Philips OLED769 vs Hisense U7Q PRO

The Philips OLED769 performs admirably in film scenes featuring small bright elements. With peak brightness reaching around 800 nits, the TV handles light sources like street lamps or stars with remarkable vividness and detail. However, its limitations become evident during scenes with full-screen brightness, such as sun glare, where brightness drops to approximately 250 nits. This is a common challenge for more affordable OLED models, which often struggle to sustain high brightness across the entire display.

U7Q PRO is truly a bright television. In synthetic tests, it achieved over 1500 nits, which is an outstanding result for this price range. Such brightness – at least in theory – allows for displaying HDR content as intended by creators, even in more demanding scenes with strong light. In practice, it can be very good, but not always perfect. In bright scenes with a large surface area – such as the test screen with intense sunlight from the movie "Pan" – U7Q PRO makes a huge impression. It can almost blind with light, which is definitely an advantage in the context of HDR content. Unfortunately, this is not always maintainable when a lot of small bright details appear on a dark background. In such moments, local dimming algorithms decide to dim some bright elements to maintain good black levels – and the side effect is that some details simply disappear from the frame. This is a classic compromise in mini-LED televisions – and U7Q PRO is no exception. However, with such a large number of dimming zones, one could expect a somewhat more mature algorithm responsible for controlling them. Fortunately, the overall reception of HDR content is very positive. U7Q PRO is not only bright but also colorful; thanks to the PFS LED (QLED) coating, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is at 95%, and BT.2020 is around 73%.

The "Film" mode on the Philips OLED769 proved to be the most faithful factory setting for preserving the source material, and it was the basis for our tests. However, like other factory presets, it has a few flaws. Let’s break down the key issues observed in SDR and HDR content.

In both formats, the white balance exhibited a noticeable dominance of green and red tones. This led to a yellowish tint across the image, resulting in yellowed whites and slightly unnatural skin tones. This was particularly evident in the "ColourChecker" palette, where colour samples leaned toward warmer shades.

In terms of contrast and brightness, two critical graphs tell the story: the Gamma curve for HD content and the EOTF curve for 4K HDR content. For SDR, the gamma value dips below the ideal 2.4 level, causing lighter parts of the image to appear overly bright. This overexposure reduces detail and depth in bright areas. In contrast, the EOTF curve for HDR content performed admirably, accurately maintaining details in both bright and dark regions. This ensures realistic, dynamic scene reproduction that enhances the overall viewing experience.

We tested the U7Q PRO in the best possible picture mode that this model offers – Filmmaker Mode. And indeed, it is this mode that performs best in terms of color reproduction. But that doesn't mean it's perfect. In our test unit, both in SDR and HDR content, the image had a slightly cooled tone. The white balance was shifted towards blue, which made the overall impression feel a bit "cooler." It's not glaring, but definitely noticeable – especially on white backgrounds that, instead of neutral, appeared slightly bluish. Additionally – as we mentioned earlier – the television tends to slightly brighten and oversaturate the image, which is also confirmed by the gamma and EOTF charts. All of this together means that without calibration the image may seem a bit unnatural – too cool, with slightly exaggerated dynamics. That's why we decided to conduct our own calibration – and its effects and charts can be seen below.

After professional calibration, the Philips OLED769 truly excels in colour accuracy. Any yellow tint previously seen in HD and 4K content is now eliminated. The Colour Checker test shows minimal deltaE errors, occasionally exceeding a value of 2, which indicates a nearly perfect representation of the director's intent.

When it comes to contrast, the results are equally impressive. For 4K materials, there was little room for improvement initially, but the gamma curve has been significantly refined. This leads to a more accurate rendering of dark and bright areas, resulting in a dynamic and realistic viewing experience.

Thanks to the calibration, the full potential of the television has been unlocked. The Philips OLED769 now delivers vibrant, natural, and high-quality images, making it an excellent choice for movie lovers and multimedia users.

Thanks to calibration, we managed to tame the white balance in both SDR and HDR content. For SDR materials, the effect is really very good – the image becomes neutral, consistent, and simply pleasant to view. Everything looks as it should.

The performance in HDR is a bit worse. Although the white balance looks correct and overall the image gains in naturalness, unfortunately, delta E errors remain noticeable. Why? Because Hisense does not give us full control over how the U7Q PRO manages brightness in HDR mode. This is where the limitation appears. When we look at the EOTF curve for HDR content, we can clearly see what we mentioned earlier – at the beginning of the graph, there is a noticeable drop, meaning the television dims the smallest sections more than it should. On the other hand, the brightest elements can be illuminated a bit too much. As a result, some details are lost, others are too aggressive, and overall control over brightness does not always align with what we are trying to achieve during calibration.

Does the image look better after calibration? Definitely yes, in terms of color. But when it comes to managing brightness in HDR, we have to accept that the Hisense U7Q PRO will do it its own way.

When it comes to lower-quality materials, the distortion reduction in the Philips OLED769 does well in smoothing tonal transitions, especially at the minimum setting. It's worth noting that film grain is not blurred, which is a positive surprise, as such negative phenomena often occur with other manufacturers. Overall, this is quite a decent solution. However, it should be pointed out that this setting does not work in HDR mode, where gradation issues are much more pronounced. In HDR mode, the TV struggles with smoothing tonal transitions and may exhibit more noticeable distortions and noise, reducing image quality in dynamic scenes.

As for digital processing, the Philips OLED769 performs well. The model in the photo is not overly jagged, and the branches in the background lack characteristic jagged edges. The TV achieves this effect thanks to the absence of artificial sharpness, which may be an advantage for some users. However, others may find this less attractive as they prefer a more pronounced, sharper image instead of a subtle effect. This effect can be mitigated using a higher setting for the "Sharpness" parameter.

If someone happens to come across older materials where the issue of color banding appears – Hisense has a solution for that. In the U7Q PRO, we find a feature called "Smooth and Gradient Picture." Set to the "Medium" level, it works really well – it eliminates most of the gradation issues while not smoothing out the entire image, like blur in Photoshop. 😉 Film grain remains, details do not disappear – this is exactly how it should work. Kudos for the implementation!

As for scaling weaker materials, it’s just good. It’s not at the level of the most expensive TVs with advanced upscaling, but older content looks good. There is some mild aliasing at very low resolutions, but that’s completely normal and hard to avoid. On the plus side – even with the oldest materials, there is no overscan effect; the image is not cropped or artificially stretched.

The Philips OLED769 features a multi-stage motion smoother called "Motion Style," which will satisfy users who value the ability to customize motion fluidity in movies. Thanks to this function, the image can be set to be more frame-like or fluid, resembling a theatrical effect. This is a great solution for those who want to match the displayed content to their visual preferences. Gamers will also be pleased, as the TV, like most OLEDs, is equipped with a 120Hz panel. This provides extraordinary fluidity and image dynamics. Unfortunately, the Philips OLED769 lacks BFI (Black Frame Insertion) functionality, which could further improve motion fluidity and sharpness. Despite this limitation, it offers excellent visual experiences for cinema and gaming enthusiasts, one of its main strengths.

“Speed” – this word was mentioned most frequently during our tests of the U7Q PRO. The television is equipped with a 165 Hz panel, which is impressive in itself – especially since we are talking about a model in the mid-price range. Of course, PC gamers will benefit the most from its full capabilities, but even during everyday viewing, it is evident that this is a fast and efficient panel. Like most modern televisions, the U7Q PRO can also enhance the smoothness of movies that are primarily shot in 24 frames. In the menu, there is a slider that allows you to adjust the effect to your preferences – from a more cinematic feel, with subtle motion, to stronger smoothing with the characteristic “soap opera effect.”

The Philips OLED769 was created with gamers in mind, offering full compatibility with consoles and the highest-quality gameplay. The television received the maximum rating in this category, providing everything one could desire. With HDMI 2.1 ports fully supporting ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), the television ensures smooth and hassle-free gaming. ALLM automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, and VRR eliminates stuttering and screen tearing, resulting in fluidity and stability in gameplay. The Dolby Vision feature for gamers is another advantage, though it only works at 60 Hz. Most casual gamers are unlikely to feel the lack of a higher frequency, but more demanding users may have some reservations. This allows for enjoying a dynamic range of tones and realistic images, enhancing the gaming experience. PC gamers will also not be disappointed, as the Philips OLED769 offers full compatibility with Nvidia graphics cards, thanks to support for G-Sync. This technology synchronizes the TV's refresh rate with the graphics card, eliminating tearing and stuttering, translating to excellent image smoothness.

The Philips OLED769 is a television that perfectly meets the needs of gamers, offering a wide range of advanced features and technologies that significantly improve game quality and user comfort.

The Hisense U7Q PRO is a television that seems almost designed for gamers. It has practically everything you could expect from a gaming screen: variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic mode (ALLM), and as many as four HDMI 2.1b ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. Additionally, there is a clear and quite functional Game Bar, as well as a well-implemented Dolby Vision GAMING mode that works seamlessly with Xbox Series S and X consoles.

Sounds like perfection? Well, almost. Unfortunately, Hisense has yet to implement the HGiG feature, which is the system's limit on tone mapping on the TV's side. This means that when configuring HDR brightness on the console, we do it "by eye" or look for settings in online guides because the screen doesn't show the real range of its brightness. It's a pity - because HGiG makes it easier to match the console to the TV and helps avoid clipping or overly dark scenes in HDR games.

Fortunately, the other elements work very well. Signal delay (input lag) is low, responsiveness is excellent, and the handling of other functions is flawless. And although not everything worked perfectly, the U7Q PRO can still be recommended to gamers without hesitation.