light also deserves high praise. Usually, in OLEDs, brightness drops significantly, but here it remains at a great level – around 1400 nits. These values are almost reference-level, and combined with excellent colour reproduction at 99% DCI P3 and 82% BT.2020, it gives us an HDR effect that can confidently be called one of the best in the world.

Every reliable assessment of image quality must start with selecting the most optimal, factory preset mode. In the case of the tested P7K/P79K model, the choice was made without hesitation for the "Film" mode. It is the mode that presents an image closest to the intentions of its creators, avoiding both the exaggerated brightness of the dynamic mode and the excessive dimming known from eco settings. And it must be admitted that, for a device in this price range, the factory calibration is surprisingly decent, although it is not without a few stumbles. The most noticeable shortcoming turned out to be the not entirely correctly set white balance. A slight dominance of the blue component gives the image a subtly cool, frosty character, straying from the ideal neutrality that the director intended to show us. The television handles the reproduction of greyscale in the standard dynamic range much better – the gamma curve is almost exemplary. The only slight reservation can be made for the darkest parts of the image, where a delicate deviation from the norm causes a loss of some detail in the shadows. The most significant challenge, however, for the TCL software was interpreting the HDR signal, as illustrated by the EOTF curve. The television follows its own, rather free path here – the darkest details are disproportionately brightened, followed by a noticeable slowdown in brightness increase for mid-tones. Fortunately, most of these imperfections are of a software nature, which can be eliminated. With that thought in mind, we proceeded to the process of professional calibration.

Unfortunately, when it comes to colour reproduction straight out of the box, the Filmmaker mode on the OLED910 really falls short. The television overemphasises the blue colour and at times it looks almost like a shop mode. It gives the impression that the manufacturer hasn't quite calibrated the device properly. The result is that colours appear unnatural, and the overall look resembles a slightly exaggerated display from a store showcase. HDR content looks much better, where apart from a slight loss of detail in blacks, there’s hardly anything to complain about. The problem is that in everyday viewing, it’s actually SDR materials that matter the most – and on the OLED910, they just look poor and significantly deviate from what we would expect from a television of this class.

The calibration process turned out to be spot on, especially in the context of standard dynamic range (SDR) content. We successfully managed to eliminate the tendency of the television to showcase cool tones, restoring white to its natural neutrality. Moreover, the precise adjustment allowed us to correct a slight error in the gamma curve, enabling the darkest parts of the image to regain proper depth, without any signs of unnatural brightness. The results are measurable and impressive – in the ColorChecker test, the vast majority of colour reproduction errors fell below the perceptual threshold, achieving a deltaE value of below 2. This is a result that more expensive models would not be ashamed of. Unfortunately, in the case of HDR content, we encounter a wall in the form of the panel's structural limitations. And although we managed to bring the colours into line, the software's specifics mean that the television still adapts brightness in its own way, as evidenced by the persistent, non-standard EOTF curve. To summarise, calibration adds tremendous value, but it is important to be aware that it won't overcome certain physical barriers. The slightly elevated blacks, resulting from the lack of local dimming, and limited peak brightness mean that HDR content won't always be able to showcase its full potential. This is simply not the main task of this display; its true strength, especially after professional tuning, lies in viewing SDR material.

Fortunately, it quickly turned out that it wasn't the panel causing the problems, but the way Philips factory-tuned the OLED910. After calibration, the television showcased its full potential, and only then could we see what the new panels from LG Display were truly capable of. We primarily corrected the white balance and brightness characteristics, successfully taming the excessive blue and giving the image a natural look. The final effect can be described as excellent. Errors on the Color Checker palette rarely exceeded a value of 3, which in practice means an image close to ideal and colours presented in line with the creators' intent. In SDR content, the effect was stunning, and in HDR, the improvement was even more noticeable – gradients became cleaner, and colours fuller and more accurate. After calibration, the OLED910 transformed from a disappointing television into equipment that can be confidently referred to as reference-grade in terms of colour accuracy.

After a series of harsh evaluations, thankfully, it’s time for some praise, and this is deserved by the TCL AiPQ image processor for its work in the field of digital processing and content scaling. It should be noted right away that we are not talking about the level known from flagship models; nonetheless, in the price segment represented by the P7K/P79K, the results achieved are more than solid. The function that smooths tonal transitions performs particularly well, effectively eliminating posterization, which are the characteristic bands often visible in materials with higher compression, for instance, from choose.tv. The algorithm can elegantly remove unwanted gradients, which ultimately looks really good. The television also handles upscaling competently, which means the task of raising low-resolution materials to 4K standard. The resulting image, although it may seem a bit too sharp out of the box, is fortunately not a problem. The software allows for free adjustment of this parameter using a sharpness slider, allowing the final appearance to be easily tailored to personal preferences.

The previously visible colour connections can be largely mitigated thanks to a feature called "distortion reduction." Similar to the OLED820, it’s best to set it to medium level, as it then provides quite decent results – smoothing unwanted tonal transitions while not taking away too many details from the image. Although at times the effect may be a bit too aggressive, in everyday viewing, this function can be considered useful.

When it comes to image scaling, the OLED910 performs really well. The test material with the model showcased a characteristic soft look typical of Philips – at times almost too soft – but at any moment this can be adjusted with the sharpness slider to tailor the image to your own preferences. It’s also a plus that the television has no issues with overscan, which still occurs in some competitors' models. It’s a minor detail, but it’s pleasing as it means that all content, even the oldest, is displayed as it should be.

The issue of fluidity and sharpness of motion image is inextricably linked to the fundamental parameter of the panel, and in the case of the TCL P7K/P79K, we are dealing with a panel that has a native refresh rate of 60 Hz. This specification at the outset defines its capabilities and makes it hard to unequivocally recommend it to enthusiasts of dynamic sports broadcasts. During quick camera movements, the image loses sharpness, and the panel also shows a slight tendency to smudge, which may be noticeable to more sensitive viewers. Fortunately, not everything in this aspect has been left to chance. The manufacturer has implemented a simple motion smoothing system, which is primarily used in film materials recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second. Thanks to a dedicated slider, the user can decide on the final nature of the motion – from maintaining a fully cinematic, slightly jerky image, to achieving a very smooth, almost theatrical effect. It is a simple yet effective tool that allows one to adjust the viewing experience to their own preferences.

OLED910 is a TV with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. It’s a bit of a shame that Philips didn’t opt for 165 Hz, as we know that the matrix used in it is capable of that. On the other hand, such a bonus will mainly benefit PC gamers, as for everyday use, the most important thing is the 120 Hz refresh rate, which is fully sufficient. Combined with the advantages of the OLED matrix – lightning-fast pixel response times and the absence of motion blur, the picture is impeccably sharp and fast, even in dynamic action scenes. The traditional motion smoother from Philips called “Motion Style” also deserves praise. We can easily adjust it to our own preferences: the “Smoothness” slider is for movies and allows you to choose between a more “framey,” cinematic character and a smooth, theatrical image. Meanwhile, the “Motion Blur Reduction” slider is intended for sports; here, it’s worth setting it to the maximum value so that the image is clear and sharp during very fast shots.

Although on paper the native 4K@60Hz matrix might suggest that the TCL P7K/P79K is not a TV tailored for gamers, the reality turns out to be surprisingly different. On the contrary, the manufacturer has ensured a rich set of features that make it a very friendly companion for next-generation consoles. Onboard, we find key technologies such as ALLM, which provides automatic switching to low-latency mode, and VRR, or variable refresh rate, which eliminates screen tearing. The list is rounded off with support for Dolby Vision Gaming and a simple yet functional Game Bar. However, the real and extremely pleasant surprise is something else. It turns out that the TV effortlessly supports a high refresh rate signal of 120Hz, but at lower resolutions – 1080p and 1440p. This is fantastic news for console owners, who know how rarely games run in native 4K at a full 120 frames per second. The option to choose between higher resolution and doubled smoothness is therefore an incredibly sensible compromise.

In summary, while the P7K/P79K may not be the target screen for the most passionate, tournament gamers, it offers a package of options for casual or occasional console users that is hard to find among many competitors at this price point.

The OLED910 is fantastic for gaming. It supports 144 Hz, so if someone has a powerful PC, they'll easily make the most of that potential. For consoles, the most important thing is still 120 Hz, and everything works smoothly here. It has VRR, an automatic game mode, and even Dolby Vision in games along with HGiG mode, so we pretty much get a full package of gaming features. Philips also added a Game Bar, which is like a quick menu that shows basic information and allows you to enable a few handy features. It might not look as modern as the competition, but it works and does its job. The only downside is the number of HDMI 2.1 ports. There are only two, which can be quite disappointing in this class of television. If someone connects two consoles and something extra to the eARC - like a soundbar (which doesn't really make sense in this model, but more on that in the sound section), they'll have to do a bit more figuring around. Other than that, though, the OLED910 has everything we expect from a gaming TV.