Ambilight, as this is what we need to start with, is the biggest reason why it's worth buying the PUS8500. The three-sided backlighting of the television looks fantastic, especially in the evening. It creates an atmosphere, masks contrast shortcomings, and makes watching a film simply more enjoyable. Even if the black levels aren't perfect, the native VA panel offers decent performance at high contrast. Additionally, there’s quite a good input lag and several features for gamers such as ALLM and VRR. Although HDMI 2.1 and a 120Hz panel are absent, playing casually should be a pleasure. Especially since it feels responsive and without delays. Let’s also mention the full support for audio formats – both Dolby Atmos and DTS are included, so soundbar owners can also rejoice.
However, we won't sugarcoat it – this is still a budget television, and at times it’s clearly evident. The brightness is average – not weak enough to prevent viewing, but on an exceptionally sunny day, watching without curtains can be problematic. Nevertheless, in our opinion, the biggest disappointment of the PUS8560 is the Titan OS operating system. Despite the fact that the system debuted some time ago, certain functions simply refused to work – for instance, screen mirroring from a phone despite the manufacturer claiming that such a feature is present. There are fewer apps than in the competition, and the system itself operates rather clumsily. Generally, while it does have some features, it evidently lacks refinement.
Of course, this isn’t a television meant to compete with top models. But if someone is looking for something simple, with a great atmosphere provided by the Ambilight system, it is quite a fair proposition. You just have to know what to expect and accept the numerous compromises present here.
The idea behind The One has hardly changed over the years and with the Philips PQS9001 this is both a strength and its biggest drawback. You still get a versatile mid-range television whose main distinguishing feature is Ambilight. The light that follows the picture can change the atmosphere of an evening viewing and for many people will be the main reason to buy it. It's easy to see why: once you like that effect, you often don't want to go back to watching without it. The picture quality itself is good, but a very similar level has been seen in this series in previous years. The VA panel delivers decent blacks, colours are nicely saturated and the brightness is sufficient for comfortable viewing in a typical living room. It's a pity, though, that Philips didn't take another step and at least implement some form of local dimming. In a dark room you can see a navy-black rather than true black, and HDR, though noticeable, is less impressive as a result. After so many years of The One on the market we'd expect more.
There is a clear step forward in Titan OS. Compared with last year, and especially the version from two years ago, the system has become much more pleasant to use. A few apps have been added, many small functions improved and the annoying bugs we complained about before have been fixed. Overall it runs respectably, although we're again bothered by a remote that has to be pointed at the television. Philips stubbornly sticks with infrared for basic control, even though voice control uses radio connectivity. That makes it harder to understand why radio wasn't also used for menu navigation. The One also has a lot to offer gamers. Four HDMI 2.1 ports and extensive features are one thing, but what impressed us most was the panel's response time. Our unit showed virtually no smearing, even on dark backgrounds, which is rare for LCD TVs with a VA panel. That deserves considerable praise. The ability to play in 4K at 144 Hz or in Full HD at 240 Hz further encourages connecting a PC. Unfortunately there's an unfinished element here too: Dolby Vision when gaming on Xbox incurs very high input lag.
The PQS9000 therefore leaves mixed impressions. It can surprise with excellent motion handling and shows that Philips has worked on the system, but the image quality lacks a similar step forward. This is a television we can recommend primarily to Ambilight fans. If that lighting is what convinces you to choose Philips, buying The One makes a lot of sense. It's worth checking, though, whether you can't find a Mini LED model with good local dimming at a similar price, which would offer deeper blacks and more striking HDR. Then you need to decide what matters more to you: the ambience created by Ambilight or better image quality itself.
Direct comparison
