Philips OLED950 vs TCL A400 PRO

OLED950 is a phenomenal TV for consuming HDR content, which is primarily due to the use of innovative Tandem OLED technology. With this technology, the screen is capable of generating astronomical brightness values, reaching over 2000 nits in movie scenes (on test screens). This is an outstanding result, placing the OLED950 model among the very top displays available on the market. However, it should be noted that there is a specific characteristic of this solution – at moments when full-screen bursts of light appear on the screen, the brightness can drop by as much as half. Nevertheless, it is worth emphasizing that values above 1000 nits on a full screen are still an outstanding result. This allows for HDR images to be displayed exactly as filmmakers would wish, maintaining the dynamics and impact of light scenes.

The use of Tandem OLED technology has also brought measurable benefits in terms of color reproduction, improving elements where traditional WOLED panels have had difficulties compared to QD-OLED competitors. In the case of the OLED950, the color gamut coverage is broader than in classic WOLED panels, reaching nearly 100% of the DCI-P3 space and a solid 82% of the demanding BT.2020 palette. Although these results still do not match the high achievements of QD-OLED panels, the difference diminishes during real-world usage. We cannot deny that in the vast majority of films, colors look simply fantastic on this model – they are saturated, vibrant, and full of depth.

The TCL A400 Pro is a moderately bright TV. Its peak brightness reaches about 600 nits. That level already allows for a real HDR effect and in many movies it does produce a noticeably more attractive picture than SDR. However, it is not a level that overwhelms by brightness alone. The A400 Pro is not one of those TVs that "attack" the viewer with a powerful flash in every dramatic scene. The biggest limitation is visible with small bright elements on a dark background. Due to rather aggressive control of the dimming zones, the TV can significantly reduce their brightness — in extreme cases down to around 100 nits. That means small lights, sparks, stars, or single highlights can be much less visible than they should be. That said, this is not done without reason. The A400 Pro does this to keep blacks as deep as possible and to limit haloing around bright objects. It's a deliberate compromise: the TV more often chooses deeper blacks over maximally bright, point-like highlights. On one hand this is understandable, especially with a limited number of dimming zones, but on the other hand you should be aware that the HDR effect will not always be as strong as the peak brightness alone would suggest.

On the plus side, the colors are worth noting. The PFS LED filter used here, marketed by the manufacturer as QLED, produces suitably saturated colors. Our measurements showed about 94% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut and about 74% of BT.2020, which is a solid result for this class.

We tested the OLED950 model in Movie mode. Although it is theoretically the best and most faithful preset on this television, in practice, it proved to be not without flaws. Interestingly, in the unit we tested, the biggest challenge wasn't the white balance itself – although it did have a slight tendency to give the image a pinkish tint. The main problem lay in the way the television managed brightness, both in everyday SDR content and in demanding HDR scenes. Analysis of the gamma chart and EOTF curve leads to one key conclusion: the television excessively highlights brightness in the lower registers. This results in the image appearing less contrasty than the panel technology would allow. Details in dark areas that should remain perfectly black (characteristic of "OLED black") are simply unnecessarily highlighted and brightened. Fortunately, these errors can be corrected using the appropriate tools, so – as always – we proceeded with professional calibration.

As standard, we carried out color measurements in the best-calibrated mode, Filmmaker Mode, the one that is supposed to be closest to the creators’ intent. The A400 Pro, of course, also offers other picture modes, but in practice they suffer from much larger color errors and alter the image character more strongly. We won’t go into those modes in detail in this part of the test. So how does the factory color reproduction perform? In short: really very well. In fact, looking at our measurement results, it’s excellent. Both the white balance and the luminance response were set surprisingly precisely. The errors were so small that during testing we genuinely rubbed our eyes in disbelief. Such good out-of-the-box settings don’t happen often, even in TVs operating in Filmmaker Mode. All the more reason to praise TCL, because the A400 Pro right out of the box can produce an image very close to how the source material should look. The results were so good that you could easily think someone had already paid extra attention to that unit and tried to calibrate it.

Our nitpicking really comes down to just one thing. In SDR content the image was slightly brighter than the reference for a dark room, because the factory gamma was set closer to 2.3 than to 2.4. It’s not a big error and most viewers probably won’t even notice it.

However, it should be noted that we’re talking about our specific review sample. With factory colors there can always be some variation between units, production batches, or screen sizes. So we don’t assume that every A400 Pro will look identical straight out of the box.

As can be seen, the OLED950 transforms into an absolutely phenomenal display after a professional calibration process, which without a shadow of a doubt can be placed in the same category as the best televisions currently available in the world. This equipment only needed a professional touch to show its full potential and eliminate factory shortcomings. The minimal errors in reproduction in Color Checker tests and the fidelity of the color palette speak for themselves. We are dealing with an almost perfect device here. A true window to the world, offering top-notch image quality.

Despite its excellent factory tuning, we couldn't resist checking how the TCL A400 Pro would respond to a professional calibration. Since the starting point was so good, we were even more curious whether we could squeeze even more out of this TV. And here we have to boast: we managed to bring our unit to absurdly low color errors. Results below 1 are something you don't see every day, even on very good TVs. Such results are more often associated with professional reference monitors than with a lifestyle TV for the living room. In terms of white balance and color reproduction, the A400 Pro after calibration simply performed outstandingly. The only thing we can pick at after a deeper analysis concerns the brightness behavior. The TV can manipulate luminance levels depending on the content being displayed, and quite often the image is a bit darker than it should be according to the standard. This most likely stems from the way the Mini-LED backlight and local dimming algorithms work in this model. However, that doesn't spoil the overall impression, because in terms of color precision alone the A400 Pro after calibration reached a level we really didn't expect.

Upscaling

In terms of image scaling, the proprietary P5 processor performs just as well as in most models from this manufacturer. Lower resolution content takes on a very soft and plastic character. Such a presentation will certainly appeal to many. However, if you prefer sharper contours, you can gently enhance them with the appropriate slider in the TV menu. In this aspect, it's really hard to pick on anything. The image simply looks very good and additionally there is no problem with the phenomenon of overscan.

Smoothing and Distortion Reduction

The tonal transition smoothing feature fares a bit worse. In the settings, we find an option called “Distortion Reduction.” This allows for three levels of processor intervention adjustment. Unfortunately, the Minimum setting works poorly and the smoothing effects are negligible. The Medium level gives a decent result, but it also starts to smooth out the skin details of actors. On the other hand, the Maximum setting works too aggressively. It removes definitely too many details from the face and background elements or can even take away the film grain. To achieve the optimal effect, it's worth playing around with these settings at home and adjusting them to your preferences. It might seem that the Medium option represents the best compromise here.

Digital video processing is unfortunately one of the weaker points of the TCL A400 Pro. That doesn't mean the TV performs badly, but it's hard to call it anything clearly above standard. The upscaling itself is adequate: edges are smoothed fairly well, the image doesn't look overly sharp or pixelated, and lower-quality content can be watched without major discomfort. At the same time the overall look is slightly soft and it lacks the precision that the best image processors in more expensive TVs can deliver.

Much worse, however, is its handling of tonal transitions caused by heavy compression. TCL equipped the A400 Pro with a "Gradual Smoothing" feature that in theory should reduce visible color banding and artifacts in lower-quality content. In practice its effectiveness is very limited. It does not improve tonal transitions in any noticeable way, and at higher settings it can also smooth out image details, giving the picture an artificial, slightly blurred character. For that reason we think it's best to leave this feature off. The A400 Pro handles basic image scaling decently, but if you often watch heavily compressed content with visible posterization, this model won't be one of the best choices.

The motion representation in the OLED950 model is virtually perfect. This is typical for screens of this type (OLED 120Hz+), as the matrix shows no blurring at all. Thanks to this, we can enjoy flawless sharpness in practically any conditions. A big part of this is not only due to the specifics of organic technology. Equally important work is done by the smoothing systems implemented by the manufacturer.

The TCL A400 Pro is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, but in practice we're most interested in how it performs at 120 Hz. That's the refresh rate used by most consoles today, as well as many sports broadcasts and high-frame-rate content. In this range the TV performs quite well. Motion clarity is really good, especially after properly configuring the motion smoothing. The "Motion Clarity" feature improves smoothness. Its settings include two sliders that let you tailor the motion smoothing to your preferences — separately for lower- and higher-frame-rate material. That way you can achieve either a more cinematic look or a noticeably smoother picture. If you don't want to tweak settings manually, you can use presets such as low, medium, high, cinema, or nature.

OLED950 is almost the perfect TV for gamers. This is not only due to the unique atmosphere that the Ambilight system creates during gameplay. The most important aspect here is the solid hardware support. We find literally everything that one should expect from a modern gaming screen today. The manufacturer has implemented two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s. This gives us access to gaming in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second. Of course, support for VRR technology and the ALLM automatic game mode is also included. The device handles any HDR signal effortlessly, whether we are using Dolby Vision or the HGiG standard.

Access to all settings is available from one place thanks to the special Game Bar overlay. Although this interface may not be the most graphically attractive on the market, it fully serves its purpose. It displays all the most important signal parameters and offers useful additions. Gamers can take advantage of the mini-map zoom function or add a permanent crosshair on the screen, which can be seen as a small aid in online competition. Adjusting the contrast range also proves useful. It allows for brightening shadows and achieving better visibility of enemies hidden in the dark corners of the map.

When it comes to features for gamers, the TCL A400 Pro performs excellently. The TV has practically everything you can expect from a gaming TV today: 4K support at high refresh rates, VRR, ALLM, correct implementation of HDR formats in games, including Dolby Vision, and HGiG. Because of that it works well with both next-gen consoles and PCs. Another plus is the inclusion of a Game Bar, a special panel with the most important settings for gamers. From it you can quickly check basic signal information, refresh rate, and active features, and also adjust the look and behavior of some settings to your own preferences. This is a solution that may not change picture quality by itself, but it greatly improves the convenience of using the TV while gaming.

The only thing to complain about is the number of full HDMI 2.1 ports. The A400 Pro has only two such ports out of four, and one of them also functions as eARC. In practice this means that if someone wants to connect two next-gen consoles and a soundbar, they may hit some limitations. In that scenario you'll have to either swap devices or use extra equipment, for example an AV receiver or a soundbar with HDMI inputs. Despite this, it's hard not to rate the A400 Pro very highly as a gaming TV. The gaming feature set here is really powerful.