Philips MLED920 / MLED910 vs Sony BRAVIA 7 II

In our measurements, the Philips MLED920 achieved even around 900 nits in static tests, which is a really solid result for a mid-range TV. In practice, this translates to a lot of satisfaction during viewing sessions – in scenes rich in bright light, such as the first, third, or fifth test screens, the screen was able to generate about 700 nits, which is enough to feel the true "HDR effect." However, it cannot be denied that the limited number of backlighting zones and the compromises of mini-LED dimming algorithms in more demanding scenes reveal their nature. In sequences with small light sources – such as the moon or a scene from the movie Sicario 2 – the television clearly prioritizes maintaining deeper blacks at the expense of the brightness of those small elements. For most viewers, this is still a reasonable compromise, as the dark background tends to look much better, though one must be aware that the details themselves may not impress with intensity. There is also some disappointment regarding colors. Although the applied PFS filter (the equivalent of quantum dots known from QLEDs) does its job and colors appear quite vivid, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color space reaches "only" 90%. In everyday viewing, this will be sufficient, but in extremely colorful productions – such as the latest Disney animations – one can notice that some tones are not as vibrant as they could be in other constructions.

The Sony Bravia 7 II handles HDR very well and, above all, is simply a bright TV. In the proper "Professional" viewing mode we measured about 2000 nits of peak brightness, so the panel's capabilities are really substantial. Of course, with Mini-LEDs the result on a test pattern is only part of the story, because a lot depends on how the TV controls the backlight in real scenes. And here Sony's algorithms perform really well. Depending on the scene, the brightness we measured in movies ranged from around 1100 up to 1700 nits. That's already a level at which HDR has the proper punch and bright effects can really impress. It's not perfect in every situation, though. With small bright elements on a very dark background the Bravia 7 II clearly prioritizes maintaining good black levels, which can cause their brightness to drop to around 500 nits. It still looks good, but you can see the TV doesn't always operate without compromises.

Colors

The second thing that has a huge impact on the HDR effect is, of course, color. And this is where True RGB technology was supposed to bring one of the biggest changes. Looking at the panel's raw capabilities, the Bravia 7 II performs very well. We measured about 98% DCI‑P3 coverage and 88% BT.2020, so the potential to display highly saturated colors is really large. However, in RGB TVs the situation is a bit more complex. When we performed the same measurements with a movie background applied, the gamut coverage dropped to about 92% DCI‑P3 and 78% BT.2020. Those are still good figures, especially for an RGB Mini-LED TV, but they clearly show that the final result largely depends on how the algorithms control the three backlight colors. In most scenes the Bravia 7 II handles this well and colors retain high saturation. The biggest differences are seen in shades of blue, where samples start to deviate more noticeably from the reference values and coverage is weaker than for the other primary colors. So True RGB does offer real additional possibilities here, but like with brightness, much depends on what is actually happening on the screen.

Like every Philips television we tested, we primarily evaluated the MLED920 in Filmmaker mode – this is supposed to be the "most honest" mode, designed for films and to faithfully convey the creators' intentions. Indeed, in terms of colorimetry, it performs the best among all the modes available on the television, but it is not without its flaws. The first thing that stands out is the white balance. The image has a slight tendency to take on purple-pink tones, which gives it a somewhat unnatural character. However, an even bigger problem turned out to be what we mentioned earlier – image clipping. Just look at the gamma or EOTF graphs to see that the line deviates significantly beyond the norm, falling below the value of 1.8. In practice, this means "clipping" the brightest whites, where the image becomes almost milky. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected – the MLED920 responds to calibration, and with a few adjustments, the image quality can be significantly improved.

To evaluate the out-of-the-box colors we chose Professional mode, because it performs best among the available settings. It's not perfect, though. In SDR the white balance leans slightly toward magenta, so some scenes look a bit warmer and less neutral than they should. A bigger issue is the gamma, which sits closer to 2.5 than 2.4. That makes the image a bit too dark in places, especially in the midtones. In HDR the situation is better. As brightness increases there is a bit too much red, but it's not a fault that stands out during viewing. Overall, Professional mode is a good starting point, although you can get a little more out of it with calibration.

After calibration, we managed to largely tame the white balance – to the extent that the average viewer will not be able to detect color inaccuracies. The characteristic pink-purple glow that previously disturbed the naturalness of the picture has also disappeared. The color palette has been organized, and the colors appear more consistent and neutral. The gamma in SDR content after calibration looks really good – there's no sign of the earlier “bleeding” effect in bright scenes. The picture has become more contrasted and devoid of the milkiness that previously spoiled the perception significantly. In the case of HDR content, the improvement is also noticeable, although it is still evident that the television is “doing its own thing.” The EOTF curve cannot be fully shaped, as Philips simply does not provide tools in its settings that allow for precise control over this parameter. In many films, the television simply still showcases the image “in its own way.” Despite these limitations, calibration has brought quite a lot of good – it has managed to minimize most of the color inaccuracies and significantly improve the overall balance of the picture. However, it must be remembered that certain barriers arise from the very hardware construction and they simply cannot be overcome.

After calibration the Bravia 7 II can look significantly better. First of all, we managed to set the white balance very well, both in SDR and HDR. Gamma can also be improved, and after correction it runs very close to the reference value. For most users, those changes will have the biggest impact on the picture. There is, however, a limitation when it comes to colors. On the Bravia 7 II Sony does not provide access to a classic CMS that would let us adjust individual hues separately. A lot is therefore left in the hands of the algorithms controlling the True RGB backlight. If the TV reproduces a specific color inaccurately, we are not always able to do anything about it. In our measurements this is most evident with some reds and blues, where errors can still be quite large. That does not, however, diminish the value of calibration. Correctly setting the white point and gamma strongly affects the overall image, so even without the ability to precisely tweak every color the difference compared with the factory settings is noticeable.

The manufacturer equipped this model with several features that improve signal quality, and although we usually approach such "enhancers" with skepticism, they turn out to be really helpful here. The key option is called "distortion reduction" – it works best at a medium level because, on one hand, it effectively smooths out unwanted banding and color transitions, while on the other, it doesn't excessively cut details, which keeps the image looking natural.

The situation is a bit worse with upscaling. Lower quality materials – such as test videos with models – appeared soft and lacking in sharpness. Yes, this can be somewhat corrected with the sharpness slider in the menu, but the effect still remains far from what competitors in a similar price range offer. Philips therefore still needs to work on this aspect because, in light of the successful improvement of tonal transitions, the upscaling simply performs poorly.

Upscaling and digital processing are among the Bravia 7 II's strongest assets and one of Sony's biggest advantages over the competition. Sony has handled digital image processing well for years, and it shows here too. Above all, the "Smooth Gradation" function works very well; it can smooth weak tonal transitions in lower-quality content. It's safest to set it to Low, but we'd comfortably recommend Medium as well. The effect is stronger then, and the TV still handles details very delicately. Some fine detail may be slightly smoothed, but Sony does it much more subtly than many other brands. The upscaling itself also performs very well. Lower-resolution sources are well upscaled to 4K; the picture looks clean and retains a lot of detail. Of course the TV won't magically turn native HD material into true 4K, but the Bravia 7 II does a very good job with what can be extracted from such a source.

The Philips MLED920 features a 144 Hz panel, which immediately suggests that we shouldn’t complain about motion smoothness. And indeed – the motion blur is relatively low here for a VA panel, and although one might occasionally notice slight issues on darker backgrounds, they are not something that most people would notice during regular viewing.

A major plus is the presence of a motion smoother called "Motion Style." It allows you to adjust the smoothness to your own preferences – if someone prefers a more “theatrical,” almost television-like image, they can increase the sliders, and if they want to preserve the natural “jitter” of a cinematic frame, they just need to set lower values. This way, everyone can find the perfect balance.

The Bravia 7 II uses a 120 Hz panel, so in terms of motion smoothness it delivers everything you’d expect from a TV in this class. With sports or games at 120 fps the picture is appropriately smooth, and for movies Sony provides an advanced motion smoothing feature. You can adjust the level of interpolation separately and decide whether you want to keep a more cinematic motion or achieve noticeably smoother motion. The issue of motion blur is a bit worse. The VA panel used isn’t among the fastest, and you can notice a slight trail behind moving objects, especially on darker backgrounds. It’s not at a level that will be highly distracting during normal viewing, but last year’s Bravia 7 performed better in this respect and had a noticeably faster panel.

For gamers, the Philips MLED920 is truly a complete tool. The manufacturer has taken care of everything that today is considered standard in televisions designed for consoles and PCs. It features ALLM, so the console automatically switches the screen to game mode, it has VRR and 144 Hz refresh rate, which guarantees smooth gameplay even in fast titles. All key HDR formats are supported – including HGiG and Dolby Vision Gaming for Xbox – which means that regardless of what you are playing and on which console, the TV will be able to extract maximum potential from the image. In everyday gaming, the Game Bar also proves to be useful – a relatively simple implementation by Philips, but a functional panel where you can quickly check image parameters, turn on VRR, or adjust details without leaving the game. It may not be as advanced as the competition's offerings, but it performs its job flawlessly. And lastly, something that distinguishes Philips from its competitors – Ambilight. The three-sided LED backlighting can make a huge impression in games, especially in the evening. It also provides a way to slightly "expand" the screen and feel greater immersion. And since colorful LEDs have recently become almost a mandatory element of a gamer’s room, the MLED920 fits into this trend perfectly.

The Bravia 7 II essentially has everything you'd expect from a good console TV today. It supports 4K at 120 Hz, VRR from 48 to 120 Hz, and ALLM, so when you start a game the TV automatically switches to low-latency mode. There's also a properly working HGiG, which means that after setting up HDR on the console the TV won't try to further brighten the image on its own. Just remember to turn off tone mapping in the TV's menu. Dolby Vision in game mode is another plus, especially for Xbox owners. Sony also includes its own Game Menu. From it you can quickly view key signal information, check VRR, or change gaming settings without digging through the TV's entire menu. The only thing missing from the feature list is support for 1440p at 120 Hz.

Our biggest complaint is not really with the features themselves, but with the connectors. The Bravia 7 II has four HDMI ports, but only two of them support full HDMI 2.1 at 48 Gbps. One of those is also an eARC port. So if you connect a soundbar or AV receiver via HDMI, in practice you have only one full HDMI 2.1 port left for a console or PC. With a single console that's fine, but with a PS5, an Xbox, and an audio setup it starts to get tight. That's hard to justify from Sony. Two HDMI 2.1 ports might be acceptable in cheaper TVs, but in a model of this class, especially in 2026, we'd expect all four ports to be HDMI 2.1.