Philips PUS7000 vs Haier M95E

Unfortunately, the PUS7000 is not suitable for watching HDR content. The screen is simply too dark. A brightness level of 200 nits is insufficient to properly display such a format. Even if a HDR signal message appears on the screen, the image will resemble a standard SDR recording. Therefore, it is better to stick with the latter format to avoid errors in displaying bright scenes, as discussed below. The situation is not improved by the fact that this is a classic LCD model without additional layers enhancing colours, such as QLED or PFS. As a result, colours in HDR may appear washed out. Ultimately, this gives a worse effect than in the standard SDR format, which is simply better suited to the capabilities of this panel.

If there is one category in which the Haier M95E absolutely shines, it is the HDR effect, driven by the raw power of the backlighting. This television cannot be denied the fact that it is a truly bright device. In both most film scenes and during our synthetic measurements, the panel easily achieved, and often even exceeded, the threshold of 1200-1500 nits. This has a direct impact on the viewing experience – the image has a punch and genuinely allows one to feel the magic of materials recorded in this format. However, one must be aware of a certain compromise. When exceptionally demanding scenes appear on the screen, full of small but intense points of light, the M95E does not lose its resonance or dim, but pays a different price for it. A very strong and noticeably distracting halo effect is generated around these bright elements. It is clear here that the algorithms controlling the dimming have been programmed to prioritise brightness and the visibility of the smallest details, even if this comes at the expense of pristine blacks. We are not entirely convinced that this is the healthiest approach; nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that the overall capabilities of the M95E in this regard are indeed significant. A huge advantage is the fact that we are dealing with a Mini LED QLED type construction. The use of a layer of quantum dots brings measurable benefits in the form of wide coverage of the colour palette, which in our tests reached nearly 96% of the DCI-P3 space. This guarantees that the television has full predispositions for displaying vibrant and properly saturated colours.

We tested the television in movie mode, which theoretically should provide the best and most natural colours. And indeed, this mode is quite correct; however, after connecting the calibration equipment, its biggest flaw came to light. The PUS7000 has significant shortcomings in displaying red. Poorly tuned white balance and overly low saturation of this colour cause the image to appear too cool. As a result, one may get the impression that the displayed content is simply lacking in vibrant colours. The situation is worsened by the fact that both SDR and HDR content are excessively brightened. This is confirmed by the gamma curve and EOTF graphs, which show that the television displays the image brighter than it should. This causes scenes to lose their depth and may appear somewhat washed out. Fortunately, in the Philips menu, we find quite a few functions to improve these aspects, so we immediately proceeded to calibration to see what could be squeezed out of this screen.

Each television is primarily evaluated based on its default cinema mode – in this case, "Movie" – which theoretically should be the "best" and most faithful upon being taken out of the box. Unfortunately, in the case of the Haier M95E, the word "best" is certainly not synonymous with the word "good." Already during SDR viewing, the picture revealed evident problems: white balance skewed too much to red, and excessive, unnatural colour saturation led to visible colour deviations. What’s worse, the M95E also struggles with brightness management (gamma curve), excessively darkening the entire scene. Such behaviour is hard to commend, as it directly leads to details merging into shadows that are irrevocably lost in a black blob.

However, the real disaster occurred after switching to HDR material, while still remaining in "Movie" mode. It’s hard for us to guess who came up with such a fantastic idea – or perhaps it was simply a complete oversight of this stage by Haier's engineers – but instead of cinematic fidelity, the picture began to resemble a garish "Dynamic" mode. The white balance exposed immense problems with the blue colour, which in turn resulted in unnatural sharpening and artificial over-saturation of the entire scene. As if that weren’t enough, the EOTF curve characteristics mercilessly revealed that the television also has fundamental issues with local dimming management in this setting. We have not calibrated many Haier models in our career, but we already know for sure that the M95E definitely needs such calibration.

After professional calibration, it is evident that the PUS7000 responds well to image adjustments. In this price range, this is not at all a given. The effects should be evaluated in two scenarios, depending on what content we plan to watch. SDR performs the best. After our adjustments, the picture looks really good. Most colour errors have fallen below level 3, which is the threshold at which distortions usually begin to be visible to the naked eye in measurements. Films, series, sports, and regular television look natural, without unpleasant deviations. If someone mainly watches classic channels or streams in HD quality, the difference after calibration will be noticeable immediately. However, it must be clearly stated that the PUS7000 is still not a television suited for reasonable HDR, and calibration changes very little in this regard. The reason lies in the hardware: the colours remain too unsaturated. The television lacks solutions to expand the colour gamut, such as PFS filters or a quantum dot layer, so the panel simply cannot display the intense colours required by HDR. This is most apparent in reds, which still look pale. This limitation cannot be bypassed with menu settings, as it stems from the design of the backlighting and the panel itself.

The calibration process left us with extremely mixed feelings. On the one hand, we noted considerable success in the area of colour accuracy. By using the available options in the menu, we managed to tame the white balance and bring it down to an acceptable level. As a result, SDR content finally freed itself from the irritating red dominance, and the HDR image no longer resembled a vibrant, shop display mode. We also succeeded in clearly adjusting the entire colour palette and its saturation – perhaps not perfectly, but as much as the software allowed, and the difference was visible to the naked eye.

And unfortunately, this is where our list of improvements essentially ends, as the M95E simply did not allow for more. As we indicated earlier, most settings related to image brightness do not respond to our commands at all. This means that we were unable to grasp its fundamental characteristics in any way – neither the gamma curve nor the EOTF. In practice, the television in SDR content still tends to darken details, as confirmed by the elevated gamma, merging details in the shadows. Meanwhile, the EOTF curve in HDR mode still ruthlessly exposes all the aforementioned problems with chaotic local dimming management. And although the calibration process itself yielded a lot, removing most of the colour issues, in the end, we had to capitulate.

The PUS7000 handles digital image processing quite well. The distortion reduction feature deserves praise, as it effectively smooths out unwanted tonal transitions even at low settings. However, it has a drawback: if applied too aggressively, it can introduce undesirable artifacts on the screen. Therefore, it would be a good idea to experiment with this setting to find a happy medium between a smooth image and detail clarity.

The upscaling, or enhancing the quality of lower-resolution materials to 4K, is adequate. The image after processing is very "soft," which is typical for nearly all Philips televisions. The edges are plastic and smooth, making the image look cohesive. If it feels too soft for someone, the sharpness slider in the menu can always be adjusted to achieve a more pronounced effect.

Well, what happens to those colour connections when a lower quality material full of compression artifacts comes on screen? Unfortunately, we have some bad news for you. Although the menu contains an option responsible for smoothing tonal transitions in older content, we definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND using it. Its activation causes an avalanche of additional, hideous artifacts and noticeably blurs the entire image, and what's funniest – it often doesn't even remove those unwanted "jaggies" it was supposed to fight against. This function might as well not exist at all.

We can write many more positive remarks about the general upscaling process, which raises lower resolutions to the native 4K matrix. The image after upscaling looks really decent – it is neither overly jagged nor artificially smoothed. In this particular matter, the M95E simply performs well.

In this respect, we actually have no good news. It might seem that the biggest downside is the lack of a 120 Hz panel, but in this price range, that is actually the norm, and it is hard to expect anything more. However, the worst part is that the television does not have any features to improve motion smoothness. There is a lack of any supporting systems, both in films and in sports. We must come to terms with the fact that the image on the PUS7000 is processed "raw". This means that during dynamic scenes or fast camera movements, the motion can appear choppy or unclear. We do not have the option to enable any smoothers that would reduce this effect.

In terms of motion fluidity and blur, our feelings are quite mixed, as the M95E is a paradox of a television. Let's start with absolute admiration: at the heart of the device is a 144Hz panel, but what truly impresses is its performance with 120Hz content, which is crucial for sports and console gaming. We must state with full responsibility that Haier has equipped this television with one of the best VA panels currently available on the market regarding the minimisation of blur. It is rare to encounter an LCD panel that offers such clean, sharp, and ghosting-free motion. In this respect, the M95E is simply phenomenal.

And that is precisely why the unpleasant surprise that awaits us on the software side is so painful. It turns out that this fantastic hardware potential is completely underutilised, as the television practically offers no effective options for improving fluidity. The motion smoothing systems that should assist with lower frame-rate content can indeed be found in the Menu, but they essentially do not respond to our settings. The conclusion is brutally simple: if you intend to watch high-fluidity material, you must be sure that the source is broadcasting it at native 120. In every other case, you must accept a rather raw, stuttering image, as the M95E will do nothing to smooth it out.

Although the PUS7000 is not marketed as a gaming television, it does not perform as poorly in this category as one might expect. While it is true that we won’t find support for 120 Hz refresh rates, which is understandable at this price point, the manufacturer has ensured several important features that genuinely enhance the gaming experience on consoles. The most important of these are the VRR and ALLM technologies. VRR is responsible for synchronising the screen with the number of frames generated by the console. This prevents the image from tearing and keeps it consistent even during sudden drops in frame rate while gaming. In contrast, ALLM is a solution that automatically switches the television to the lowest latency mode as soon as it detects a signal from the console. All these parameters are easily accessible thanks to the Game Bar feature. This is a special control panel for gamers that can be summoned on screen at any time. It allows for a quick preview of the current settings and connection status without interrupting gameplay, which is a very convenient solution.

When it comes to features for gamers, the Haier M95E presents some very strong arguments. First of all, it is fully ready for the new generation of consoles and powerful PCs. It is equipped with two full-fledged HDMI 2.1 ports, which seamlessly handle 4K signals at 120Hz, and even allow for gameplay at 144Hz. This is the foundation that guarantees us the full use of the potential of our gear. Moreover, the key technologies work flawlessly here. The television flawlessly detects the console and automatically switches to low latency mode (ALLM), so we don’t have to fiddle with the settings. The frame synchronization (VRR) works just as efficiently, eliminating annoying screen tearing when game fluidity slightly drops. Considering the incredibly low motion blur of the panel, which we have already mentioned, the M95E creates a really comfortable and responsive gaming environment. Of course, this is not a perfect package. A dedicated "Game Bar," which is a handy menu for gamers, would be useful, but this is essentially just a nice addition. A more serious failing is the lack of support for the HGiG standard, which complicates the perfect HDR configuration on the console and may lead to overexposures. Despite these shortcomings, the basic "gaming" set that the M95E offers is really solid and fully functional.