Philips PUS7000 vs Xiaomi S Pro 2026

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.

When it comes to HDR quality, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is undoubtedly a very bright television. On our synthetic measurement patterns, we were able to generate peak brightness of around 1400 nits. This result is not only very good but truly spectacular, considering the price of this model. However, as we always emphasise, for our editorial team, measurements and the experiences from the content viewed on a daily basis - from films and series - are more important. So let's analyse how the Xiaomi performs with film material. The result is, unfortunately, quite mixed. When very bright scenes appear on screen, the S Pro 2026 really shows its full potential and can achieve a real 800-1000 nits in bright elements. Moreover, even smaller objects can "burn" the eyes - in scenes from the film Sicario 2, small metal elements of the helicopter were truly vivid. The problem is that - and here the story comes full circle back to our contrast assessment - in such scenes we cannot count on absolutely cinematic black. In our opinion, this compromise is too great; high visibility of details in bright areas should not come at the cost of such a significant boost to black levels. And although the HDR effect itself can make a stunning impression here, it is essential to remember that when very challenging, mixed scenes appear on screen, we might feel a slight disappointment. Exactly the one we mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding issues with dimming in HDR mode. As a consolation, it is worth adding that the S Pro 2026 has been equipped with an additional PFS filter (similar in function to a QLED layer), which effectively broadens the colour gamut coverage. As a result, measurements showed DCI-P3 coverage reaching up to 94%. This gives us confidence that in most colourful scenes, the image will appear rich and appropriately saturated.

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.

Of course, all our measurements were carried out in "Film" mode, which is typically the best and most accurate choice we get straight out of the box. It needs to be said plainly: although it is the best mode, it is still very far from ideal. Firstly, the television has a clear tendency to impart a cool, bluish tint to the image – this is due to a poorly set white balance. Additionally, there is the issue of how the S Pro 2026 manages its brightness straight out of the box, which results in an overly vivid image. These two flaws contribute to truly significant colourimetric errors (Delta E). In HDR content, they were able to exceed our anticipated error scale of "10" by twofold (meaning values close to 20). As a reminder – the threshold for perceivable error by the human eye is a Delta E value of around 3. Results at the level of 20 indicate that the image significantly deviates from what the director intended.

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.

So how does the S Pro 2026 perform after our calibration procedure? We have to admit that after calibration, the television becomes a really very pleasant device for watching everyday content. As you can see in the graphs, in HD (SDR) materials, both white balance and gamma values have been brought to nearly perfection. Most importantly, colourimetric errors have become practically unnoticeable to the human eye. In this scenario, the S Pro 2026 is simply an excellent television that, after professional calibration, can provide a lot of enjoyment from watching. However, it is worth clearly noting – our efforts have not helped much in 4K HDR mode. Despite the calibration, the television still interprets the image quite strongly "in its own way," which is clearly visible in the measurement of the EOTF curve (brightness tracking). It’s a bit of a shame, as it shows that the problem lies not in the panel itself, but in the software. Underdeveloped image management algorithms in HDR content can, unfortunately, rule out this television for many more discerning users.

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.

Let's start with the issue we raised in the previous paragraph: can the television actually fix the problem of dreadful tonal transitions in dark scenes? Theoretically, yes – in the menu, we find a feature with the promising name "Colour Contour Removal." Well, "theoretically." Unfortunately, in practice, this setting – regardless of which of the three power levels is chosen – yielded absolutely no real results. So we are dealing with a feature that, in practice, only exists in the menu. Moving on to the quality of upscaling (scaling the image from a lower resolution to 4K), unfortunately, we have more bad news for you. The S Pro 2026 performs very poorly at this task. Interestingly, the phenomenon of "overscan" (slight cropping of the image) is not a major issue here. The fact is that the television simply displays a very raw, unprocessed image. Its attempt to upscale the signal to a higher resolution looks simply lacklustre and lacks any form of "intelligent" improvement. There is no denying it – the entire digital image processing is the real Achilles' heel of this model.

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.

On paper, the S Pro 2026 specification looks impressive. The television is equipped with a native 144 Hz panel, with the ability to display images at up to 288 Hz in a dedicated gaming mode. These are amazing results, but what interested us most, in the context of everyday use, was how the television handles motion blur and how the image looks at 120 Hz. After all, this is the frequency used by consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and it is desired by sports fans. Generally, the panel "holds up". The matrix is sufficiently fast to meet these challenges, and objects displayed at native 120Hz fluidity are shown correctly. As for the software, the television is equipped with motion smoothing technology; however, with a key caveat – it works only for input signals up to 60 Hz. This means it is primarily suitable for traditional television, films, and series. Thanks to this, we can adjust the fluidity of the image to our own preferences – from a very smooth, "theatrical" approach to setting the slider to "zero" and maintaining a fully cinematic character.

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.

For gamers, the Xiaomi S Pro 2026 is almost an ideal proposition on paper. It is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, which allow us to unlock (although these options are somewhat hidden in the menu) the full package of features: ALLM, VRR and, crucially, the ability to work in 4K at 144 Hz. This last feature should particularly please the owners of powerful PCs. The television also has something resembling a gamer panel – and although it's hard to call it a fully-fledged "Gamebar", it serves its purpose by displaying key information. It’s just a shame that in its default form, it obscures a relatively large portion of the screen.

The biggest issue we have with this model, however, concerns how the S Pro 2026 handles games in HDR mode. To put it bluntly: it doesn’t handle it well at all. Due to the television having a poorly implemented HGiG feature (the HDR tone mapping standard for games), it is very easy to "overexpose" the image during initial HDR calibration on the console. If someone is unaware of this software flaw and follows the on-screen instructions, they will simply set the image incorrectly, resulting in burnt-out details in the bright areas. Another major problem is the Dolby Vision mode for games. While it does work, it generates such a high input lag that it becomes noticeable in dynamic titles. (You can check all our lag measurements in the paragraph below). In summary: Generally speaking, this is a really very good screen for gamers, but with one small caveat. We would rather avoid using HDR mode on it – unless we decide to manually set the brightness bar on the console "by eye", completely ignoring the instructions from the console’s pictogram.