Philips PML8709 vs Philips OLED820

Looking at the results of the contrast, we expected that the algorithms responsible for the operation of zones in the Philips PML8709 would be at least decent. However, what we encountered during testing is difficult to explain. The average brightness we managed to achieve was only 350 nits, which is definitely too little to fully enjoy the effects of HDR. In practice, the television barely stands out against the backdrop of an average SDR. The situation becomes even more surprising for test scenes, such as the second one from the film Life of Pi or Sicario 2. Small light elements reach only 120 nits there, making them practically imperceptible. Such a level of brightness is completely at odds with contemporary HDR standards and significantly diminishes the experience of watching high-quality content. The only bright spot in this category is the very good coverage of wide colour gamuts – DCI-P3 at 97% and BT.2020 at 83%. This means that the colours are saturated and well-reproduced, which may improve the overall experience of watching HDR materials, if only a little. However, the lack of adequate brightness means that even this cannot save the Philips PML8709 in this category.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Philips OLED820 uses the same class of WOLED panel found in its biggest rivals – the LG C5 and Samsung S90F. This means we can expect really solid results. This year, mid-range OLED panels can exceed the threshold of a thousand nits, and the tested model reaches around 1300 nits in some films. This is an outstanding result, allowing the director's vision to be conveyed with immense precision, as this is the brightness range in which contemporary productions are mastered. Of course, there are situations where even the OLED820 has to compromise. Full-screen scenes filled with white, like those in the film The Meg, can drop brightness to 400–500 nits, which clearly weakens the effect. This is a characteristic of OLED technology that has yet to be fully eliminated. Despite this limitation, it is hard not to appreciate the HDR in this model – high luminance and a wide DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage of 99% make the image simply look fantastic.

Although theoretically the Filmmaker mode on the Philips PML8709 should provide natural colour reproduction, in reality it resembles store mode more closely. In the white balance, both for HD and 4K content, there is a clear dominance of the blue colour. This causes the image to appear washed out and cold, which is particularly noticeable in the comparative photo below.

The brightness characteristics also leave much to be desired. Both the gamma and EOTF curve show excessive screen brightening. As a result, there is a loss of detail in both the brighter and darker areas of the image, which further diminishes its credibility and naturalness. Bright elements appear unnaturally flat and lacking in variety.

These significant issues in white balance and brightness characteristics lead to noticeable errors in colour reproduction, which can be easily seen in films as well as in the Colour Checker test. The colours are inaccurate, impacting the overall image quality and visual experience. The factory settings require significant improvement in order to fully enjoy the potential of this television.

The colour reproduction in the factory settings really surprised us, and positively so. The Philips OLED820, switched to Filmmaker mode, immediately showed that it was quite well tuned in terms of colour. The white balance was relatively accurate, though there was a slight deficiency in the blue hue, which occasionally gave the image a slightly yellowish tint. However, this is not a flaw that particularly detracts from everyday viewing. A bigger issue arose with the brightness characteristics. The gamma curve clearly deviated from the ideal, with the line below the expected values, causing the image to be excessively brightened, and the colours looked as if they were covered with a light milky filter. This effect was also noticeable in tests using the Colour Checker pattern, where more pronounced errors appeared.

Philips offers advanced image calibration tools in its televisions, which we decided to fully utilise. The results? Although we managed to improve many aspects, it was not without difficulties. White balance was one of the biggest challenges – despite our efforts, this can be described as a fight against windmills. We managed to correct it significantly, resulting in the image now looking much better than in the factory settings, but it is still far from perfect. Particularly in some scenes, a subtle dominance of blue is visible, although not as intense as before. We achieved a substantial improvement in brightness characteristics – gamma now appears much more stable. The EOTF curve initially looks correct, however, when analysing film content, it is evident that the television struggles to maintain the appropriate characteristics. The algorithms are "battling," trying to adjust brightness, which may stem from the limited number of dimming zones that do not always cope with more complex scenes. Overall, the image after calibration looks much more pleasing to the eye – colours are more natural, and errors in colour reproduction have been minimised. Although it is still not perfect, the Philips PML8709 now performs significantly better than in the factory settings.

After calibration, both the Filmmaker mode and the gaming mode gained a lot. A slight adjustment of the white balance and an improvement in brightness characteristics produced excellent results in SDR content – the image looked almost perfect, natural, and very close to reference. In the case of HDR materials, the situation was similar, the colours were presented wonderfully, and it was hard to find anything to criticise. However, we noticed a certain feature, which we already pointed out when comparing scenes from the film Billy Lynn. The analysis of the EOTF curve showed that the television has a slight tendency to dim details in the blacks, so the darkest parts are not always displayed exactly as intended by the director. Nevertheless, the effect after calibration is stunning, and the OLED820 is emerging as one of the more interesting screens in its class. It just needs a little pampering, and there really is nothing to worry about.

The distortion reduction function in the Philips PML8709 smooths tonal transitions, but its effectiveness leaves much to be desired. We recommend setting this option to "Medium" – at this level, the effect is noticeable but not excessive. Unfortunately, compared to other Philips models, the smoothing effect is less effective, which means that certain tonal transitions may still appear a bit uneven. An additional drawback is that this function also smooths out other details, such as the textures of materials like a shirt, which can affect the sharpness of the image.

When it comes to image scaling, the television performs very well. The image appears plastic and free of noticeable "jaggedness." This effect may appeal to many users, although some may prefer a more pronounced appearance. Fortunately, the television allows for sharpness adjustment, and this enables us to tailor the image to individual preferences.

Fortunately, the earlier effects of the mentioned posterisation can be quite effectively mitigated. The "distortion reduction" function set to a medium level deals with unwanted colour banding, improving the smoothness of tonal transitions. It does happen that it works a bit too aggressively and also smooths out some details – such as minor skin imperfections of the actors – but nevertheless, it can be considered worth using without substantial compromises. The upscaling in the OLED820 also performs quite well. The test image with the model is exceptionally soft, sometimes even too much so, although this can be rectified by slightly boosting the sharpness in the picture menu – this is really a matter of individual preference. The absence of overscan issues with very low-resolution content is also commendable, meaning we don't have to worry that the image will be unnecessarily cropped.

The Philips PML8709 is one of the few models with mini-LED technology on the market, offering a refresh rate of 60 Hz. Although it is not a panel for the most demanding gamers, it should satisfy those who mainly watch films. The television is equipped with the "Motion Style" function, which is a motion smoother that allows you to adjust the smoothness of motion according to preferences – from a more "plastic" look to a cinematic aesthetic with clearly visible frames.

The fluidity of motion is an area where OLEDs always shine, and the Philips OLED820 confirms this rule. The panel itself offers a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which primarily benefits PC gamers, but even with standard television sources or consoles, where it operates at 120 Hz, the motion is fast, sharp and simultaneously smooth, without signs of blurring. This is thanks to the remarkable response time between pixels, which maintains image clarity in every dynamic scene. The manufacturer has also added its own smoother called "Motion Style". In the menu, we find two sliders – the first, responsible for fluidity, allows adjustments to the number of artificially added frames in films. This way, we can choose a raw, cinematic character with a distinctly visible film frame or a more theatrical image with smooth motion. The second slider is for motion blur reduction, particularly useful in sports broadcasts. Here, we definitely recommend setting it to the maximum value, as the effect is truly excellent.

Philips PML8709 is a television aimed more at casual gamers, primarily due to its 60 Hz panel, which may not meet the expectations of the most demanding users. However, for those who appreciate gaming at a more measured pace, this model may prove sufficient.

The television offers several gamer-friendly features, such as ALLM (automatic switching to game mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate), which help deliver smoother visuals without annoying stutters. Furthermore, in terms of HDR, it includes an HGiG implementation that adjusts HDR effects to the specifics of games, providing a more natural image in properly optimised titles. Unfortunately, it lacks support for Dolby Vision mode, which may be noticeable in games that utilise this format.

A nice addition is the presence of a basic "Game Bar," which allows for quick viewing and modification of the most important gaming-related settings. This is a simple but useful feature, especially for those who often switch configurations between different types of gameplay. Despite some limitations, Philips PML8709 offers a solid set of features for less demanding gamers.

The Philips OLED820 is one of the most complete televisions for gamers. On board, we find practically everything one could expect: two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gbps (it's a shame there aren't four), variable refresh rate VRR, automatic game mode ALLM, support for Dolby Vision in games, and a good implementation of the HGiG mode. The television handles lower resolutions at 120 Hz with ease, so one can count on considerable flexibility when choosing different picture modes on the console. Philips also includes a Game Bar – a panel that allows changing picture modes, adding a crosshair, or previewing parameters. Although it looks rather clunky and is less polished than that of the competition, it does its job. In practice, therefore, the OLED820, in addition to a full set of four HDMI 2.1 ports, offers nearly everything a gamer could need.