PHILIPS PUS9010 (IPS) vs LG MRGB85B

In the Philips PUS9010 version with an IPS panel, HDR brightness unfortunately falls short compared to the previously tested 55-inch variant with a VA panel. The difference is about 100 nits, which is clearly noticeable given the relatively low values. While the VA version could exceed 500 nits, here the maximum brightness reaches around 400 nits. This level still allows for watching movies and series in HDR, especially on streaming platforms, but the effects are clearly more subdued. Bright elements do not have as much impact, and scenes requiring high luminance appear less impressive. On the positive side, the coverage of the DCI-P3 color palette is commendable. The IPS version offers about 91%, which is roughly 5% more than the variant with the VA panel. This translates to slightly better color saturation in HDR content, despite the lower brightness. Colors can appear more vivid and consistent, particularly in colorful scenes.

LG MRGB85 offers moderate brightness. On test patterns it reaches about 700 nits, which by itself is a decent result. In actual movie scenes the values are lower and most often fall between 400 and 600 nits. Bright, expansive shots perform best. In scenes with a lot of black the TV noticeably limits luminance, trying to maintain the highest possible contrast. The HDR effect is therefore visible, but it is far from the level offered by more advanced Mini-LED designs. Especially in darker parts of films the limitations of edge-lit backlighting and imprecise local dimming become noticeable again.

HDR Colors

A much stronger suit of the MRGB85 is its colors. The TV covers about 95% of the DCI-P3 color space and 74% of BT.2020, allowing HDR material to look vivid and striking. Colors are well saturated, and the difference compared with basic LCD TVs is clearly visible. It is worth noting, however, that this is not a classic RGB backlight, where each of the three primary colors is generated by a separate diode. Red is produced by a PFS phosphor, which expands the palette and yields more saturated red shades. This solution works well for color reproduction, but it does not change the limitations of dimming itself. The LEDs are not driven independently in the way the series name might suggest... so it turns out that Mini RGB is not the same as Mini-LED RGB!

We assessed color reproduction, as always, using factory settings, focusing on movie mode, which in the case of Philips usually offers the best starting point. This is also a good moment to show how much the same TV model can vary depending on the panel used. Looking at white balance, the overall trend remains similar to the variant with a VA panel. There is still excessive red in the whites, but in the tested unit with an IPS panel, there are also deficiencies in the blue channel. As a result, the image has a slightly different color character, which can be clearly seen in the comparative materials. This is a very good example showing why ready-made settings downloaded from the internet may not always work even within the same model.

However, returning to the assessment itself, this unit performs quite well, especially in SDR content. Color tests show correct saturation and color consistency, without glaring errors that could interfere with everyday viewing. In HDR materials, slight deficiencies in reds are already noticeable, but these are not flaws that completely ruin the perception of the image. The biggest limitations do not stem directly from the colors but rather from whites and blacks. The use of an IPS panel and slightly lowered gamma results in the image being slightly boosted in brightness, while the weak black further affects perceived contrast. This makes the overall look brighter, but at the same time, it loses depth, especially during evening viewing.

We tested the TV in Filmmaker Mode, because among the available settings it produced the image closest to the reference. Factory color reproduction was not perfect. The biggest deviations were in the white balance, with too much red and not enough blue, which pushed the picture noticeably toward warmer tones. Whites took on a slightly yellowish cast, and skin tones and bright areas did not always look natural. It wasn’t a flaw that completely ruined the viewing experience, but in a direct comparison with the same screen after calibration the difference was clearly visible.

After calibration, the image was brought to a really reasonable level. Everything looks coherent and natural, and when it comes to color reproduction, it's hard to definitively state whether we have a VA or IPS panel. This is a good sign, showing that the TV has a solid foundation for further adjustments. It's worth noting the larger color gamut coverage in this variant, which can slightly improve the reception of colorful scenes, especially in HDR content. However, this advantage is largely counterbalanced by the elevated blacks, resulting from the use of an IPS panel. Limited black depth affects perceived contrast, especially when watching in a dark room. As a result, despite the noticeable improvement after calibration, the final assessment remains the same as in the variant with a VA panel. Better colors are not able to fully compensate for the weaker blacks.

Calibration primarily corrected the white balance and removed the previously visible warm tint. After the adjustment, whites no longer had a yellow cast and colors became more neutral and natural. The biggest improvement was seen in SDR content, where the picture looked even and much closer to the reference. A similar effect was achieved in HDR. After calibration the picture became more controlled, although not all of the TV's limitations could be eliminated. The biggest issue remained the intense reds, which were not always reproduced with the necessary precision. In practice the MRGB85 handles everyday SDR content very well, but in more demanding HDR material its limitations remain clearly visible.

In the Philips PUS9010, we find another iteration of the P5 Perfect Picture image processor, which aims to improve the quality of weaker materials. One of the components of this system is the distortion reduction function, responsible for smoothing tonal transitions. It works effectively and actually reduces visible color gradation. Unfortunately, it does so rather aggressively. In practice, it can dull details such as material textures or film grain. This is a clear compromise, so we wouldn't recommend it for movie screenings. It performs much better with looser content, like YouTube or regular television. The P5 processor also handles lower resolution materials quite well. The image is soft, sometimes even too soft, but it can easily be adjusted with the sharpness slider, tailoring the effect to personal preferences. Additionally, the lack of edge cropping in SD materials is a plus, which is still not standard in this class of televisions.

Upscaling and digital image processing perform quite well on the LG MRGB85. The Alpha 8 AI 4K Gen7 processor efficiently upscales lower-resolution content, and you can easily disable overscan regardless of the source. The TV also handles compression artifacts fairly well. The "Smooth Gradation" feature can effectively reduce visible banding and tonal unevenness, but it doesn't always work precisely. At higher settings it can smooth over fine details, for example material textures. On the plus side, it doesn't remove film grain. It's safest to use the "Low" or "Medium" setting, which provides the best compromise between artifact reduction and detail retention.

Philips PUS9010 has a 4K panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which will be appreciated primarily by sports fans and gamers. This is especially evident in dynamic scenes where motion is sharp, and annoying trailing is nearly absent. When it comes to movies (standard 24 fps), Philips provides us with a proven set of settings known from higher series. Two sliders are used to control motion. The “Smoothness” slider allows you to adjust the image to your taste: at low settings, we maintain a cinematic character, while moving the slider to the right gives us a perfectly smooth, albeit slightly “theatrical” effect. On the other hand, the “Motion Blur Reduction” is a feature made for sports – it ensures that fast objects do not lose details and remain clear.

The LG MRGB85 is equipped with a VA panel with a native 144 Hz refresh rate, so it performs very well in terms of motion smoothness. The TV easily handles 120 Hz content from consoles and higher refresh rates when connected to a PC. That matters not only for gaming but also when watching sports, where camera movement is noticeably smoother than on basic 60 Hz models. There's also the TruMotion system, which lets you set the level of motion smoothing yourself. You can keep a more cinematic motion or increase smoothness, which works well for sports broadcasts and TV shows. The range of adjustment is wide, so you can easily tailor the motion smoothing to your preferences.

The Philips PUS9010 is truly a solid machine for gaming. It has everything that matters: VRR, automatic game mode (ALLM), and support for HGiG. The latter is a great feature—it allows HDR in games to be set exactly as the creators envisioned. The television handles 120 Hz refresh rates effortlessly at every popular resolution (1080p, 1440p, and 4K). It doesn't matter if you connect a PS5, Xbox, or a powerful PC—everything runs smoothly and just as it should. Gamers will also appreciate the Game Bar. It's a quick, clear menu that immediately shows whether low latency mode is active. This is especially useful when frequently switching between different consoles. The experience is completed by Ambilight. Evening sessions with this lighting are on a whole different level; the image seems larger, and dynamic scenes leave an even better impression. Even if someone isn’t a fan of such “gimmicks,” it’s hard to deny that it’s impressive.

When it comes to gaming, the LG MRGB85 performs best by far. The manufacturer didn’t skimp on the feature set and essentially brought the full suite of functions from higher-end TVs to this model. You get three HDMI 2.1 ports with full 48 Gbps bandwidth. Each of them supports 4K 120 Hz from consoles, and when connected to a PC also 4K 144 Hz. So you don’t have to worry about which port to plug your console or PC into, since they all offer the same capabilities.

It also includes VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium, NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible, ALLM, and HGiG. Dolby Vision Gaming is present as well, allowing supported games to use high refresh rates and dynamic HDR simultaneously on Xbox. Rounding it out is Game Optimizer, a handy in-game menu for gamers. Without leaving the game you can change the picture profile, brighten shadow details, or check the current frame rate. In terms of gaming features, the MRGB85 therefore offers almost the same as much more expensive LG models.