Philips PUS8079 vs LG UA75006LA (VA)

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.

The LG UA7500 with a VA panel has a brightness that hovers around 350 nits, which, by today’s standards, isn't very impressive. It's hard to talk about a true HDR experience here – most content looks more like classic SDR with a slight attempt at highlights enhancement. One advantage is that regardless of the test pattern, the effect remained relatively stable. However, we noticed that in very extreme scenes with a lot of fine detail, the television can slightly dim the image to achieve better black levels, but this comes at the cost of visibility of bright effects. Additionally, it should be noted that the UA7500 is not equipped with any extra technologies for expanding color. It is neither a QLED panel nor a PFS LED, which is why the coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is only 80%, causing many HDR movies to appear flat and not fully represent the variety of colors.

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.

The Filmmaker mode on the LG UA7500 performs better than one might expect from such a budget TV, but let's not get carried away with the praise. The picture is put together quite sensibly and at first glance is not irritating; however, its weaknesses quickly start to show. This is most apparent in scenes with bright points – lamps in the background or reflections of light on the skin are clearly exaggerated. Characters' faces often look unnatural, as if they have been "burned out." Additionally, the default gamma settings brighten even the smallest details, causing the image to lose subtlety in darker areas. Nevertheless, the fact remains that, for its price range, the UA7500 in factory mode provides a decent starting point. However, it's clear that without additional correction, these issues cannot be avoided, which is why – as with other TVs – we decided to check what could be achieved after calibration.

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.

We noticed the greatest improvement when calibrating the mode intended for daily SDR content. We managed to smooth the white balance in an acceptable way and tackle the issue of excessive brightening of small elements by the gamma characteristic. As a result, the image gained the consistency and naturalness that were lacking in the factory settings. After such correction, we can confidently state that for daily television content, programs, or materials from YouTube, the LG UA7500 performs really well – especially after professional calibration. The situation is somewhat different for HDR content. Here, the calibration did allow us to tame the white balance and slightly improve brightness management, but the limitations of the design are immediately apparent. The lack of additional filters to widen the color palette means that the most vivid colors appear flat, and the image does not have the intensity we would expect from good HDR. In SDR, the UA7500 performs quite decently, but in HDR – despite corrections – it remains far behind, and this is a characteristic that one must accept when choosing this television.

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.

The LG UA7500 with a VA panel has shown a really good performance in this category. The image scaling from Full HD content or even SD was surprisingly smooth. The picture looked smooth, edges weren't excessively jagged, and the television maintained a significant amount of detail, which meant that even older movies didn't lose their character. It particularly excelled with faces – there were no artificial contours or the "mask" effect, which often occurs in cheaper models. The way the television handled tonal transitions in lower-quality materials is also noteworthy. Thanks to digital processing, colors didn't blend together, and gradients looked natural and smooth. There was no intrusive image smoothing or loss of cinematic grain. This makes the UA7500 great for everyday content – from terrestrial television, through sports, to YouTube, where we often watch materials in various resolutions.

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.

LG UA7500 is a television with a 60 Hz panel, so it’s hard to expect any awe in this category. It’s more of a screen intended for everyday content or an evening movie session rather than for following dynamic sports events or playing action games. It’s clear that the manufacturer directed this model specifically to that group of consumers – and in that regard, it performs correctly. We have the TruMotion function at our disposal, which is a motion smoother. It’s simple, has only one slider, but it can make a noticeable difference. At lower settings, the image appears more raw and cinematic, while at higher values, motion becomes smoother and more pleasing to the eye.

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.

LG UA7500 is a television that can be safely recommended to "casual" gamers. While it does not have a 120 Hz panel or HDMI 2.1 ports, so fully utilizing the potential of modern consoles is out of the question. However, the manufacturer has taken care to include a few extras that can make gaming more enjoyable. Notably, the Game Bar deserves mention – a very nicely designed panel where you can quickly view and change the most important settings. From this panel, we have access to features such as ALLM (automatic switching to game mode) and frame synchronization, which is VRR. The range of VRR is limited – it works from 48 to 60 Hz – but the mere presence of this feature in such an affordable television leaves a positive impression.

Additionally, there is support for HGiG, which is HDR calibration mode for gaming. It sounds good, but based on testing experiences, we already know that with the UA7500, this option doesn't make much sense. The television does not handle HDR very well, so paradoxically we achieved better results with this mode turned off. This is another signal that the UA7500 is more of a screen for occasional gamers who value simplicity and convenience rather than for those looking for full immersion from the latest consoles.