Philips PUS8500 vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

When it comes to HDR performance on the PUS8560, one can confidently say that it is quite average. The brightness of the panel is around 350 nits, which we consider to be the absolute minimum for viewing content in this format. However, this is not a result that will impress viewers looking for the best possible image.

On the plus side, it is worth noting that the PUS8500 series – including the PUS8560/12 we tested – is marketed as a QLED television. And indeed, we can expect a wider color gamut here. This model is equipped with an additional filter (PFS), and the coverage of the DCI-P3 color space at around 90% should be sufficient for the majority of users. This filter works very similarly to quantum dots. As a result, the colors are quite well saturated. It’s not an outstanding result, but perfectly adequate for watching movies and series on streaming platforms.

Philips PQS9000 is a moderately bright TV; in our HDR scenes it reached roughly 450 to just over 500 nits. That's enough to notice a difference versus SDR. Sun reflections, lamps, and highlights have a bit more sparkle than on basic TVs, whose brightness often tops out around 300 nits. However, it’s not at a level where bright elements make a particularly strong impression. The biggest limitation remains contrast. Without local dimming, the TV raises the black level around a bright object when it brightens that object. That means there’s no clear separation between strong highlights and a dark background, and that contrast is what really shows off HDR. The PQS9000 offers more than the cheapest models, but despite decent brightness the effect stays fairly basic.

Colors

Philips deserves praise for the colors. Although the manufacturer labels this model QLED, a PFS phosphor is used here instead of quantum dots. That solution does not prevent good results, however. On test patterns and in measurements of film scenes we recorded about 94% DCI-P3 coverage and 75% BT.2020. For this class of TV that’s really good. In practice, it means the vast majority of colors used in HDR movies and series will have proper saturation. Lush greens and intense reds are not a major problem and add appeal to the picture. Limitations are easier to spot in some games and rarer content that uses the most saturated shades of the wide BT.2020 gamut. In those situations, displays with wider color coverage, such as SQD or RGB LED, can show more. In its price segment the PQS9000 has nothing to be ashamed of.

We tested the TV on the best available factory settings, which is in Film/Filmmaker mode – this is the mode we recommend for everyday viewing. Unfortunately, it is not without its flaws. Both in HD and HDR content, the image had a clear tendency to appear pinkish, caused by too much red and blue in the white balance. Another problem turned out to be excessive brightness of the image, which was confirmed by both the gamma chart and the EOTF curve. This characteristic was responsible for the loss of detail and washed-out colors in more challenging HDR scenes, as we mentioned earlier. Overall, this led to quite significant color reproduction errors – in extreme cases, the delta E value exceeded 7, while the threshold of visible errors for the human eye is about 3. This situation can be improved through calibration, and you can read about its effects below.

Unfortunately, the PQS9000’s factory picture settings for Film mode need some fine-tuning. In SDR the biggest issue is an excess of red in the white balance, which makes whites, grays, and skin tones too warm, sometimes even slightly pink. On top of that, the gamma runs below the target across most of its range. The TV therefore brightens midtones and highlights, making the overall image look flatter than it should.

In HDR the white balance itself is much better. Aside from minor deviations, the components stay close to each other, so there isn’t the pronounced tint seen in SDR. However, the EOTF curve shows a slight brightening of parts of the image, and the biggest issue appears in measurements of the wide color gamut. Many hues deviate significantly from the reference, with errors reaching 8–9. So the good gamut coverage we praised earlier doesn’t mean the TV hits specific colors accurately. It can display a wide color range, but out of the box it doesn’t use it very precisely.

The Dutch manufacturer offers quite a large dose of settings in their products, so as usual, we decided to dig a little into them. The effects are immediately visible – we managed to correct the white balance, which made the image stop appearing excessively pink. The brightness characteristics were also partially balanced, of course, within the limits that the television itself allows. The image is no longer overly vibrant, and the overall reception after calibration is definitely better than in the factory settings of the Filmmaker mode.

One could only criticize the characteristics of the EOTF curve, which still indicates that the image tends to lighten materials in HDR format. Despite our efforts, the darkest parts of scenes can still be too bright, and the brightest do not always reach their full contrast potential. However, it must be clearly stated that we are dealing with a typically budget construction – you cannot expect reference-quality reproduction of HDR content from it.

Calibration definitely helped this model – it improved the balance, toned down the aggressive color scheme, and brought the image closer to what one might expect from a well-configured movie mode. However, there are certain limitations that cannot be overlooked.

Calibration brought a big improvement, especially in SDR material. We managed to even out the white balance and remove the previous color cast, and the Color Checker measurements now look really very good. Colors are much closer to what should be on the screen, so with regular TV or SDR movies we can be satisfied with the result. Unfortunately HDR somewhat spoils that outcome. On one hand it's limited by the panel's capabilities, since calibration won't improve contrast or replace local dimming. On the other hand there are color errors we couldn't correct because the CMS settings, that is color management, were grayed out and inactive. For that Philips loses points with us. White balance can be fine-tuned, but without access to wide color gamut controls you can't correct colors in HDR as effectively. It's a shame, because the SDR results show the potential is there, it's just not allowed to be fully used everywhere.

Philips PUS8560 offers a feature that reduces posterization, hidden under the name "distortion reduction." And while it indeed serves its purpose by smoothing problematic tonal transitions, it operates a bit too broadly. In practice, it affects not only colorful gradients but also softens faces, clothing textures, and furniture surfaces. This decreases the authenticity of the image—especially in films where natural texture is of great importance. However, if someone is looking for smoothing at all costs, it's best to set this option to "Low." For cinema image enthusiasts—definitely not recommended.

On the plus side, the quality of upscaling older materials should be noted—the PUS8560 model handles them surprisingly well. The image maintains a natural softness without artificially enhanced sharpness. It is also worth mentioning that the television correctly displays very low-resolution content, avoiding problems with cropping the edges of the image (so-called overscan).

The digital image processing in the Philips PQS9000 performs well, though we have a few reservations. The "Distortion Reduction" function helps smooth tonal transitions in lower-quality material, but it works quite unevenly. It can improve a section of the picture, only to, moments later and still within the same scene, seem to lose effectiveness and reintroduce banding between shades. A plus is that it doesn't remove film grain or fine noise, so the image retains its texture. We found the "Medium" setting worked best, and that's the one we recommend. The 4K upscaling itself is acceptable, though the picture is very soft. Edges are heavily smoothed, which may make the image feel less crisp to some viewers. In that case, it's worth slightly increasing the sharpness in the TV's menu, as this will make edges stand out more. Don't overdo the sharpness slider, however, or you may introduce artificial halos instead of improving the picture.

The Philips PUS8560 is a television equipped with a 60 Hz refresh rate panel, which already limits its capabilities for displaying dynamic content. Watching sports or playing on a console is not one of the most enjoyable experiences. The situation is further worsened by the lack of any option to improve the smoothness of films. In the menu, we won't find settings that would allow for the activation of a motion smoother or even a slight motion smoothing in films recorded at 24 frames per second. You can imagine the effect. The picture may look jerky, especially in shots with panoramic camera movements.

In terms of motion handling, the Philips PQS9000 performs outstandingly for an LCD TV. It's not just the 144 Hz refresh rate, but above all how quickly the panel itself responds. At 120 Hz you can hardly see the typical trailing smears behind moving objects. What's especially pleasing is that this also applies to darker backgrounds, where many VA panels clearly struggle. Here motion remains clear, and Philips pleasantly surprised us in that regard. To adjust how motion is displayed there is the "Motion Style" function. It includes two sliders: "Smoothness" and "Blur Reduction," which let you tailor the effect to the content you're watching and your personal preferences. Our suggested settings are shown in the photo. Treat them as a starting point and try different levels of smoothing to see which you prefer.

Although the Philips PUS8560 is not designed specifically for gamers, the manufacturer decided to equip it with several features that may prove useful when connecting a console. It includes automatic switching to game mode (ALLM), as well as a simple connection status information bar – the so-called Game Bar. While it does not make a particularly strong visual impression, it serves its purpose. The presence of variable refresh rate (VRR), operating in the range of 48 to 60 Hz, might come as a surprise. While this is not a wide range, in the case of less demanding games or titles with unstable fluidity, VRR can help reduce the stuttering effect. However, this is the only element that can be considered above the minimum.

It should be clearly stated that the PUS8560 is not hardware for gamers looking for a responsive screen and full support for modern console features. It lacks HDMI 2.1 ports, the refresh rate is limited to 60 Hz, and the panel's response time is not among the fastest. This model may be suitable at most for casual gamers who want to enjoy the Ambilight system.

Gaming features

When it comes to gaming features, the Philips PQS9000 really has a lot to offer. Four HDMI 2.1 ports let you connect multiple devices without having to decide which one gets the full-capability port. Consoles can use 120 Hz in Full HD, 1440p and 4K, and a PC can also take advantage of 144 Hz at 4K or 240 Hz if you drop down to Full HD. There's also VRR, which matches the refresh rate to the frame rate and prevents screen tearing. Its range goes from 48–240 Hz, with the upper limit applying to Full HD mode.

ALLM is included, so the TV automatically switches into game mode, and HGiG works correctly, which is useful when setting up HDR on a console. There's also a Game Bar for quick access to settings and signal information. The list even includes Dolby Vision gaming, but that option is hard to enjoy because of very high latency. Apart from that caveat, the feature set is really solid.