Philips PUS8359 (VA) vs PHILPS PUS9060

Philips PUS8359 did not impress us with its results in HDR materials. This model is capable of generating a maximum brightness of 320 nits, and often even less. Such results, combined with a lack of support for HDR Dolby Vision, mean that the image will be significantly darker compared to the source material. Therefore, playing SDR materials will be more beneficial for this television. This is also suggested by the rather low coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 83%, which results in significant colour deficiencies. The fact remains that the television supports the HDR format based on dynamic metadata, although HDR10+ is such a niche format that it does not bring any significant advantages.

The One is bright enough to enjoy films recorded in HDR format. The average brightness of this model is around 500 nits, so we can easily expect a pleasant viewing experience for films from streaming platforms. Of course – it could always be better, because when it comes to brightness, you can never have too much for this type of content. Unfortunately, a disappointing surprise may be the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette offered by the PUS9060. Although the manufacturer boasts about using a QLED filter here (in reality, it’s PFS LED), it's hard to speak of any positive effects from its operation. 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 palette is certainly not a level to be proud of in 2025 – particularly in a television advertised as QLED.

The best factory mode in terms of fidelity to the source material was "Film". This was the mode we used during our tests. Just like each of the factory modes in televisions, it had its shortcomings. We will check what exactly was wrong in both SDR and HDR materials. In both cases, the white balance showed excessive dominance of the green and red colour combination. This created a yellow tint that spread across the entire image, causing issues such as yellowed whites and problems with skin tones. This situation was perfectly illustrated on the "ColourChecker" palette, where each of the tested samples was pushed into its warmer counterparts. The foundation of the image is primarily contrast and black. These are represented by gamma charts and the EOTF curve. Looking at the first one, we can see a true rollercoaster, as we can observe both an elevated and a lowered gamma. The heavily elevated gamma caused visibility issues in blacks, while the lowered gamma led to a dramatic drop in contrast. In this context, the EOTF curve performed significantly better, only slightly brightening the image.

We tested the PUS9060 in the best factory mode available – of course, we are referring to the movie mode. Unfortunately, the best in this case does not mean good. The image in this mode was distinctly yellowish and shifted towards orange tones. The white balance on this television was definitely too warm, giving the entire scene an artificial, somewhat “tanned” appearance. This led to significant colour errors, which in the worst cases exceeded a delta E value of 6 – thus they were visible to the naked eye. The situation was reversed in HDR mode, where the image became too blue and too cool in perception. Additionally, there was a slight increase in brightness – the gamma curve and EOTF suggested that the television slightly brightened the image, which was also evident in the comparative photo below.

Philips offers a wide range of image calibration tools in both its more expensive and cheaper models. We utilised these tools and got to work, which was not as easy as many of you might think. While we were able to model the white balance, significantly improve the gamma, and refine the EOTF curve in both cases, the deltaE errors remained extremely high. There are several reasons for this situation, which are directly related to the low coverage of the DCI-P3 palette and the maximum brightness of the unit in HDR materials.

Thanks to calibration in film mode, we managed to completely eliminate the yellow-orange tint, which significantly improved the perception of the entire scene. The image has become much more visually pleasing, although it is still far from reference settings. It may now appear slightly bluish, but it is still a definite improvement compared to the factory settings.

Unfortunately, we were not able to significantly improve the brightness characteristics, but this is already a matter of the television's design - the absence of local dimming limits the ability to precisely manage brightness. The PUS9060 simply cannot dynamically adjust luminance as more advanced models do. Nevertheless, after calibration, the overall experience is much more enjoyable, especially with film material.

In this paragraph, we will take a look at two functionalities. We will once again examine the feature responsible for tonal transitions, but we will also check how the television performs with image scaling. The option responsible for smooth gradation is called "Distortion Reduction". As we have established, it quite effectively smooths out the inconsistencies. However, we must point out two things: we cannot enable it for HDR materials and that it blurs details in films.

The tested television cannot boast of the best image scaling. There is a noticeable overall blurriness of the image, but worse still, it blurs details. This is particularly evident on the branches and the model's hair. A characteristic white halo around the character is also visible.

In the PUS9060, we find yet another version of the image processor called by Philips the P5 Perfect Picture, which is designed to improve the image – especially the imperfect one. The television features a distortion reduction function, which serves to smooth tonal transitions, i.e., those "colour joins" we mentioned earlier. This function does this very effectively – there is no noticeable harsh gradation of colours, but unfortunately, it works so aggressively that it sometimes dulls desired elements, such as the textures of materials or film grain. So one can consider this a certain compromise. We would rather not recommend using this function for films, but for more casual content – e.g., YouTube or standard television – it is perfectly fine.

The P5 processor also aims to improve the quality of lower-resolution images and does so quite effectively. The test image with the model is very soft – sometimes overly so – but this can be easily adjusted with the sharpness slider to match personal preferences. It is also pleasing that the television does not cut off edges in SD materials – which unfortunately still occurs in some TV models.

Philips PUS8359 will not be the best television for sports. The reason for this is the lack of implementation of even the basic motion smoothing feature, which was to be expected given the price of the device. We also note that we are dealing with a VA panel, whose sharpness is not of the highest standard. This type of panel is mainly associated with high contrast, which goes hand in hand with quite a slow response time, as clearly indicated by the matrix analysis results. As you can see from the images captured in rapid motion, the picture is typically blurred for this type of panel. Although it may not be the ideal option, it can be used conditionally for watching sports; however, one must keep in mind the less than optimal sharpness in motion. It is worth mentioning that films will exhibit judder, as the television does not have any motion smoother, even the simplest one.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is equipped with a 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, so we can confidently say that it is suitable for both watching sports and playing games. And indeed, it is. But what about films that are most often recorded at 24 frames? As with most of the televisions we tested with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and above, the PUS9060 offers two sliders in the motion smoothness options. The “Smoothness” slider allows you to adjust the effect in films – you can set the image to be smoother, resembling a theatrical effect (higher settings), or more cinematic, with a slight "jump" in frame rate (lower settings). Additionally, there is a function called "Motion Blur Reduction," which limits blurring – and this is a very useful feature, especially when watching sports.

It will not be a surprise if we write that Philips PUS8359/12 only offers the most basic support for consoles. Once the console is connected, we can count on features such as: VRR and ALLM. This is quite pleasing in the case of the former, as experience has shown that even in more expensive units there can be issues with this. A nice touch is the implementation of a special GameBar that allows for changing settings on the "fly," so we won't have to exit the game and unnecessarily distract ourselves. This feature also allows for adapting gameplay to the needs of people with disabilities, which will certainly be extremely useful.

PHILIPS PUS9060 is a true gaming monster – it has practically everything you could expect from a modern gaming television. There's VRR, there's ALLM, and on top of that, there's the implementation of HGiG, which helps to set HDR in games the way the developers intended. The television supports every possible resolution at 120 Hz, including 1080p, 1440p, and full 4K – so regardless of whether you're gaming on Xbox, PS5, or PC, everything works as it should. It also features a simple Game Bar, which is a special menu for gamers that allows you to quickly check if the ALLM mode is indeed working in low-latency mode.

And of course – Ambilight TV. Let’s be honest – without LED lights at the back, it’s not really a proper gaming setup. 😉 The multicoloured backlighting can really enhance the atmosphere, especially in the evening. It may not be to everyone's taste, but younger gamers will be thrilled – because it just looks impressive.