Hisense E8Q vs Philips MLED920 / MLED910

Since the E8Q is a twin of the U7Q, it’s no surprise that the quality of the HDR effect is nearly identical. On paper, it looks promising – a peak brightness of 800 nits can impress in many scenes. Moments such as flashes of light in “The Meg” or shots of the sun in “Life of Pi” can indeed evoke a 'wow' effect. But the longer we watch, the more we notice the limitations. The problem arises when small, bright details need to be shown against a dark background. In such situations, the dimming algorithms try to preserve contrast but end up dimming what should shine the most. Instead of dazzling details, we get almost invisible points of light. This is typical for Mini-LEDs in this price segment and is not surprising – but it’s worth knowing that the HDR effect will not always be fully preserved. Fortunately, the colour performance offers reasons to be pleased. Coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at around 94% is a very good result, and the applied layer of quantum dots (more precisely, PFS) does its job – the colours are saturated and vibrant, especially with 4K content.

Philips MLED920 in our measurements in static tests even reached around 900 nits, which is really a solid result for a mid-range model. In practice, this translates to a lot of satisfaction during viewing sessions – in scenes rich in bright light, such as the first, third or fifth test slide, the screen managed to generate about 700 nits, which is sufficient to feel the true "HDR effect." However, it cannot be denied that the limited number of dimming zones and the compromises typical of mini-LEDs in more demanding scenes reveal their nature. In sequences with small light sources – like the moon or a scene from the film Sicario 2 – the television clearly prioritises maintaining deeper blacks at the expense of the brightness of these small elements. For most viewers, this is still a reasonable compromise, as the dark background looks significantly better, though it is important to be aware that the details themselves may not impress with their intensity. There is also a certain sense of dissatisfaction regarding the colours. Although the applied PFS filter (the equivalent of quantum dots known from QLEDs) does its job and the colours appear quite vivid, the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette reaches “only” 90%. In everyday viewing, this will be sufficient, but in extremely colourful productions – like the latest Disney animations – one can notice that some tones are not as vibrant as they could be in other setups.

Testing the Hisense E8Q in Filmmaker mode, we were hoping for a possibly neutral image close to the director's vision. Unfortunately – although it doesn't look bad on paper (the colour reproduction errors are not significant), in practice the image appears not entirely natural. The reason? An overly strong boost in blue colour and a lack of red in the white balance. The effect? Scenes look cool, and the white seems slightly bluish. Alongside the U7Q model, we also noticed a specific approach to brightness management here. The brightness mapping curve for HDR content (EOTF) shows that the television can significantly dim small, bright elements on the screen to maintain contrast – but sometimes it goes too far in this. On the other hand, larger, very bright areas can be excessively brightened, which disrupts tonal balance. This is a compromise that may not suit everyone – especially if you want an as faithful image as possible right out of the box.

Like every Philips television we tested, we primarily assessed the MLED920 in Filmmaker mode – this is meant to be the "most honest" mode, designed for films and to faithfully convey the intentions of the creators. Indeed, in terms of colour reproduction, it performs the best among all the modes available on the television, but it is not without flaws. The first thing that catches the eye is the white balance. The image has a slight tendency towards purple-pink tones, which gives it a somewhat unnatural character. An even bigger problem, however, turned out to be what we mentioned earlier – image blooming. Just looking at the gamma or EOTF charts reveals that the line significantly deviates from the norm, dropping below a value of 1.8. In practice, this means "bleeding" of the brightest whites, where the image becomes almost milky. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected – the MLED920 responds well to calibration, and with a few adjustments, one can significantly improve the viewing experience.

The calibration of the Movie mode yielded really good results, especially when it comes to SDR content. We managed to balance the white levels, which made the image look more natural – it appeared almost reference-quality. The colours were well-saturated, and the overall perception of the content improved significantly. Unfortunately, when we switched to HDR materials, familiar issues from the U7Q model returned. The television still likes to "do its own thing," as evident from the analysis of the brightness characteristic EOTF – despite calibration, the E8Q still dimmed fine details in the shadows, while the bright areas of the screen could be excessively boosted. In practice, this means that in darker scenes, some of the smallest details could simply disappear. Although it must be acknowledged that the entire calibration process brought a lot of good, not everything can be circumvented – even with the use of professional tools. The E8Q can impress with its picture, but in HDR content, its design limitations become apparent, and it is worth keeping this in mind.

After calibration, we managed to largely tame the white balance – to the extent that the average viewer will not be able to detect distortions in colours. The characteristic pink-purple haze that previously disrupted the naturalness of the image has also disappeared. The colour palette has been organised, and the colours appear more coherent and neutral. The gamma in SDR content post-calibration looks really good – there is no longer any mention of the previous 'bleeding' effect in bright scenes. The image has become more contrasty and devoid of that milkiness which had previously greatly harmed the viewing experience. In the case of HDR content, the improvement is also noticeable, although here it is still evident that the television is going 'its own way'. The EOTF curve cannot be fully shaped, as Philips simply does not offer the tools to allow precise control over this parameter in its settings. In many films, the television still exposes the image 'in its own way'. Despite these limitations, the calibration has delivered quite a bit of good – most of the colour distortions have been minimised, and the overall balance of the image has significantly improved. However, it must be noted that certain barriers stem from the very design of the hardware and simply cannot be overcome.

In the case of older materials with lower quality, a gentle smoothing of tonal transitions often comes in handy. The Hisense E8Q, like the U7Q, features an "Smoothing and Gradient Image" function, but unfortunately – its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. The "Low" mode is almost imperceptible in operation, and the higher settings do not improve transitions but simply blur the details. The good news is that the function does not compromise film grain, meaning it does not worsen the structure of the image. On the plus side, scaling is commendable. The television is able to sensibly upscale older content to a higher resolution – without artificially accentuating contours or excessive sharpening. Although it does not match the best models in this category, it performs quite well for its class.

The manufacturer has equipped this model with several features that improve signal quality, and although we usually approach such "enhancements" with caution, here they prove to be really helpful. The key option is called "distortion reduction" – it works best at a medium level, as on one hand it effectively smooths out unwanted stair-stepping and colour banding, while on the other it does not excessively cut out details, allowing the image to still look natural.

Things are a bit worse with upscaling. Lower quality materials – such as the test video with the model – appeared soft and lacking in sharpness. Indeed, it can be partially corrected with the sharpness slider in the menu, but the effect remains far from what competitors in a similar price range offer. Philips therefore still needs to work on this element, as compared to the successful improvement of tonal transitions, the upscaling simply falls short.

Similar to the U7Q, the E8Q model is a fast television designed for dynamic content. It supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz at 4K resolution, and if, for some reason, someone is still gaming in Full HD – it can even reach 240 Hz. This is a significant advantage, especially for PC users looking for maximum smoothness. In everyday use, the television performs very well. The "Ultra Motion Smoothness" mode offers two sliders that allow you to customise the picture to your preference – whether more cinematic with the film frame preserved or highly smoothed, almost "series-like". It's good that the manufacturer provides a choice here instead of imposing one style. On sports material, live broadcasts, or in games – movement looks clean and stable. Of course, it is not at the OLED level, but for this price range, the E8Q performs really well.

The Philips MLED920 features a 144 Hz panel, which immediately suggests that we shouldn't complain about motion smoothness. And indeed – the motion blur is relatively low for a VA panel, and although slight issues can sometimes be noticed on darker backgrounds, they are not something that would stand out to most people during regular viewing.

Another significant advantage is the presence of a motion smoother called “Motion Style.” It allows you to adjust the sensation of smoothness to your own preferences – if someone prefers a more “theatrical,” almost television-like image, they can increase the sliders, whereas if they prefer to maintain the natural “jumps” of cinematic frames, it’s enough to set lower values. This way, everyone can find their golden mean.

Hisense E8Q does not hide its gaming heritage. Even the specifications reveal that we are dealing with a television that will perform excellently as a gaming screen. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)? It's there. Automatic switching to game mode (ALLM)? That's there too. Additionally, there is impressive refresh rate – 120 Hz in 4K or even 240 Hz in Full HD. Such a set is rare in this price segment. Everything works smoothly and without major surprises. The only missing element – similar to the U7Q – is support for HGiG. It’s a shame, as this feature facilitates adjusting the brightness curve to the capabilities of a specific television, improving visual compatibility with the intentions of HDR game creators. Without it, one has to manually fiddle with the settings, which does not always yield a satisfactory result.

For gamers, the Philips MLED920 is truly a complete tool. The manufacturer has taken care of everything that is considered standard in televisions designed for consoles and PCs today. It features ALLM, so the console automatically switches the screen to game mode, alongside VRR and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which guarantees smooth gameplay even in fast-paced titles. All key HDR formats are supported – including HGiG and Dolby Vision Gaming for Xbox – which means that regardless of what you are playing and on which console, the television will be able to extract the maximum potential from the image. The Game Bar also proves useful in daily gaming – a relatively simple implementation by Philips, but a functional panel where you can quickly check image parameters, enable VRR or adjust settings without leaving the game. It may not be as comprehensive as the competition, but it performs its task flawlessly. And finally, something that sets Philips apart from the competition – Ambilight. The three-sided LED backlighting can create a huge impression in games, especially in the evening. It's also a way to slightly 'extend' the screen and enhance the feeling of immersion. And as colourful LEDs have recently become almost a mandatory element of a gamer’s room, the MLED920 fits into this trend perfectly.