Philips PML8709 vs Samsung R85H / R86H

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 brightness, the R85H performs really respectably. In most of our test scenes the TV reaches around 800 to 900 nits, and with larger bright elements it can exceed 1000 nits. These are not, of course, levels on a par with the pricier Mini-LEDs, but they are more than enough for watching films and TV shows in HDR, and the effect can already be quite noticeable. The problem reappears in more demanding scenes where there is a small bright element on a very dark background. Here the TV can significantly limit its brightness so as not to light up too large a portion of the screen. In our measurements such small highlights fell even to around 200 to 250 nits, so it is clear that a small number of zones combined with the particular behaviour of the algorithm has consequences here. Fortunately, this is not something that disturbs viewing all the time. In typical mixed HDR scenes the R85H looks good and can deliver appropriate image dynamics. It's just that with very small points of light you shouldn't expect an effect as strong as on TVs with many more zones or on OLEDs.

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.

In Filmmaker mode our R85H sample performed acceptably in SDR, but a few things stood out immediately in the measurements. In the white balance red increased with rising brightness while blue decreased. As a result the brighter parts of the picture had a slightly too warm tint. Gamma only held to the target value at the start. It then gradually fell, which left most of the image a little too bright. The combination of these two effects also showed up in the colours, with errors growing particularly in the brighter and more saturated samples. It did not look bad, but for Filmmaker mode we had expected a bit more accuracy. Interestingly, in HDR our sample fared noticeably better. The white balance was much more even and, over most of the range, the individual components stayed close together. Only in the very brightest areas did red start to be lacking, causing white to shift subtly. The EOTF curve, by contrast, looked very good and followed the target luminance levels across almost the entire range. That does not mean HDR colours were perfect. The Colour Checker still showed some deviations, especially for some of the more saturated hues, but the errors were clearly smaller than in SDR.

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 the R85H shows it has genuinely substantial capabilities in colour reproduction. It performed best in SDR, where the white balance could be brought almost perfectly into line and the gamma stays very close to the target value across most of the range. This also translated into very low errors on the Colour Checker, so there is really little to pick fault with. HDR also shows a clear improvement, although some things can no longer be corrected as well. At the highest brightness levels the character of the backlight begins to make itself felt and the individual components of the white balance start to drift apart. The same applies to the most saturated colours, which do not always land exactly where they should. Despite these limitations the overall image is much more accurate than with the factory settings, and the biggest difference is definitely seen in SDR. There is, however, one thing calibration cannot fix. With heavily saturated elements the colour can slightly bleed onto adjacent bright areas of the image. It is easiest to notice this on white, which can pick up a faint tint of a neighbouring colour. It does not appear in every scene, but when the material is demanding the effect can be visible. This is more a characteristic of the way the RGB backlight works than a matter of picture settings.

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.

In the R85H image processing is handled by the Micro RGB AI Processor. The name is new, but when it comes to upscaling lower-quality material the TV’s behaviour is very similar to what Samsung has shown before. And that’s not a bad thing, because the manufacturer has dealt with this aspect quite well for years. Lower-resolution content is displayed cleanly, edges do not become excessively soft, and the TV does not try to artificially extract details at any cost. The result is simply well balanced, and with regular broadcasts or older recordings the R85H performs as you would expect from a Samsung in this class. There remains only a minor drawback in the form of overscan, which cannot be completely turned off at the lowest resolutions. A separate matter is the additional processing of weaker sources. The R85H can smooth posterisation and somewhat tidy up heavily compressed footage, but it is worth emphasising that it does this relatively aggressively. At stronger noise reduction settings it begins to remove not only compression artefacts but also fine details and the natural film grain. It is therefore best used only when the material truly needs it.

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 R85H has a 144 Hz panel, so motion is really smooth here. Just bear in mind that the extra hertz above 120 are mainly used when connected to a PC, so in this category we don't treat them as any particular advantage. For films and TV, what's more important is that the panel is fast enough to provide access to an advanced motion-smoothing feature, "Motion Clarity", which lets you set motion anywhere from more film-like to very smooth. The panel's response time is a bit worse. Because it's a VA panel, fast-moving objects can leave a slight trail. On bright backgrounds this isn't very noticeable, but the darker the scene, the more pronounced the smearing becomes. This is a typical trait of this type of panel and it's easiest to notice in dark shots.

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.

Samsung has been steadily expanding its gaming features for several years, and the R85H really doesn't miss anything important here. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, so we can easily take advantage of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. HGiG also works correctly, so with HDR properly set on the console, games retain the correct brightness and we don't unnecessarily lose detail in the brightest parts of the picture. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung does not support on any of its TVs. The Game Bar is also very useful — a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. We can quickly check the frame rate, VRR status or change key picture settings. Samsung also adds a few less obvious features, such as the ability to change the aspect ratio and Game Motion Plus, which can further smooth games running at 30 or 60 frames per second. Of course this comes at the cost of higher input lag (around 55 ms), but for slower-paced titles it may be an interesting addition for some people.