Samsung QLED Q80D vs Philips PUS7000

In the context of HDR, the Samsung Q80D television achieves very positive brightness results in the tested film scenes, where the frame is filled with light, reaching values from 600 to 900 nits, allowing the user to experience a great juiciness of the image. Such results allow the user to feel the difference between HDR and SDR quality. Unfortunately, problems arise in situations where small light effects occur against a dark background. In such cases (e.g. test pattern 4 from the film Sicario 2), a noticeable drop in brightness can be observed, caused by the large sizes of the dimming zones used here. This limitation, combined with the dimming algorithm, affects how the television handles small bright elements against a dark background. At that point, we may perceive an unwanted lack of brightness, and the HDR effect resembles that of SDR.

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.

In "Filmmaker" mode, which is the best choice out of the box, the Samsung Q80D TV shows solid colour reproduction. For SDR content, a visible drop at the beginning of the gamma curve suggests that details in dark scenes may be less pronounced, impacting the overall viewing experience. Regarding white balance in SDR content, while it is generally accurate, significant drops in blue colour when screen coverage exceeds 70% can result in less natural hues in bright and dark scenes. Users may notice that some blue elements in the image may appear less intense, and the overall colour will have a warmer tint.

In contrast, for HDR content, the EOTF curve being above the reference line for most of the time indicates that the TV may struggle with accurately reproducing brightness and details in the brighter areas of the image, which may be disadvantageous for the viewer. It is also worth noting the substantial drop at the beginning of this graph, indicating that the TV has difficulties reproducing brightness in the darker areas of the image, as seen in the contrast and black tests, where several scenes were unable to showcase the full capabilities of the TV's brightness. In terms of its white balance, the initially good results on the graph are promising, but the sharp drop in red colour, which significantly falls down, combined with a large increase in blue colour, may lead to inaccuracies in reproducing certain skin tones and other key colours. This phenomenon may be noticeable to viewers in scenes where colour details are crucial.

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.

The film mode after calibration looks significantly better than the one you can see when taken out of the box. Samsung offers an advanced range of calibration tools in its televisions. Among them are 2- and 20-point greyscale adjustment and CMS (Colour Management System). Both in HDR and SDR mode, the white balance has improved significantly, although there are minor errors at the end of the graph in the case of HDR content. The contrast has also been greatly improved, and the gamma curve responsible for SDR shows better results. However, when it comes to HDR, the EOTF curve in the television seems to be at an ideal level at first glance. Yet, when we delve deeper and enable the EOTF graph while watching films, we may notice that all the lines of the curve are above the reference line. One could even say that the television is "cheating" when playing film materials. Such a situation, where the EOTF curve is above the reference line, makes the screen – although it may seem brighter, which some users may find attractive – lose detail in the darker parts of the image. In practice, this means that in scenes with a lot of shadows or dark elements, the television is unable to accurately render the details that should be visible.

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.

Samsung Q80D performs very well with low-quality materials. The noise reduction works on the principle of gentle grading, making it very effective in smoothing out unwanted image disturbances. Unfortunately, this same effectiveness also causes elements that should not be smoothed, such as film grain, to become blurred. For those who value a pliable, smoothed image more, this can be seen as a significant advantage, especially for lower-quality content.

When it comes to image scaling, Samsung Q80D stands out positively in this aspect, significantly enhancing viewing comfort. The television handles the conversion of lower-resolution materials well, improving their quality and detail. For example, in the attached image with the model, there are no visible artifacts or excessive fraying of branches, which attests to the advanced image processing technology.

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.

The Samsung Q80D television stands out very positively in terms of motion fluidity and motion blur reduction, primarily due to the applied 120Hz panel and above-average response time of the panel. Users have two options for adjusting fluidity: "Motion Smoothing," which allows for adjustment of smoothness on a 10-point scale, and "Blur Reduction," particularly effective at higher refresh rates, improving the sharpness of rapidly moving objects. In the UFO test, no motion blur is visible behind the moving object, and the image is not cloned forward, indicating a lack of overshoot effect.

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.

The Samsung Q80D television is a true gem for gamers. It is equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports, which is a rarity, especially in this price range. This allows users to enjoy features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and 120Hz in 4K resolution. These features ensure smoothness and responsiveness of the image, which is a key aspect during dynamic gameplay. The television also supports HGIG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), enabling optimal display of HDR content in games. Additionally, it is equipped with a Game Bar that allows quick access to gaming settings. Users of Nvidia graphics cards will also be pleased thanks to the implementation of G-Sync. This feature eliminates stuttering and screen tearing. The only downside is the lack of support for Dolby Vision mode, which may be disappointing for users looking for this HDR format. It is also worth mentioning that since 2022, thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, Samsung televisions offer the Xbox Game Pass application, allowing for cloud gaming. This is an additional advantage for gamers who want to access a wide library of games without the need for a console.

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.