Sony A95L vs Philips OLED770

Sony A95L offers an incredible HDR effect, achieving an impressive brightness level of 1500 nits in scenes such as those from Life of Pi or Sicario 2. These results are truly remarkable – the bright elements in these films practically come to life on the screen, providing the viewer with immersive visual experiences. The only thing that can be noticed is minor issues with maintaining brightness in a scene from The Meg, where the entire scene is flooded with light. However, this is a natural effect associated with OLED technology. The wide coverage of the BT.2020 colour palette at 89% also deserves high praise, placing A95L Sony among the top televisions in terms of colour reproduction. All this is made possible by the QD-OLED panel from Samsung Displays.

The Philips OLED770 does not attempt to compete with the brightest OLEDs on the market, and it would be difficult to expect that, as it is the entry-level model in Philips' range for 2025. In our measurements, it reached a maximum of around 700 nits, which allows enjoyment of HDR effects in scenes where light appears sporadically – for example, in the flash of headlights or a starry sky. In such moments, the image can truly be stunning. However, it is different when there are more bright elements on the screen. The television, like many cheaper OLEDs, limits luminance in those situations, causing the entire image to noticeably dim. This was best observed in a scene from the film The Meg, where the sun comes out behind an oil rig – the brightness then dropped to around 250 nits, which is almost three times less. The HDR effect remains pleasant to the eye, but it is worth being aware that this model performs best in scenes with less intense light. Fortunately, the OLED770 has a trump card – the coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut is as high as 99%, so colours in films and games are vivid and very close to what the creator intended to convey.

The best factory mode for colour reproduction in the Sony A95L is IMAX Enhanced. This mode appears to be well calibrated at first glance, but upon closer examination, several areas requiring improvement can be identified. Firstly, the white balance for both SDR content and 4K HDR is affected by an excess of blue and red, leading to a subtle pinkish hue, particularly noticeable on neutral tones. As a result, skin tones are distorted, impacting the realism of the displayed image. This is clearly visible in the comparison image below. Additionally, the Colour Checker test confirms the presence of these errors – colour samples often deviate from their reference values, indicating some inconsistencies in the factory colour reproduction of the A95L Sony. Maximum deltaE error values reach up to 5.8, which is a clear indicator that colours are not always reproduced as precisely as they should be.

Regarding brightness characteristics, gamma for HD/SDR content is generally quite accurate, maintaining an appropriate balance between brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, a significant jump is visible at the end of the graph, leading to a strong brightening of the image when the screen is entirely flooded with white. This can make scenes with a very bright background, such as snowy landscapes or bright daylight, appear too harsh and lose detail. For HDR content, the EOTF curve, which controls luminance, is slightly boosted compared to reference values. This, in turn, causes the image to appear somewhat brighter than it should, which can affect the viewing of more subtle details in the darker parts of the frame.

The first measurements already show that the factory settings of the Philips OLED770 have quite a lot to improve even in Filmmaker mode. The white balance chart clearly shows a lack of blue, resulting in a slightly yellowish tint to the image. In practice, the white is not snowy but leans towards warmer tones – which some may even appreciate, but from the perspective of accuracy, this is a deviation from the norm. The gamma, on the other hand, tends to the darker side – the average value is around 2.6 instead of the reference 2.4. In the midtones, the image appears subdued and more saturated, which may seem too "filmic," but detracts somewhat from naturalness. However, the most issues are evident in colour reproduction. The average error is relatively high, and some colours – particularly shades of grey – deviate significantly from what one should see. In everyday viewing, this means that sometimes colours may look less natural than we would like.

Sony A95L offers excellent tools for professional screen calibration, which allows users to unlock the maximum potential of the IMAX Enhanced mode. We utilised these tools to achieve a picture quality that will satisfy even the most demanding viewers. After calibration, the white balance for both 4K HDR and SDR content looks simply superb – almost perfect. The Colour Checker test confirmed that deltaE errors do not exceed the value of "2", which means that colour reproduction is incredibly accurate, and any deviations are practically unnoticeable to the human eye.

Calibration also brought significant improvements in terms of brightness – gamma is now perfectly balanced, eliminating the previous issue of excessive lightening in scenes with very bright backgrounds. As a result, even the most vibrant moments, such as snowy landscapes or intense daytime scenes, appear natural, without any risk of overexposure. The EOTF curve, responsible for controlling luminance in HDR content, has also been improved – it now reaches reference levels, both in synthetic tests and during practical movie watching.

As a result of the calibration, A95L Sony offers outstanding experiences, whether you are watching content from regular television or your favourite films. Every detail is reproduced exactly as the creators intended – without unnecessary brightening, with perfectly rendered colours and appropriate depth. This demonstrates that this television, after professional tuning, is capable of competing with the best screens on the market, delivering a picture that truly delights.

The Philips OLED770 from the outset signalled that it harboured significant potential, but in its factory settings, it was difficult to see this fully. The picture was often too warm, and some colours appeared to have lost their naturalness along the way. Calibration, however, revealed that it is a very responsive television – it reacted to every adjustment and almost immediately unveiled another layer of its capabilities. The white balance could be set in both SDR and HDR to eliminate the yellowish tint and introduce a neutral, clear white. The gamma stabilised closer to perfection, allowing midtones to regain their naturalness, and shadows stopped being artificially darkened, perhaps even with a slight brightening effect. The result was obvious... Films were watched with greater ease; the picture had cinematic depth, but without the feeling that something was exaggeratedly darkened. However, the most interesting aspect was the work on colours. Factory errors were not dramatic but slightly noticeable – skin tones were sometimes too warm, and grey didn’t always have the shade we expected. After calibration, the error values dropped to around 2, and in many cases even below 1. This is certainly a level lower than the threshold of human perception. In other words, after correction, the colours finally "clicked" into place. Looking at the screen, we had the impression that the television had begun to speak with its full voice. Like an instrument that has finally been well tuned.

The tonal transition smoothing feature in Sony A95L works really well and is worth noting. We recommend setting it to "Medium" because at this level, you achieve the perfect compromise – no artifacts appear, and the image looks incredibly natural and pleasing to the eye. As a result, the transitions between different shades are smooth while maintaining the detail of the scenes, which further enhances the viewing comfort.

When it comes to upscaling, you can see the full power of the XR processor here. Sony A95L handled our test material featuring a model exceptionally well – the image is remarkably clear, there are no excessive jagged edges, and details in the background are perfectly preserved. The XR processor effectively improves low resolution, delivering very good results that allow you to enjoy materials in almost high quality, even if their source is not ideal.

The issue of the aforementioned colour banding can largely be mitigated thanks to the 'distortion reduction' feature, which is an algorithm for smoothing tonal transitions in Philips. It performs best at a low setting – effectively eliminating unwanted colour bands while not introducing strange artefacts or losing image detail. This is one of those features that is truly worth leaving switched on.

The situation is somewhat worse regarding upscaling. The image from a lower resolution can be too soft, while in some areas, characteristic 'jaggies' appear. The impression is that the algorithm is trying to reconcile two conflicting directions – smoothing and sharpening – and ultimately fails to find a happy medium. As a consolation, it can be added that the television has no issues with overscan, meaning it does not cut off the edges of the image, which sometimes occurs in other competing models.

Sony A95L is a television that should satisfy both gamers and cinema lovers. When it comes to watching films, this model is equipped with the Motionflow feature, which allows you to precisely adjust whether you want the image to be more "cinematic," like in traditional cinema, or exceptionally smooth, like in cinema-style TVs. The "Smoothness" slider lets you regulate the level of fluidity – from subtle changes to a more noticeable effect, while the "Clarity" slider is responsible for reducing flicker and artifacts, helping to achieve a more natural and clear motion. As for gaming and watching sports, the A95L Sony television offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, making every dynamic action look incredibly smooth. Gamers will appreciate the lack of blur, while sports fans will see every movement in full clarity. Overall, the television performs excellently – both with fast-paced games and emotionally charged film sequences.

The issue of the matrix in the Philips OLED770 is not entirely straightforward. The manufacturer claims a 120 Hz panel, but our measurements showed that the screen can accept a 4K signal even at 144 Hz. That sounds like great news – after all, who wouldn't want an additional mode for PC gamers at this price? However, the reality turned out to be more complex. With 120 Hz content, the television behaves like most OLEDs – the image is absolutely clear, with no trace of ghosting or blurring, making it perfect for both dynamic games and sports broadcasts. The problem only arises at 144 Hz. Unlike models with official support for this frequency, here you can observe the phenomenon known as frame skipping. This means that the television cannot display all the frames – some are skipped, causing motion to lose smoothness, and double contours appear on the screen. The effect resembles the operation of the BFI function, which Philips does not offer in this model anyway.

Sony A95L is a television that will truly satisfy gamers, thanks to several key features that set it apart from the competition. To start with, the 120 Hz refresh rate – this is something everyone who loves fast action games, racing, or dynamic shooters will appreciate. As a result, the image is exceptionally smooth, and the gameplay is more satisfying, without annoying stuttering. The A95L Sony also has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically engages low latency mode when we turn on the console. What does this mean? Above all, faster response on the screen, which in games where every second matters is simply invaluable. Additionally, there’s VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which adjusts the image refresh rate to the number of frames generated by the console. The effect? No tearing of the image, and everything looks smooth and cohesive – even with variable FPS.

It is worth mentioning the support for Dolby Vision with low input lag in games – something we don’t often encounter in televisions, and here we have it onboard. Thanks to this, the image in games that support HDR is incredibly vibrant, with rich colours and excellent contrast. Both the brightest and darkest details are visible, making everything look as the game creators intended. And then there's the "Game Bar" – a small but very practical feature. With it, we have all the most important gaming-related settings at our fingertips, such as VRR or latency information. There’s no need to interrupt gameplay to adjust parameters – everything is right at hand.

However, it should be remembered that the A95L offers only two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is designated for eARC. This may pose a limitation if we plan to connect multiple devices – for instance, a next-gen console and a soundbar simultaneously. In such a case, the eARC occupying one of those ports can be somewhat problematic, blocking the possibility of connecting a second console.

If someone is looking for a television for gaming, the Philips OLED770 is a contender that is hard to ignore. The mere fact that we have an OLED here provides an excellent starting point – perfect black and infinite contrast make evening sessions in atmospheric games look as if they were lifted straight from the cinema. On top of that, there is the Ambilight system, which consists of LEDs on the back of the television that extend the image onto the wall behind the screen. The effect is such that even playing FIFA can look like a small spectacle, and in horror games the atmosphere becomes truly thick. From a technical standpoint, it's also quite decent. The Philips OLED770 supports variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 120 Hz, has an automatic mode for gamers (ALLM), and if someone is using an Xbox Series X, they can also count on Dolby Vision support in games. One must only know that in this mode the input lag is slightly higher than standard, though still at an acceptable level. As a bonus, we get the “Game Bar” panel, which is a special tool bar for gamers. It isn’t the most conveniently designed solution, but it allows you to check key parameters without leaving the game. Overall, this results in a television that, on one hand, has all the essential gaming features, and on the other, can add something unique – Ambilight. And it is this mix of technology and visual effect that makes the OLED770 one of the better screens for gaming at home.