Philips The One (PUS8959 / PUS8919 / PUS8909 / PUS8949 vs Samsung R85H / R86H

The luminance chart for Philips PUS8959 shows that the television is capable of achieving around 550 nits of brightness, which can be considered a satisfactory level. This brightness allows for the effects of HDR to be experienced, particularly standing out in more demanding scenes. In the tested test patterns, the television performed quite well, even in challenging sequences such as those from "Sicario 2". Due to the lack of local dimming, the television does not dim small bright elements, and they shine with the full "power" of the television but at the expense of the silvery blacks mentioned in the paragraph about black levels. It is also worth praising Philips PUS8959 for its good coverage of the DCI-P3 colour palette, which amounts to approximately 94.5%. As a result, colours are vivid and close to the creators' intentions, which further enhances the quality of HDR effects and the experience of watching high dynamic range content.

When it comes to brightness, the R85H performs really respectably. In most of our test scenes the TV reaches around 800 to 900 nits, and with larger bright elements it can exceed 1000 nits. These are not, of course, levels on a par with the pricier Mini-LEDs, but they are more than enough for watching films and TV shows in HDR, and the effect can already be quite noticeable. The problem reappears in more demanding scenes where there is a small bright element on a very dark background. Here the TV can significantly limit its brightness so as not to light up too large a portion of the screen. In our measurements such small highlights fell even to around 200 to 250 nits, so it is clear that a small number of zones combined with the particular behaviour of the algorithm has consequences here. Fortunately, this is not something that disturbs viewing all the time. In typical mixed HDR scenes the R85H looks good and can deliver appropriate image dynamics. It's just that with very small points of light you shouldn't expect an effect as strong as on TVs with many more zones or on OLEDs.

The television Philips PUS8959 has been tested in the best, theoretically most precise picture mode – Filmmaker. Although the name suggests cinematic quality, it unfortunately falls short of perfection. The biggest problem in this mode is the white balance, both in HD and 4K content. It is characterised by a significant dominance of red colour and drops in green levels, resulting in unnatural colour reproduction. For example, white elements in the image have a noticeable pink hue, and the green is less vibrant, causing the overall image to lose its naturalness and colour balance. The ColorChecker test confirms these errors – it is clearly visible how the colour samples "deviate" from the correct values, which can be best observed on the sample squares that should accurately reproduce the colours. The lack of accuracy in this regard affects the realism and fidelity of the image, which is particularly undesirable in Filmmaker mode.

As for the brightness characteristics, the gamma chart resembles a true roller coaster – with small elements displayed on the screen, the brightness is excessive, causing details to become overly exposed. Conversely, at higher gamma values, the image loses contrast and becomes too dark, making the overall appearance lack dynamism. Similar problems can be observed in the EOTF characteristics – the television is unable to accurately reproduce brightness levels, negatively impacting the overall picture quality.

In Filmmaker mode our R85H sample performed acceptably in SDR, but a few things stood out immediately in the measurements. In the white balance red increased with rising brightness while blue decreased. As a result the brighter parts of the picture had a slightly too warm tint. Gamma only held to the target value at the start. It then gradually fell, which left most of the image a little too bright. The combination of these two effects also showed up in the colours, with errors growing particularly in the brighter and more saturated samples. It did not look bad, but for Filmmaker mode we had expected a bit more accuracy. Interestingly, in HDR our sample fared noticeably better. The white balance was much more even and, over most of the range, the individual components stayed close together. Only in the very brightest areas did red start to be lacking, causing white to shift subtly. The EOTF curve, by contrast, looked very good and followed the target luminance levels across almost the entire range. That does not mean HDR colours were perfect. The Colour Checker still showed some deviations, especially for some of the more saturated hues, but the errors were clearly smaller than in SDR.

After calibration, the television Philips PUS8959 shows a significant improvement in colour reproduction, especially in HD content. The white balance is exceptionally even, and the Delta E error values are below 1, which can be considered a remarkable result. Additionally, the gamma, responsible for brightness in lower-quality materials, performs very well, maintaining a stable level at 2.4, leading to an appropriate balance between bright and dark areas of the image.

As for 4K HDR materials, a significant improvement is also visible. The white balance, although not as perfect as with HD content, no longer exhibits issues with excessive red exposure, resulting in a more natural and harmonious image. Unfortunately, regarding the EOTF characteristic, it is difficult to speak of any significant improvement, which stems from the structural limitations of the television that prevent any substantial enhancement in this aspect.

Nevertheless, the overall performance is significantly better after calibration, making the Philips PUS8959 one of those televisions where it is truly worth dedicating time to precise calibration to achieve satisfactory picture quality.

After calibration the R85H shows it has genuinely substantial capabilities in colour reproduction. It performed best in SDR, where the white balance could be brought almost perfectly into line and the gamma stays very close to the target value across most of the range. This also translated into very low errors on the Colour Checker, so there is really little to pick fault with. HDR also shows a clear improvement, although some things can no longer be corrected as well. At the highest brightness levels the character of the backlight begins to make itself felt and the individual components of the white balance start to drift apart. The same applies to the most saturated colours, which do not always land exactly where they should. Despite these limitations the overall image is much more accurate than with the factory settings, and the biggest difference is definitely seen in SDR. There is, however, one thing calibration cannot fix. With heavily saturated elements the colour can slightly bleed onto adjacent bright areas of the image. It is easiest to notice this on white, which can pick up a faint tint of a neighbouring colour. It does not appear in every scene, but when the material is demanding the effect can be visible. This is more a characteristic of the way the RGB backlight works than a matter of picture settings.

When it comes to smoothing tonal transitions, the "Distortion Reduction" function at its minimum setting performs quite well, effectively smoothing tonal transitions without excessive impact on other elements of the image. In tests, I did not notice that the reduction negatively affected the image structure, such as film grain or object details – everything remains in its place, which is a significant plus for users who appreciate the natural look of film materials.

As for digital processing, the image looks quite good, although it features very softened contours, giving it an almost "misty" character. This effect can evoke mixed feelings – some users will appreciate the fluidity and delicacy of this type of presentation, while others may find it too gentle, losing detail. It is a matter of individual preference, but it must be said that the Philips PUS8959 provides fairly subtle yet effective tools for improving tonal transitions without excessive interference in the natural character of the image.

In the R85H image processing is handled by the Micro RGB AI Processor. The name is new, but when it comes to upscaling lower-quality material the TV’s behaviour is very similar to what Samsung has shown before. And that’s not a bad thing, because the manufacturer has dealt with this aspect quite well for years. Lower-resolution content is displayed cleanly, edges do not become excessively soft, and the TV does not try to artificially extract details at any cost. The result is simply well balanced, and with regular broadcasts or older recordings the R85H performs as you would expect from a Samsung in this class. There remains only a minor drawback in the form of overscan, which cannot be completely turned off at the lowest resolutions. A separate matter is the additional processing of weaker sources. The R85H can smooth posterisation and somewhat tidy up heavily compressed footage, but it is worth emphasising that it does this relatively aggressively. At stronger noise reduction settings it begins to remove not only compression artefacts but also fine details and the natural film grain. It is therefore best used only when the material truly needs it.

Philips PUS8959 TV is equipped with a 120 Hz panel, which should satisfy more demanding users, especially those who love watching dynamic sports broadcasts or playing games. Such a high refresh rate allows for significantly smoother images, being a key aspect during dynamic scenes and fast actions.

For those who prefer watching movies, the television offers an additional motion smoother that allows adjusting the film's frame rate according to personal preferences. The Philips PUS8959 features a 10-step adjustment for functions called "Smoothness" and "Motion Blur Reduction." The "Smoothness" function is responsible for increasing the number of frames through interpolation, making the motion on the screen smoother, resembling the effect of so-called "soap opera." Meanwhile, "Motion Blur Reduction" focuses on minimising ghosting and improving motion clarity, which is particularly noticeable in dynamic sequences, such as action scenes or fast-paced sports shots.

The R85H has a 144 Hz panel, so motion is really smooth here. Just bear in mind that the extra hertz above 120 are mainly used when connected to a PC, so in this category we don't treat them as any particular advantage. For films and TV, what's more important is that the panel is fast enough to provide access to an advanced motion-smoothing feature, "Motion Clarity", which lets you set motion anywhere from more film-like to very smooth. The panel's response time is a bit worse. Because it's a VA panel, fast-moving objects can leave a slight trail. On bright backgrounds this isn't very noticeable, but the darker the scene, the more pronounced the smearing becomes. This is a typical trait of this type of panel and it's easiest to notice in dark shots.

Philips PUS8959 is a television that will certainly satisfy gaming enthusiasts. It supports most modern technologies useful during gameplay, such as HGiG, allowing for better reproduction of HDR effects in games. As a result, the image is closer to what the game creators intended to achieve.

The television also supports displaying images at 120 Hz, ensuring smoothness and dynamism, which is especially important during action games and sports broadcasts. The Game Bar feature allows for quick access to game settings, making it easier to adjust the image according to user preferences without interrupting gameplay.

Unfortunately, the Dolby Vision mode does not offer low input lag, which may be noticeable during dynamic scenes. Nevertheless, thanks to the HGiG feature and high refresh rate, the Philips PUS8959 remains an attractive choice for gamers, providing good image quality and adequate smoothness during gameplay.

Samsung has been steadily expanding its gaming features for several years, and the R85H really doesn't miss anything important here. The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, so we can easily take advantage of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. HGiG also works correctly, so with HDR properly set on the console, games retain the correct brightness and we don't unnecessarily lose detail in the brightest parts of the picture. The only major omission is Dolby Vision Gaming, which Samsung does not support on any of its TVs. The Game Bar is also very useful — a handy menu you can bring up without leaving the game. We can quickly check the frame rate, VRR status or change key picture settings. Samsung also adds a few less obvious features, such as the ability to change the aspect ratio and Game Motion Plus, which can further smooth games running at 30 or 60 frames per second. Of course this comes at the cost of higher input lag (around 55 ms), but for slower-paced titles it may be an interesting addition for some people.