Philips PUS8079 vs Samsung The Frame LS03D

The maximum brightness in content with a wide tonal range at a level of 202 nits is extremely low and, in practice, does not allow for watching films and series on streaming platforms in the highest quality. It is worth mentioning that in this case, the use of the HDR format equipped with dynamic metadata will not help either. Why won't it help? Because the only such format implemented in the television is HDR10+, which is extremely unpopular, and films recorded in this format are scarce. It is also worth noting that PUS8079 utilises WLED backlighting, which unfortunately is not the best solution, resulting in a coverage of the wide DCI-P3 colour gamut of only 80%. The result of this situation is significantly less intense colours in HDR content.

Samsung The Frame LS03D performs really well with brightness. Results of 700 nits make bright elements on the screen look striking and detailed, whether they illuminate the entire screen or appear as small points of light against a dark background. In more demanding scenes, like the fourth sequence from the film Sicario 2, the black levels are average, but we have already discussed this in the section on contrast. As for brightness – the television definitely excels here. An additional advantage is the quantum dot coating, which is QLED technology. Thanks to this, the colour palette coverage has been improved, although The Frame does not stand out in this regard compared to the competition.

The best factory mode in terms of colour reproduction and fidelity to the director's vision was "Film". Admittedly, it was the best among the pre-defined modes, although it had significant discrepancies between what the film's author wanted to convey and what the tested television displayed. Both in SDR and HDR materials (though to a lesser extent in the latter), the white balance, which is the most fundamental element responsible for image purity, turned out to be somewhat of a repeat of the vivid mode, with the blue tint known from displays on shop shelves. Moving directly to SDR materials and what is responsible for contrast, namely gamma, we see that it is significantly reduced. This leads to cutting down on an already limited contrast range and brightening the entire image. In the EOTF curve, which is responsible for the increase in brightness pace in HDR materials, we observe a sharp drop below the reference line, which, given the limited light output of the television, had a significant impact on the perception of these contents, which were even darker. We will not separate the assessments of the colours themselves, as in both cases they achieved astronomical deltaE values, being simply completely different from what they should be.

Samsung offers several picture modes on its televisions, but undoubtedly the Filmmaker Mode is the one that should provide the most natural representation of content. Unfortunately, as is often the case with mass production, the differences between units can be considerable, and our tested model was not free from a few issues.

In the case of SDR content, the white balance leaned heavily towards red, with a slight boost in blue. This effect was particularly noticeable in comparison images – for example, in a photograph of a boy whose face was unnaturally flushed. The gamma, or brightness characteristic, also did not perform perfectly – the image was slightly brightened, which detracted from its depth.

In 4K HDR content, the white balance was again dominated by red, this time in combination with green. Meanwhile, blue clearly lost intensity, which was easy to notice on the Color Checker palette, where colours began to "drift" in the wrong direction. The EOTF curve, responsible for brightness in HDR content, showed that the television has a tendency to excessively brighten the image, especially in the darkest elements of scenes.

Overall, while it did not look terrible, it definitely required adjustment. Fortunately, Samsung offers extensive calibration options, which provides the chance for a significant improvement in image quality. Therefore, we proceeded with professional calibration to extract the full potential from this television.

Fortunately, Philips implements advanced image correction tools in all its televisions. SDR materials benefited the most here, and the enormous deltaE errors were significantly corrected, both white balance and gamma underwent considerable reshaping. Although one cannot speak of a reference image here, it is definitely better, and films or series can be watched without causing headaches, and above all, eye strain. Naturally, HDR materials, due to the very low luminance of the television, could not be corrected to the same extent as those with a standard colour palette; however, the EOTF curve and white balance were roughly straightened out. Unfortunately, that was all we managed to squeeze out of our unit, although it should be noted that each unit is different and has completely different errors, smaller or larger.

After professional calibration, the Filmmaker Mode shows its full potential. The white balance in HD content is exemplary – errors at the level of 0.5 indicate almost perfect colour reproduction accuracy. The image now looks natural, and the colours are precisely as they should be. In 4K HDR content, the effect is not quite as perfect, but it still maintains a really high level. The colours are vibrant, well-saturated, and the overall picture quality can be impressive.

So where does the problem arise, given our praise for colour reproduction? Unfortunately, the entire experience is marred by brightness characteristics. The gamma in HD content looks decent, but in 4K HDR it's not as good. The EOTF curve shows that the television excessively brightens certain parts of the image, which is a result of construction limitations. The lack of local dimming means that the television cannot accurately control the differences between the brightest and darkest areas of the screen. This is a barrier that simply cannot be overcome in this model.

Nonetheless, after calibration, Samsung The Frame LS03D offers excellent colour reproduction, particularly in HD content, and the overall appearance is considerably better than before the settings were corrected.

We will return once more to the issue of tonal transitions but in the context of the overall improvement of image quality. As we can observe in the photograph on the left side, the enhancement function for gradation works brilliantly. Moreover, it offers several settings, and each of them, even the lowest one, provides beneficial effects, and what’s more, it does not soften the effect of film grain. We will reiterate that this function is the greatest advantage of the tested television.

Next, we will take a look at image scaling. Here, the tested television performed worse. We can primarily notice severely jagged fine details and a characteristic white halo around the figures. One must not forget about the considerable artificial sharpening of the image.

It’s time to check how Samsung The Frame LS03D performs with older, lower-quality materials. We already know that the fluidity of tonal transitions is at a very high level here, so we were curious to see how the television would handle smoothing them out.

The noise reduction feature in the "Standard" setting does its job well – tonal transitions are noticeably smoothed out, and at the same time, the image does not lose too much detail. However, it is worth noting that this effect also smooths out film grain, so its use will be a matter of individual preference.

When it comes to image scaling, the television also performed really well. The test chart turned out solid – the model was reproduced correctly, with clear details. The branches in the background, though slightly frayed in places, generally appear natural and do not stand out as imperfections.

This paragraph, unlike the others, will be extremely short. The reason for this state of affairs is the lack of implementation of even the most basic motion smoothing function, which was to be expected, considering the price of the device. We also note that we are dealing with a VA panel, which in itself will not have the best sharpness under the sun. This type of panel is primarily associated with high contrast, which goes hand in hand with quite slow response times, as we can clearly read from the matrix analysis results. As you can see, from the photos taken in quick motion, the image is typically blurred for this type of panel. Although it will not be the ideal option, it can conditionally be used for watching sports, keeping in mind the less than optimal sharpness in motion. It is worth mentioning that movies will be characterised by judder, as the television does not have any, even the simplest, motion smoother.

Firstly, it is worth noting that the model we tested in the size of 55 inches, like the 65, 75 and 85-inch versions, is equipped with a 120 Hz panel. Unfortunately, the 43 and 50-inch variants of this series only offer 60 Hz panels, which is worth keeping in mind when making a purchase. As for improving motion fluidity, the television offers a feature called “Picture Clarity”. This is a classic motion smoother that gives users the ability to adjust it using two sliders:

Motion blur reduction – this controls the sharpening of the image in dynamic scenes. The higher the value, the less blur during quick camera movements or moving objects. However, overly aggressive settings may cause the image to become unnatural, appearing like a “soap opera”.

Judder reduction – this slider influences the smoothness of frame playback, particularly in materials with a lower frame rate, such as films (24 fps). Higher settings can smooth motion but may also lead to excessive “plasticity” of the image.

Both sliders operate on a scale from 0 to 10, allowing for precise adjustment of the effect to one’s own preferences. It is worth experimenting with the settings to find the perfect balance between fluidity and a natural appearance of the image. We recommend setting them as shown in the picture.

Philips PUS8079 offers only the most basic support for gaming in the form of ALLM, VRR, and a Game Bar. The most important information is that thanks to the implementation of the feature responsible for dynamic frequency changing, the picture is actually quite smooth for this price range and does not suffer from tearing.

A slightly greater nod towards gamers is the introduction of the Game Bar, allowing for real-time editing of settings. This means we won't have to exit the game to make any changes to the picture. Importantly, it has not been stripped of options known from higher models. Thus, we will find features such as shadow enhancement for better visibility in dark areas and a colour filter for players with visual impairments.

The Frame LS03D in the 2024 version has been equipped with four HDMI ports, but only one of them supports the 2.1 standard with a bandwidth of 40 Gb/s. This is important information if we plan to connect more than one device that requires a 4K@120 Hz signal – for example, two consoles or a console and a gaming PC.

In terms of features for gamers, The Frame truly has a lot to boast about. Here we find ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and HGiG. It is worth highlighting that HGiG has been very well implemented here, which is particularly important as the television does not support Dolby Vision in games (which is only available on Xbox consoles). In this case, HGiG turns out to be a better standard for gaming.

Samsung has also not forgotten about features that enhance gaming comfort. Game Bar is an advanced panel for gamers that allows for quick adjustment of screen settings without the need to dig through the television's menu. We can even change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to a panoramic 21:9, which may be a significant advantage for some gamers.

However, Samsung's biggest ace up its sleeve is the Game Motion Plus feature. This is a special smoothness enhancer dedicated to games that adds additional frames of animation without significantly affecting input lag. The effect is truly noticeable – the image appears much smoother, which fans of dynamic titles will particularly appreciate.

In summary – Samsung The Frame LS03D is a television that offers a solid set of features for gamers. While the limitation to one HDMI 2.1 port may be a downside, the rest of the solutions makes gaming on this television a truly enjoyable experience.