Dreame Q100 vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

Unfortunately, the Dreame Q100 is too basic and, above all, too dim to be said to deliver a true HDR effect. Our measured brightness reaches a maximum of about 300 nits, which is definitely too low for bright parts of the image to truly pop. In fact, that’s a level we more often associate with SDR material than with HDR. It therefore lacks the brightness headroom offered by more expensive TVs that makes highlights, reflections, or the sun look noticeably more impressive.

HDR Colors

Fortunately the Q100 makes up for it a bit elsewhere. The manufacturer calls it a QLED TV, though in practice color gamut expansion is handled by a PFS filter. Our measurements showed roughly 92% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and about 67% of BT.2020. These aren’t top-tier numbers, but they are still clearly better than basic LCD TVs without an additional gamut-expanding layer. As a result, HDR content can at least offer more saturated and varied colors, even if the peak brightness itself still doesn’t allow us to speak of a fully fledged HDR effect.

Philips PQS9000 is a moderately bright TV; in our HDR scenes it reached roughly 450 to just over 500 nits. That's enough to notice a difference versus SDR. Sun reflections, lamps, and highlights have a bit more sparkle than on basic TVs, whose brightness often tops out around 300 nits. However, it’s not at a level where bright elements make a particularly strong impression. The biggest limitation remains contrast. Without local dimming, the TV raises the black level around a bright object when it brightens that object. That means there’s no clear separation between strong highlights and a dark background, and that contrast is what really shows off HDR. The PQS9000 offers more than the cheapest models, but despite decent brightness the effect stays fairly basic.

Colors

Philips deserves praise for the colors. Although the manufacturer labels this model QLED, a PFS phosphor is used here instead of quantum dots. That solution does not prevent good results, however. On test patterns and in measurements of film scenes we recorded about 94% DCI-P3 coverage and 75% BT.2020. For this class of TV that’s really good. In practice, it means the vast majority of colors used in HDR movies and series will have proper saturation. Lush greens and intense reds are not a major problem and add appeal to the picture. Limitations are easier to spot in some games and rarer content that uses the most saturated shades of the wide BT.2020 gamut. In those situations, displays with wider color coverage, such as SQD or RGB LED, can show more. In its price segment the PQS9000 has nothing to be ashamed of.

For testing we chose the "Film" mode and in our opinion it is by far the best of the available presets. There are no heavily boosted, unnatural colors you can see in the Vivid/Dynamic mode. The picture already looks quite reasonable out of the box, though it falls a bit short of perfect. In SDR material the most noticeable issue was a slight warming of the image. The white balance had too much red, so whites leaned toward a warmer tone, and a similar tint was visible in shades of gray. In HDR the situation was a bit different. Here blue had a slight edge, making the image a touch cooler. These are not major faults, though. For such an inexpensive TV, the factory settings on our unit were pretty decent and the "Film" mode delivers a relatively natural image without much fiddling with the settings.

Unfortunately, the PQS9000’s factory picture settings for Film mode need some fine-tuning. In SDR the biggest issue is an excess of red in the white balance, which makes whites, grays, and skin tones too warm, sometimes even slightly pink. On top of that, the gamma runs below the target across most of its range. The TV therefore brightens midtones and highlights, making the overall image look flatter than it should.

In HDR the white balance itself is much better. Aside from minor deviations, the components stay close to each other, so there isn’t the pronounced tint seen in SDR. However, the EOTF curve shows a slight brightening of parts of the image, and the biggest issue appears in measurements of the wide color gamut. Many hues deviate significantly from the reference, with errors reaching 8–9. So the good gamut coverage we praised earlier doesn’t mean the TV hits specific colors accurately. It can display a wide color range, but out of the box it doesn’t use it very precisely.

Contrary to appearances, the Dreame Q100 is quite well equipped for image calibration. The menu contains plenty of advanced picture settings that let you adjust its characteristics fairly precisely. In our case most work was needed on the white balance in both SDR and HDR. After calibration, SDR content looked very good. We managed to achieve an almost neutral white balance and natural colors, and the main remaining limitation was the black level itself, caused by the panel design and the lack of local dimming.

In HDR we were also able to improve white balance and color reproduction, but here the TV's electronic limitations become apparent sooner. Even after very precise EOTF curve adjustments, the Q100 doesn't always follow it correctly during real scenes. In some content it can also brighten the image, making certain parts look lighter than they should, and in bright areas some detail can be lost in the process.

Calibration brought a big improvement, especially in SDR material. We managed to even out the white balance and remove the previous color cast, and the Color Checker measurements now look really very good. Colors are much closer to what should be on the screen, so with regular TV or SDR movies we can be satisfied with the result. Unfortunately HDR somewhat spoils that outcome. On one hand it's limited by the panel's capabilities, since calibration won't improve contrast or replace local dimming. On the other hand there are color errors we couldn't correct because the CMS settings, that is color management, were grayed out and inactive. For that Philips loses points with us. White balance can be fine-tuned, but without access to wide color gamut controls you can't correct colors in HDR as effectively. It's a shame, because the SDR results show the potential is there, it's just not allowed to be fully used everywhere.

The weakest point of the Dreame Q100 is its digital image processing capabilities. The processor used does a rather mediocre job of improving weaker sources, and the menu doesn't include any function that effectively smooths unattractive tonal transitions or reduces visible posterization. Upscaling itself also fails to impress. With low-resolution content the image is fairly soft and lacks strong detail reproduction. Additionally, the Q100 tends to overscan, meaning it slightly crops the edges of the image with very poor sources, such as 480p content. In everyday viewing of HD or 4K content this won't be a major issue, but with older recordings the processor's limitations are already clearly visible.

The digital image processing in the Philips PQS9000 performs well, though we have a few reservations. The "Distortion Reduction" function helps smooth tonal transitions in lower-quality material, but it works quite unevenly. It can improve a section of the picture, only to, moments later and still within the same scene, seem to lose effectiveness and reintroduce banding between shades. A plus is that it doesn't remove film grain or fine noise, so the image retains its texture. We found the "Medium" setting worked best, and that's the one we recommend. The 4K upscaling itself is acceptable, though the picture is very soft. Edges are heavily smoothed, which may make the image feel less crisp to some viewers. In that case, it's worth slightly increasing the sharpness in the TV's menu, as this will make edges stand out more. Don't overdo the sharpness slider, however, or you may introduce artificial halos instead of improving the picture.

The VA panel used in the Dreame Q100 has a native 60 Hz refresh rate, so from the outset this isn’t a TV aimed at the most demanding sports fans or gamers. The manufacturer does note the possibility of running at 120 Hz, and that option is indeed available, but it mainly applies to a mode intended for gamers. In everyday use the Q100 should therefore be treated as a standard 60 Hz TV. During fast-paced sports broadcasts or quick gameplay this means less smoothness than models with 120 Hz panels or higher. On the plus side, the panel’s response time is decent. The VA panel doesn’t produce excessive smearing, so motion remains fairly clear and doesn’t leave heavy, blurred trails behind objects. For movies you can also use a simple motion‑smoothing system; the manufacturer has prepared several presets that help reduce the characteristic judder in material shot at 24 frames per second.

In terms of motion handling, the Philips PQS9000 performs outstandingly for an LCD TV. It's not just the 144 Hz refresh rate, but above all how quickly the panel itself responds. At 120 Hz you can hardly see the typical trailing smears behind moving objects. What's especially pleasing is that this also applies to darker backgrounds, where many VA panels clearly struggle. Here motion remains clear, and Philips pleasantly surprised us in that regard. To adjust how motion is displayed there is the "Motion Style" function. It includes two sliders: "Smoothness" and "Blur Reduction," which let you tailor the effect to the content you're watching and your personal preferences. Our suggested settings are shown in the photo. Treat them as a starting point and try different levels of smoothing to see which you prefer.

Dreame Q100 is not a strictly gaming device, but it delivers a pretty reasonable package for console use. You get VRR to eliminate screen tearing and ALLM, which automatically switches the TV to a low-latency mode when it detects a console signal. An interesting compromise is support for a 120 Hz mode. The panel won’t reach that refresh rate at 4K, but if you drop to 1080p you can play at 120 frames per second. If a given title prioritizes smoothness over high resolution (and the game itself offers such a mode), it’s worth using. There’s also a handy Game Bar on board that lets you quickly change screen settings, switch the refresh mode, or add a virtual crosshair. The HGiG implementation is admittedly weak, but credit is due for support of Dolby Vision Gaming on the Xbox Series X and S. This isn’t a panel for tech purists, but for casual console gaming, especially with the option to trade 4K for smoother Full HD, it performs flawlessly.

Gaming features

When it comes to gaming features, the Philips PQS9000 really has a lot to offer. Four HDMI 2.1 ports let you connect multiple devices without having to decide which one gets the full-capability port. Consoles can use 120 Hz in Full HD, 1440p and 4K, and a PC can also take advantage of 144 Hz at 4K or 240 Hz if you drop down to Full HD. There's also VRR, which matches the refresh rate to the frame rate and prevents screen tearing. Its range goes from 48–240 Hz, with the upper limit applying to Full HD mode.

ALLM is included, so the TV automatically switches into game mode, and HGiG works correctly, which is useful when setting up HDR on a console. There's also a Game Bar for quick access to settings and signal information. The list even includes Dolby Vision gaming, but that option is hard to enjoy because of very high latency. Apart from that caveat, the feature set is really solid.