Philips PUS8079 vs Hisense U7Q

The Philips PUS8079 has a maximum brightness of just 202 nits in content with a wide tonal range, which is very low and makes it unsuitable for streaming movies and series in the highest quality. Additionally, using HDR with dynamic metadata doesn’t improve the situation, as the only HDR format available on this model is HDR10+, which is rare and has limited content support. The TV also uses WLED backlighting, which is not optimal and results in only 80% coverage of the DCI-P3 wide colour gamut. This limits the intensity of colours in HDR content.

Since the algorithms responsible for blacks are performing quite well, we expected a similarly good effect when it comes to brightness and overall HDR quality. Unfortunately – here we have to disappoint you a bit.

The U7Q is quite a bright TV – in optimal conditions, it can reach around 800 nits, which indeed impresses on some screens, especially in scenes like those from the movie The Meg. Bright segments can really shine, and the HDR effect is noticeable. The problem arises when very small, bright elements appear on a dark background – for example, in Sicario 2 or in the second scene of the movie Life of Pi. In such moments, the dimming algorithms operate too aggressively. Yes, the blacks look great then, but the brightest points can almost completely fade, causing the HDR effect to disappear and details to be barely visible. That's just the nature of this technology in this price segment.

As a consolation, it's worth adding that the U7Q is advertised as a QLED TV (in practice, a PFS layer is used, which works very similarly), and it is indeed capable of displaying a wide color palette – with DCI-P3 coverage at around 94%, that's a very good result for this class.

The best factory mode for colour reproduction and fidelity to the director's vision on the Philips PUS8079 was the "Film" mode. However, this setting displayed significant discrepancies between the filmmaker's intent and the actual output. In both SDR and HDR materials (with HDR being less affected), the white balance was off, showing a blue tint similar to store displays, rather than pure whites. When it came to SDR materials, gamma was notably lowered, cutting into the already limited contrast and brightening the overall image. The EOTF curve in HDR content also showed a significant drop below the reference line, making HDR materials appear even darker. The colour accuracy in both SDR and HDR modes was poor, with high deltaE values indicating that the colours were far from their intended representation.

We tested the U7Q in the best possible picture mode, which is Filmmaker Mode. This mode is supposed to provide the most "filmic" experience and fidelity to the creators' intent – right out of the box. Unfortunately, even this professionally sounding name does not guarantee a perfect picture.

In our unit, the problem lay in a poorly set white balance. Both in HD and 4K content, the image had too much blue and red, giving the screen a slightly pinkish hue. It didn't look terrible, but it was noticeable – especially in bright scenes and white backgrounds. This alone could have been forgiven, but the biggest issue is the management of brightness in HDR content. The EOTF curve from the measurements confirms what we saw earlier during the scene tests: the television often dims the smallest bright elements too much, causing them to almost disappear, or conversely – excessively brightens the brightest ones, affecting the naturalness of the image.

Fortunately, Philips incorporates advanced image correction tools across its televisions. SDR content benefited the most from these adjustments, with significant improvements in deltaE errors, white balance, and gamma. While the image still isn’t perfect, it is much more watchable, making it easier on the eyes during movie or series viewing. HDR content, however, was more challenging due to the television’s low luminance. While the EOTF curve and white balance improved, the corrections weren’t as effective as with SDR materials. It’s important to note that each unit may have different errors, some larger and some smaller, but the adjustments made were a step in the right direction.

Thanks to specialized tools, we managed to correct the color quality in SDR content to nearly perfection. In materials with lower dynamics, delta E errors dropped below 0.5, which can be considered an almost reference result. The image on television, YouTube, or classic Full HD looks really good after calibration. Well, but where couldn’t we improve the image so easily? Primarily, it concerns HDR quality content. While we managed to somewhat "tame" the white balance and eliminate pink hues in most scenes, unfortunately, we did not have full control over brightness management. We set the local dimming settings according to the best observations – SDR: Medium, HDR: High – but the U7Q still did everything a bit its own way. There were still cases of overly strong dimming or brightening of details that the calibration simply couldn't eliminate. And although the overall reception of the content is much better, it must be taken into account that the U7Q will always have something to say at the end "but."

Let us revisit the topic of tonal transitions, this time in the context of overall image quality enhancement. As shown in the photo on the left, the gradation improvement feature delivers excellent results. It provides multiple settings, each offering noticeable benefits without softening the film grain effect. Once again, it must be emphasised that this feature is the standout advantage of the tested television.

On the other hand, the television’s performance in image scaling leaves much to be desired. Fine details often appear heavily jagged, with a noticeable white halo around figures. Additionally, the significant artificial sharpening detracts from the overall image quality.

There are situations where we would like to smooth out tonal transitions a bit, especially in older materials – those that have limited source quality. The U7Q is equipped with a feature called “Smooth and Gradient Image,” but unfortunately… it works very poorly. In the “Low” option, the effects are practically unnoticeable, and other settings smooth out details but do not improve tonal transitions. The only plus is that the feature does not interfere with film grain, so it does not ruin the natural structure of the image.

Fortunately, content scaling performs quite well. The image is not overly sharpened, there is no artificial clarity – and although it is known that this is not the level of high-end televisions, the U7Q handles displaying really old content in a completely acceptable manner without any problem.

This paragraph will be notably brief due to the absence of even basic motion-smoothing functionality, which is unsurprising given the device's budget-oriented nature. The VA panel used here is not known for exceptional sharpness and is instead associated with high contrast and slower response times, as confirmed by the matrix analysis results. Photos captured during fast motion reveal typical motion blur for this type of panel. While not ideal, the television could be conditionally suitable for watching sports, though viewers should expect less-than-optimal motion clarity. Additionally, films may exhibit noticeable stuttering due to the lack of any motion-smoothing features, even basic ones.

U7Q is truly a fast television, similar to its more powerful version "PRO". At a resolution of 4K, it supports up to 144 Hz refresh rate, and if someone wants even more – in Full HD you can achieve up to 240 Hz! This will mainly benefit PC gamers, but it’s worth appreciating – this is a rare feature in this price segment. Right from the start, it’s clear that U7Q was created with dynamic content in mind, such as games or sports. In films, we are not left "out in the cold" either – U7Q offers the "Ultra Motion Smoothness" feature, where using two sliders you can adjust whether you want a smoother, theatrical image, or something closer to a cinematic style with a visible frame. It’s good that, like with most manufacturers, we have a choice here and can adjust it to our own preferences.

The Philips PUS8079 provides only basic gaming features, including ALLM, VRR, and a Game Bar. The key highlight is the inclusion of dynamic frequency adjustment, which ensures a smooth image with minimal screen tearing—an impressive offering for this price range.

A notable benefit for gamers is the presence of the Game Bar, allowing adjustments to be made "on the fly" without needing to exit the game. Importantly, this feature retains options found in higher-end models, such as shadow enhancement for improved visibility in darker areas and a colour filter designed to assist gamers with visual impairments.

The Hisense U7Q is a TV designed for gamers – and you can see that right away based on its gaming capabilities. It has practically everything you could wish for: variable refresh rate (VRR) – check, automatic game mode (ALLM) – also check, and high refresh rates of up to 240 Hz in Full HD, as well as support for various resolutions, not just 4K. It's truly a great set of features that makes the U7Q excel in both fast-paced shooters on consoles and more demanding titles on PC. Of course – like in most Hisense models – it lacks a proper implementation of the HGiG function. That's a shame because HGiG allows you to adjust the brightness of the console to the specific TV, which in practice makes displaying HDR games according to the creators' intentions much easier. Without this, you simply have to reckon with certain limitations in the final HDR image in games.