Philips PUS8359 (IPS) vs SHARP JP7765E

The quality of HDR effect on the Philips PUS8359/12 television is also not impressive. A brightness level of 280 nits is too low, resembling standard SDR more than true HDR, which is clearly visible on the five tested images. Additionally, the television does not impress in terms of color gamut coverage – just 76% DCI-P3 is a result that can be considered weak, especially compared to other models in a similar price range.

So how does the brightness of the Sharp JP7 perform in the most demanding titles? Honestly: at first, we were quite surprised. The television is capable of achieving over 1000 nits of brightness, which is an outstanding and rarely seen result for a device costing just under 2000 zł (for 55 inches). Watching bright, full-screen scenes, one can get the impression that we are dealing with truly good equipment. However, unfortunately, we must return to the problem we mentioned earlier regarding local dimming management. When small, bright elements appear on a dark background on the screen (like in the test scenes from Life of Pi or Sicario 2), it is noticeable how poorly the JP7 handles the zones. The television dims them almost to the maximum, stifling the whole HDR effect, which at such moments resembles a flat SDR image (less than 200 nits). This instability makes the image on the JP7 unfortunately lose its appeal in demanding, contrast-heavy films.

As a consolation, it is worth noting that the panel has the potential for good color display. A PFS (phosphor) filter has been implemented here, allowing the coverage of the DCI-P3 palette to reach a solid 94%. The manufacturer calls its product a “QLED,” even though it is mainly based technologically on the aforementioned PFS filter. Considering the recent market battles among manufacturers about what can and cannot be called QLED, we leave the issue of the correctness of this naming to your judgment. However, it remains a fact that the potential for reproducing saturated colors in this panel is simply good.

The "Film" mode turned out to be the most faithful in terms of compliance with the source material used in our tests. However, like other factory modes, it also had its drawbacks. In both SDR and HDR materials, we noticed issues with white balance, where the dominance of green and red resulted in a yellowish tint. This effect was particularly visible in the form of yellowed whites and unnatural skin tones. The "ColourChecker" palette test showed that every color was shifted towards warmer tones, which affected color accuracy. A key aspect of the image is also contrast and brightness, which can be evaluated by analyzing gamma charts and the EOTF curve. On the gamma chart, we observed significant deviations – both too high values causing loss of detail in the shadows and too low values leading to a drastic decrease in contrast. Compared to gamma, the EOTF curve performed better, only slightly brightening the image, which had a less negative impact on overall quality.

When it comes to out-of-the-box colors, the Sharp JP7 was tested in Film mode, which traditionally offers the most consistent image compared to the yellowed “Eco” mode or the glaring blue of the “Dynamic” mode. Although this is the best choice among the available settings, the results are still far from ideal. The white balance clearly lacked red and blue components, causing many scenes to take on an unnatural, greenish tint. Another issue was the gamma – during fullscreen scenes, the television provides too much brightness, completely stripping away its cinematic character. All of this translated into color reproduction errors, particularly with shades of gray, which exceeded Delta E 10. Just to remind: errors above 2-3 are already noticeable to the human eye, so here we are dealing with a significant distortion of reality.

In HDR mode, the situation is reversed but not any better. Here, the blue color dominates the white balance, giving the image an unnatural, almost “store-like” sharpness reminiscent of aggressive demo modes. Furthermore, the measurements of the EOTF curve emphasize the store-like nature of the image. The graph clearly shows that the television generates an image significantly brighter than the standards predict, resulting in an artificially boosted and unrealistic final effect. The Sharp JP7 is evidently trying to appear stronger than it actually is, but it does so at the expense of fidelity to the content.

Philips, both in its cheaper and more expensive models, offers a wide range of tools for image calibration. We used them to improve the quality of the displayed image, although it was not as simple as it might seem. We managed to adjust the white balance, improve the gamma, and tune the EOTF curve; however, despite these actions, the deltaE errors were still at a very high level. The main causes are limited coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette and low maximum brightness, which significantly affected the final result. Although the overall presentation looks much better, the design features of the TV did not allow us to achieve spectacular results.

We subjected the JP7 to our standard calibration procedure and truly... the television gained a new life thanks to it, especially in SDR content (YouTube, classic television, series, or older movies). Because we managed to accurately set the white balance and stabilize the gamma, color errors dropped to a value of below 3. This is a level at which the human eye has trouble detecting discrepancies. In this scenario, the Sharp JP7 delivers an image with really great color accuracy, which is a significant advantage in this price range. However, the content in HDR turned out to be much more problematic. Here, despite our efforts and adjustments to the settings, the television simply did not want to cooperate. In the JP7 menu, we cannot find any option that would allow for real control over brightness management (EOTF). Although a significant portion of color errors was reduced, the image still remained unnaturally oversaturated. It's a pity because the potential of the mini-LED backlit panel is large, but the software presents a clear barrier.

The conclusion is simple: when watching less demanding content (SDR) on the JP7, you can expect an image that is more than satisfactory, but in HDR, you have to come to terms with a certain degree of "artificiality" that cannot be overcome even with professional equipment.

In this paragraph, we will look at two functionalities. We will once again take a look at the function responsible for tonal transitions, but we will also check how the television handles image scaling. The option responsible for smooth gradation is the one called "Distortion Reduction." As we established, it quite effectively smooths out the choppiness. However, we must point out two things: we cannot enable it for HDR materials and that it blurs details in films. The tested television cannot boast the best image scaling. There is a noticeable overall blurriness of the image, but, worse, it blurs details. This is particularly visible on the branches and the hair of the model. A characteristic white halo around the character is also noticeable.

When it comes to lower quality materials and how the Sharp JP7 handles them, the situation is ambiguous. Let's start with the upscaling – here we have no major objections. The process of scaling the image to a higher resolution is correct; the image remains readable and clear, without the overscan effect or cropped edges. Of course, this is not at the level of top models and at times one can notice slight jaggedness on the contours, but in this price range, the effect is fully acceptable.

However, the digital image processing itself is significantly worse, as aside from the scaling, it virtually does not exist. In the JP7 menu, we won't find any option that would effectively smooth out unwanted tonal transitions or reduce noise in the image. As a result, the signal reaches the matrix in a very raw form, which, with heavily compressed materials (e.g., from YouTube), leads to visible posterization. Either this is a flaw in the software or a very strange design decision, as in earlier Sharp models, this feature was available and, more importantly, worked with noticeable effect. Here we are left at the mercy of what the source provides, without any digital support from the image processor.

Philips PUS8359 is not the best choice for watching sports. The lack of even basic motion enhancement features means that the picture in dynamic scenes is not suitably clear. Despite using an IPS panel (43 and 55'), which theoretically should offer better sharpness than VA panel variants, there is no noticeable improvement in terms of motion blur. In fast-moving images, it is clear that the UFO character is distinctly blurred, which indicates that the television does not cope well with maintaining sharpness in dynamic shots.

The motion fluidity on the Sharp JP7 is very mediocre, and the reason is simple: the television uses a 60Hz panel. This immediately makes it difficult to recommend for watching sports or serious gaming, where higher refresh rates are already the standard. The only real plus is the presence of a motion smoother, which we can control in movies using a slider called De-judder. Lower settings produce a more raw, "cinematic" (frame-based) image, while higher settings add artificial fluidity. We suggest setting it somewhere in the middle of the scale, that is, in the 3-5 range – this is the best compromise to avoid the soap opera effect while getting rid of the tiring image stutter. Interestingly, in the menu, we also find a slider for "motion blur reduction," which usually suggests the presence of a 120Hz panel. However, in the case of the JP7, it does not contribute anything to the image and serves more as a placeholder – it is meant to look good in the settings, but technically it should not function on this panel.

In terms of compatibility with consoles, the Philips PUS8359 is mainly suitable for casual gamers. Although the TV is equipped with an HDMI 2.0 port, it offers features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and Game Bar. ALLM automatically switches the TV to low latency mode, facilitating quicker reactions during gameplay, while VRR smoothly adjusts the refresh rate, eliminating the issue of screen tearing. Game Bar provides quick access to game settings and real-time monitoring of parameters; however, in our opinion, it performs worse compared to competitors' solutions.

However, more demanding gamers may feel underwhelmed. The Philips PUS8359 does not support advanced HDR formats in games or higher refresh rates, which is due to the use of a 60 Hz panel. These shortcomings limit the TV's capabilities in delivering smooth and detailed experiences during fast-paced, dynamic gameplay.

As we mentioned earlier, the 60Hz panel is not a feature that will attract gamers to the Sharp JP7. Perhaps for the casual gamer, whose console generates most titles at 60 frames per second, there might be something interesting? When it comes to specific additions, we find:

• ALLM Mode: Automatically switches the TV to low latency game mode (input lag).

• Game Menu: Which is hard to call a full-fledged “Game Bar,” as its functionality is minimal. Besides enabling ALLM, there is only a smoothness enhancer dedicated to games, which we recommend against because it introduces very noticeable artifacts and spoils the responsiveness.

• Dolby Vision Gaming: For Microsoft's consoles.

Unfortunately, the list of shortcomings is much longer and more painful than the positives. The biggest disappointment is the lack of support for 120Hz, even when lowering the resolution to Full HD. The presence of 120Hz would allow for performance modes to be activated in many games on PS5 or Xbox Series X. Another absence is VRR, which means that during frame drops, we are susceptible to image tearing. The lack of proper implementation of the HGiG standard is also very problematic. This results in the fact that during HDR calibration in the console menu, it is very easy to “overshoot” the brightness settings. As a result, instead of clear details in highlights, we end up with an unnaturally over-brightened image with cut-off details. The Sharp JP7 is a proposal only for very casual gamers.