Compare LG OLED C6H (TANDEM OLED) vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

The C6H is an even more interesting TV, because the use of a Tandem OLED panel has pushed the C series into territory until now reserved for much pricier models. We still get all the advantages of the regular C6, but the panel's capabilities are on a completely different level. HDR shows this best. In many scenes we measured around 2000 nits, and at times even 2300 nits, results previously seen only in flagship TV lineups. Add a wider BT.2020 gamut and, above all, much stronger colors at high brightness. In that respect it's hard to call this a typical mid-range OLED. What's more, the rest of the TV doesn't lag behind the panel. We get excellent image processing, 165 Hz, a full set of gaming features, and a convenient webOS with the Magic remote. If we judged the C6H solely by its capabilities and specs, it could easily be placed alongside much more expensive top-of-the-line TVs. Unfortunately the whole charm fades a bit when evening comes and you want to watch a movie on it. In near-black areas our C6H unit showed pronounced dithering and annoying image flicker. It was most evident in difficult, very dark scenes, and it's the kind of flaw that's hard to ignore in an OLED TV. After all, we buy such a panel partly to enjoy perfect blacks during evening viewing. It's all the more disappointing because otherwise the C6H is a truly outstanding TV. Everything indicates this is not a limitation of the panel itself, but a software issue, similar to the one we also observed in the LG G6. So we hope LG will fix it with an update, as it has done in other markets. As of today this one issue keeps us from fully recommending the C6H. Until LG fixes it, the safer choice is the regular C6 or a competing OLED that doesn't struggle with this near-black behavior. If, however, an update actually resolves the problem, the C6 with Tandem technology will immediately become one of the most interesting OLEDs of 2026.

The idea behind The One series has remained practically unchanged for years, and with the Philips PQS9001 this is both an advantage and its biggest weakness. Once again, we get a versatile mid-range TV whose main distinguishing feature is Ambilight. The lighting that follows what is happening on the screen can completely change the atmosphere of an evening movie session, and for many people it will be the main reason to choose this TV. That is hardly surprising, because once you get used to the effect, it can be difficult to go back to watching without it. The picture quality itself is good, but we have already seen a very similar level from this series in previous years. The VA panel provides decent blacks, colours are nicely saturated, and the brightness is sufficient for comfortable viewing in a typical living room. It is a shame, however, that Philips did not take another step forward and introduce at least basic local dimming. In a dark room, blacks can look noticeably bluish, and HDR, while clearly visible, does not make as strong an impression as it could. After so many years of The One being on the market, we would have expected a little more progress here.

There has, however, been a noticeable improvement in Titan OS. Compared with last year, and especially with the version from two years ago, the system has become much more pleasant to use. There are more apps, many smaller functions have been improved, and a number of irritating bugs we previously complained about have been fixed. Overall, it works reasonably well, although we are once again frustrated by the remote control, which still requires you to point it directly at the TV. Philips continues to rely on infrared for regular navigation, even though voice control uses a wireless connection. That makes it even harder to understand why the same connection was not used for navigating the menus. The One also has quite a lot to offer gamers. Four HDMI 2.1 ports and a broad set of gaming features are one thing, but what impressed us most was the panel’s response time. Our unit showed practically no visible smearing, even on dark backgrounds, which is quite rare for an LCD TV with a VA panel. Philips deserves a lot of credit for that. The ability to play at 4K 144 Hz or Full HD 240 Hz also makes the TV an interesting option for PC users. Unfortunately, there is still one unfinished element: using Dolby Vision in games on Xbox results in very high input lag.

The PQS9000 therefore leaves us with mixed feelings. It can surprise with excellent motion handling and shows that Philips has clearly worked on its operating system, but we do not see a similar step forward in picture quality. This is a TV we can recommend primarily to fans of Ambilight. If that lighting system is the main reason you are considering a Philips, then buying The One makes a lot of sense. It is still worth checking, however, whether you can find a Mini LED model with good local dimming at a similar price. Such a TV may offer deeper blacks and more impressive HDR performance. In the end, the choice comes down to what matters more to you: the atmosphere created by Ambilight or better picture quality itself.

The Tandem OLED panel gives the C6 noticeably greater capabilities in several image areas, but when it comes to black nothing needed to change. As with every OLED, individual pixels can be completely switched off, which provides perfect black and practically infinite contrast. So it doesn't matter whether bright text on a black background, tiny stars, or small light sources appear on the screen. You won't see the halo typical of LCDs around them, and transitions between bright and dark areas are very precise. In terms of black itself, the Tandem OLED version has no advantage over the regular C6, because both panels can switch pixels off with single-pixel precision. Differences between them only appear in brightness and color. However, if we look solely at contrast and black level, both variants offer the same reference level.

NOTE: In the helicopter scene from Sicario 2 we noticed graininess and flickering in the darkest parts of the image. This looks like a software bug that LG should fix with an update. The effect is even more noticeable in the Tandem OLED version, and we observed similar behavior in the flagship LG G6 as well.

The black levels and contrast on the Philips PQS9000 are decent for an LCD TV without local dimming. That's mainly down to the VA panel; in our movie scenes contrast often exceeded 5000:1, and in weaker results dropped to around 4000:1. That delivers an image with quite good depth and a clear advantage over typical IPS panels, where black more easily looks gray. Unfortunately, that's about where the panel's strengths end. The TV lacks local dimming, so it can't dim a dark background separately while keeping bright highlights elsewhere on the screen. It only has global dimming, meaning it brightens or dims the entire backlight at once. In a completely dark room you can see these limits: blacks take on a dark navy tint, and shadowy scenes don't have the same depth as on a good locally dimmed screen. Luckily Ambilight helps here. The light on the wall makes the blacks on screen appear deeper and slightly masks the panel's glow. It doesn't change the TV's actual contrast, but it affects how our eyes perceive it. In this case Ambilight is therefore not just decoration, because it can also make evening viewing more pleasant.

And it's with HDR that the Tandem OLED panel shows its biggest advantage. The C6H's brightness is simply very high and in our measurements it hovered around 1900–2300 nits in most movie scenes. That's already a level at which bright highlights, the sun, or small light sources can look truly spectacular. The biggest impression on us, however, was the fifth scene from the film The Meg. It is exceptionally demanding for OLEDs because practically the entire screen is very bright. Even so, the C6H reached about 1650 nits there. For comparison, the regular C6 with a classic WOLED panel delivered around 600–700 nits in the same spot. So we're talking about more than double the brightness, and in places the difference approaches threefold. That is probably the best example of what Tandem OLED brings. It's not just a higher result on a small test patch. The C6H can sustain very high brightness even when much more of the screen is lit. Thanks to that, HDR has a significantly greater dynamic range and in this respect the C6H is much closer to flagship OLEDs than to typical mid-range models.

Colors

Tandem OLED also brings improvements in color. DCI-P3 coverage remains practically full at about 99%, while in the much wider BT.2020 gamut we measured roughly 82–83%. That's about 7 percentage points more than the regular C6. In everyday use this won't be a visible difference in every scene, since most films don't use such a wide gamut. However, when very heavily saturated colors appear, the C6H already has noticeably greater capabilities, especially in reds. Reds benefit the most, becoming deeper and more saturated. It's still not at the level of the best QD-OLED panels or SQD TVs, but for a WOLED panel the result is really very good.

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.

Right out of the box the LG C6 is pretty well calibrated, especially if you select Filmmaker mode. In SDR content the white balance is quite good, although as brightness increases it starts to show a slight lack of red. The picture becomes a bit cooler as a result, but not enough to be very noticeable during normal viewing. More is happening in the luminance response. Gamma is a bit low and, instead of holding at 2.4, it sits closer to 2.1–2.2 across much of the range. In practice the C6 slightly brightens the midtones. Shadows are therefore more readable, but the image loses some depth compared with how it should look in a dark room.

The situation is a bit more interesting in HDR. The start of the grayscale looks very good, but from roughly 20–30% brightness the white balance begins to drift increasingly. As brightness rises, red increases and blue becomes noticeably lacking. In the brightest areas the difference is already substantial and also affects the reproduction of some colors. The EOTF curve itself is, however, fairly well followed over most of the range. The C6 only tends to slightly brighten the image, which we also saw during our film comparisons. The largest deviation appears around the brightest sections, where the TV begins to map the signal to the panel’s capabilities.

The out-of-the-box Filmmaker mode in HDR is therefore not perfect, but overall it performs well. The biggest room for improvement is the white balance, especially at high brightness.

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.

LG TVs have been very receptive to calibration for years, and the C6 is no exception. After correction we were able to set the white balance almost perfectly, and most color errors (Delta E) fell below 3, often even around 2. In practice this means very accurate color reproduction in both SDR and HDR. The only curiosity showed up with the HDR luminance response. On the standard EOTF chart everything looks nearly perfect and at first glance it would be hard to fault anything. Only when we measured the TV’s behavior using filters based on actual movie scenes did it become apparent that the C6 has a slight tendency to artificially boost image brightness.

It’s not a huge difference and many people may even take it as a positive, since HDR looks a bit more striking because of it. From the perspective of fidelity to the source material, however, this isn’t ideal — some scenes are simply a bit brighter than the filmmaker intended. Interestingly, this is rather atypical for LG. In previous generations LG TVs usually adhered closely to the reference picture curve after calibration. With the C6 we’re still very close to the standard, but that subtle brightness "boost" can indeed be noticed in movies and TV shows.

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.

In terms of tonal transitions alone, the C6H performs really well. Gradients are smooth, colors don’t break into obvious bands, and in both bright and dark scenes it’s hard to find major posterization issues. In most material the image looks very clean in this respect.

Note: The situation is much worse when it comes to dithering around black. In very dark parts of the image you can notice clear flickering and graininess, which from close viewing can be quite pronounced. The Tandem OLED panel version shows this effect noticeably more than the regular C6. That’s a shame, because the tonal transitions themselves are at a very high level. It’s precisely the behavior of the image just above black that is the main reason we can’t rate this category higher.

Philips PQS9000 handles tonal transitions very well. It’s especially noticeable in dark scenes, where shades blend smoothly into one another without visible banding or distinct borders between colors. As a result, even large uniform areas look smooth. Minor imperfections only appear in brighter tones, but you have to look closely to notice them. During normal viewing they are unlikely to distract from the movie. In this category Philips performs really well.

Here the LG C6 has taken a really big step forward. The TV uses the same processor found in the flagship G6, and in terms of image processing the two models are very similar. That's a big plus, because in this area LG's processor this year performs excellently. The "Smooth Gradation" feature works especially well. With heavily compressed material it can effectively hide ugly banding and artifacts that often appear, for example, in lower-quality streaming. It's best to leave it on the "Low" setting. That way the improvement is noticeable, and the TV doesn't yet start blurring fine details. Higher levels smooth the image more, but can start to remove some of the natural texture of objects on screen. The upscaling itself also performs very well. Lower-resolution material is properly sharpened, edges look clean, and the processor quite effectively reconstructs fine details. In this respect the C6 is already very close to LG's best TVs, and the differences compared with the G6 are small.

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 C6H with a Tandem OLED panel can also operate at refresh rates up to 165 Hz. PC gamers will get the most use out of that, of course, because for consoles, movies, or sports we’re still talking about a maximum of 120 Hz. The panel itself performs excellently in motion. OLED pixels respond virtually instantly, so even with fast-moving objects you don’t see the typical motion blur behind them. The image stays clean whether you’re watching sports or playing fast-paced games.

If you care more about smoothness than motion clarity, TruMotion is available. LG lets you adjust two parameters separately. De-Judder works mainly with films and series shot at 24 fps and helps reduce the judder typical of them. De-Blur, on the other hand, is intended for 50/60 fps material, so it’s especially useful when watching sports or TV.

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.

The C6H offers basically a full package of gaming features. On consoles we can easily use 4K at 120 Hz, while PC users can push the refresh rate up to 165 Hz. The TV also supports VRR from 40 to 165 Hz, ALLM and a proper implementation of HGiG. Dolby Vision is also available in game mode, which remains a significant advantage for Xbox owners. We can view all the key information in the Game Bar, which provides quick access to VRR settings and current signal parameters. The OLED tandem therefore doesn't change the actual feature set for gamers, but with such high panel brightness HDR games can make an even bigger impression. Functionally, the C6H is simply a very complete TV for console and PC.

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.

In terms of input lag, the C6 performs like a good gaming TV should. At 120 Hz we measured about 5 ms, so controller input is practically instantaneous. At 60 Hz the result rises to around 14 ms, but that's still a good figure. Latency is a bit higher in Dolby Vision. At 120 Hz it's about 14 ms, and at 60 Hz about 22 ms. In practice, when playing normally on an Xbox, this is unlikely to be something that would actually bother you.

Input lag is already less impressive than the rest of the "gaming" gear. At 60 Hz we measured 32 ms, both in SDR and HDR. That's enough for more relaxed games, but in fast shooters you can feel a slight delay. At 120 Hz the lag drops to 16 ms and gameplay is noticeably more enjoyable, though the competition can respond even faster.

The biggest problem appears when Dolby Vision is enabled. At 60 Hz the delay is as much as 213 ms, and at 120 Hz it reaches 106 ms. The response to controller input is then clearly delayed, which significantly interferes with gameplay. That's why on the PQS9000 it's definitely better to stick with HDR10. Dolby Vision is supported for games, but its practical usefulness remains limited.

The C6H with a Tandem OLED panel also works very well as a computer screen. When working with text the most important thing is that the TV correctly supports 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, so small fonts, icons and UI elements are rendered clearly. The only thing you can notice up close are subtle color fringes caused by the unusual subpixel layout. At a normal viewing distance for such a large screen that practically stops mattering, and text is very readable day to day. The C6H is even better when the PC is used for gaming. The TV can run at up to 165 Hz, supports G-Sync and VRR, and input lag at the maximum refresh rate is about 5 ms. Combined with the very fast response time of the OLED panel, that creates excellent conditions for PC gaming. There’s no smearing, the picture is very smooth, and inputs respond virtually instantly. In that respect the C6H can easily be treated not just as a TV but also as a very large gaming monitor. Just remember that with 77- or 83-inch sizes, positioning your desk sensibly can be a real challenge. 😉

PQS9000 owes its high score for computer use mainly to its gaming capabilities. A 144 Hz refresh rate at 4K and support for G-Sync Compatible and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro let you use frame synchronization on compatible NVIDIA and AMD cards. Working with text also fares well. Standard fonts are sharp and legible, and thanks to correct 4:4:4 chroma support, colored letters, icons, and small desktop elements do not lose clarity. The biggest drawback concerns very small, dark text, where the horizontal strokes of letters are noticeably darker than the vertical ones, making some characters look uneven. You probably won't notice this from the couch, but if someone plans to put The One on a desk and work up close, this flaw may become bothersome.

The C6H with a Tandem OLED panel also offers very wide viewing angles. You can watch the TV well from far off to the side and the image still retains high contrast and saturated colors. As you’d expect from an OLED, it’s one of those screens where you don’t have to fight for the exact center spot on the couch. Only TVs with QD-OLED panels from Samsung Display actually perform better in this regard. The slightly lower rating for the C6H comes from our unit showing a somewhat greater tendency to shift toward a greenish tint when viewed at very extreme angles. However, that’s a subtle difference we mostly noticed during direct side-by-side comparisons. In normal viewing, most people probably won’t notice it.

Viewing angles are one of the weakest points of the Philips PQS9001. Move to the side and the colors noticeably lose saturation, and the image becomes washed out and lower in contrast. When watching with several people, seats directly in front of the screen are clearly the best. This is unfortunately a typical limitation of VA panels, where strong contrast head-on comes at the expense of poorer off-axis performance. Most TVs with this type of panel have the same problem, and The One is no exception. The swivel stand helps a bit by allowing you to angle the screen toward the viewer, but it won't solve the issue with widely spaced seats.

The version with the Tandem OLED panel performs noticeably better in daylight. The screen coating itself behaves very similarly, it is glossy, suppresses reflections fairly well, and maintains black levels with the lights on. A bright window or lamp will still be visible on the screen, but the picture does not lose much of its depth because of that. The biggest difference, of course, is brightness. In typical SDR content the C6H reaches about 690 nits, which is clearly more than the regular C6. In a bright living room you can really notice this — the image has more punch and cuts through the incoming light much better. Tandem OLED also handles scenes with a lot of bright elements on screen better, although brightness still drops with near-full white. So they have not completely eliminated one of the usual characteristics of OLEDs, but the limitation is much less noticeable here. If the TV will be used often in a bright living room, this is one of the C6H’s advantages over the regular C6 that you can actually feel in everyday use.

The Philips PQS9001 performs quite well for daytime viewing. Its biggest advantage is a stable brightness of around 500 nits, regardless of how many bright elements appear on the screen. Even when watching winter sports or a scene full of white, the picture doesn't dim. In a typical living room that level is more than enough to comfortably watch TV without having to cover the windows.

The satin finish does a decent job of suppressing reflections, though it doesn't eliminate them completely. a window opposite the screen will be visible and may be distracting, especially in darker scenes. Black levels hold up well in daylight, so the overall image doesn't become overly washed out. So it's pretty good for everyday viewing, provided the sun isn't shining directly on the screen.

Smart TV: webOS

No matter which C6 version you get, the feature set stays the same. The heart of the TV is, of course, webOS, the system LG has been developing for many years. It runs fast, is well optimized, and above all offers access to virtually all popular apps. Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, Max and other streaming services — in this respect it's hard to find significant gaps. The system itself also provides a lot of extra options. There’s AirPlay, easy screen casting from a smartphone, smart home device control, and the ability to personalize the home screen. LG has been expanding webOS heavily for several generations, and at times the number of available tabs or recommendations can be a bit overwhelming, especially with background ads, but once you get used to it the system is convenient and, most importantly, runs smoothly.

Classic TV features

The C6 also performs very well when you want to use it like a regular TV, not just a screen for Netflix. Over-the-air TV reception, the program guide and channel switching work smoothly and there’s little to complain about. LG still offers the ability to record programs to USB, so in terms of classic features the set is really well equipped. There are really only two things missing. The first is PiP, the ability to display two video sources at the same time. The second is a backlight for the remote, which would be handy for evening viewing. Apart from that, the C6 has basically everything you’d expect from a modern TV.

Magic Remote: DIFFERENT VERSIONS

When buying the C6, it’s worth paying attention to the remote, because LG has created some confusion here. During our tests we had, among others, the C64 variant commonly found in large retail chains. The package included the new, much smaller Magic Remote Slim. It has fewer buttons and looks much more modern, but it still retains two of LG remotes’ most characteristic features: the scroll wheel and cursor control by moving the remote. The C6E we tested came with the older, larger Magic Remote. It works basically the same, but it has a traditional numeric keypad and many more physical buttons. It looks less modern, but some people, especially those used to classic remotes, may find it more convenient. So there’s no single answer as to which remote is better. The new one is smaller, simpler and more contemporary, while the older one gives faster access to a larger number of functions without navigating menus. It’s worth knowing that depending on the C6 designation, the box may contain either variant.

Titan OS in this year's The One shows that Philips has worked on its system. Compared with last year's version, many small issues and functions that previously didn't work as they should have been fixed. Now we can use AirPlay without problems, cast a computer screen via Miracast, or search by voice in Polish. The system itself runs decently, though it's definitely not among the fastest. The app library has also grown: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, CANAL+, Apple TV, and YouTube are available. The selection is still smaller than on Google TV, but for popular services Titan gives fewer reasons to complain. Everyday usability has improved in the standard features as well. You can connect Bluetooth headphones and listen to audio through them at the same time as the TV speakers, and there's a mode that lets you turn off the screen and leave only the sound. USB recording and picture-in-picture (PiP) are missing. What's most disappointing is the remote: despite backlit buttons it still controls the TV via infrared, so you have to point it at the screen. The system has gained many useful tweaks, but that control element remains unchanged and can be irritating in daily use.

During our tests the TV handled virtually all the most popular video formats we put on a USB flash drive without any problems. There were no issues with high bitrates, subtitles, or more demanding files, so it's hard to fault it in that respect. The only exception was content with a DTS audio track. That's not surprising, since the TV simply doesn't support that codec. Besides, the built-in player is good enough that most users will be fine without installing third-party apps or connecting an external media player.

The built-in USB player works quickly and smoothly and handles most tested files without problems. It performs well with music, from common MP3s to FLAC files, including 96 kHz/24-bit. It's perfectly adequate for everyday media playback from a USB flash drive. However, once again our biggest reservations are about photo handling. The player treats resolutions rather selectively: it opened our 8 MP, 16 MP and 32 MP files, but failed with, among others, 4 MP, 12 MP and 24 MP. It's hard to find any logic in that, since a larger photo works while a smaller one does not. That can be annoying when browsing vacation photos.

The Philips PQS9001 has a 2.0 audio system with a total power of 40 W, that is, two 10 W speakers per side. It sounds quite good and definitely better than most budget TVs. There's plenty of volume, but the sound lacks depth. The biggest issue is a lack of deep bass, so explosions in movies and heavier parts of music don't have the proper weight. Higher frequencies are not reproduced evenly either. Measurements show a clear dip around 2 kHz, then a boost at 6–7 kHz and a drop-off above about 8 kHz. That can emphasize sibilance and add a bit of harshness to the sound, despite the recessed treble. It's adequate for everyday viewing, but for movies and music it's worth considering external audio. Especially since the TV supports surround sound formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTS. A compatible soundbar or AV receiver will make better use of those formats than the built-in speakers.

LG OLED C6H (TANDEM OLED) vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Colors

Colors

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

Daytime performance

Panel details

TV features

Classic features:

Smart features:

Sound connection options

Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):

Senior accessibility

Smart TV: webOS

Classic TV features

Magic Remote: DIFFERENT VERSIONS

Apps

Playing files from USB

Sound

Sound Quality Test

Acoustic Measurements