Samsung U8000F (IPS) vs PHILPS PUS9060

Better does not mean good – and that is exactly how to summarise the capabilities of U8092F when it comes to displaying bright movie scenes in HDR mode. The brightness of the panel is just under 250 nits, which is definitely too little to enjoy any light effects. An interesting situation was observed during the measurement of the fourth scene from the film Sicario 2 – the television clearly dimmed the entire screen in an attempt to achieve better black levels (which remain weak anyway). One might even suggest that the device is using some form of 'global dimming', but unfortunately – the results are still very poor. To make matters worse, the television does not support a wide colour gamut – the coverage of the DCI-P3 space is around 80%, so one cannot expect truly vibrant colours. The HDR image here looks more like a slightly brightened SDR, and it is this form that we would suggest sticking to when it comes to this television.

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 Samsung U8000F has been tested in the best possible picture mode built into the television, namely Filmmaker Mode. This mode should – at least in theory – offer a cinematic, reference picture without unnecessary enhancements. In the case of SDR content (mainly HD/SD), the television, out of the box, showed itself surprisingly well. Errors in white balance hovered around a value of 3, which is roughly on the edge of perceptibility. The only complaint could be about brightness management – the gamma graph showed a slight tendency to lighten or darken certain sections, but even so, the overall performance is quite good for this price segment.

Unfortunately, it looks much worse in HDR mode. Although the white balance was not terrible, the television had significant colour errors – particularly evident in the Color Checker graph, where almost every sample hit outside the target point. The picture in HDR simply looks unnatural, and the colours can be shifted, dull, or too cool. This largely stems from the fact that the U8000F does not support a wide colour gamut (DCI-P3). The television is physically unable to display correct colours in the HDR standard – and unfortunately, this is felt in every more demanding material.

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.

Although the U8000F already offered a fairly well-balanced image in SDR straight out of the box, we were able to refine it a bit further. We managed to eliminate a slight purple tint and adjust the gamma to a more sensible level. However, the television still has a tendency to overexpose the smallest and brightest parts of the image – the gamma chart shows a characteristic 'dip' that is difficult to completely straighten out.

Unfortunately, the situation is worse in HDR. It's hard to speak of any significant improvement here – the television is simply not designed for HDR content. We tried to correct the image in the advanced settings, but despite our efforts, the colour errors remained substantial – a delta E above 7 indicates very noticeable deviations. It's a bit disappointing, but that's the nature of budget construction. In SDR, the U8000F performs reasonably well, whereas HDR is just not its league.

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.

When it comes to how the Samsung U8000F handles lower quality materials, we must admit that Samsung has made progress compared to its predecessor from last year – namely the DU7192 model, which theoretically occupies the same spot in the range.

This year's model has been equipped with a feature that enhances the fluidity of tonal transitions, which has been implemented much better than last year. Yes, the television still uses fairly strong algorithms that can distort details or remove film grain, but despite that – it can be confidently said that it works effectively.

However, not everything has gone perfectly. The U8000F has noticeable issues with slight image stuttering when watching very old content in very low resolution. If someone plans to play their old VHS tape, they must reckon with the fact that the image may appear slightly "choppy".

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.

The Samsung U8000F is equipped with a 60 Hz panel, so it's clear from the outset that we shouldn't expect miracles. It's simply the standard in this class – sufficient for everyday viewing but without any fireworks.

The television offers a single motion smoothing slider – a function called “Motion Blur Reduction”, which allows us to adjust the smoothness of the image in films. Higher settings provide a more “theatrical” and smoothed effect, while lower settings maintain the original character of the film with a slight 24p effect. An interesting feature is “LED Clear Motion”, which is a BFI mode – that inserts black frames between frames of the image to improve motion clarity. However, in practice, the screen flickers quite a bit when this feature is activated, and it should be regarded more as an experiment than something that genuinely enhances the comfort of gaming.

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.

The Samsung U8000F offers a basic set of features for gamers, which may still prove sufficient for less demanding users. It includes an automatic game mode – upon launching a game on the console, the television automatically switches to low latency mode, significantly improving response times. We also find a VRR feature, meaning variable refresh rate, which operates within a range of 48 to 60 Hz. This means that both Xbox and PS5 will not produce the effect of screen tearing – provided, of course, we stay within this range.

Unfortunately, that is about it when it comes to advantages. Add-ons like Game Bar or higher refresh rates are reserved for higher models of Samsung's 2025 line. In theory, the television also supports the HGiG function, which should adjust HDR images to the intentions of game developers. Unfortunately – despite this feature appearing in brochures and retail materials – its configuration on the Xbox console has proven to be... impossible in practice.

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.