PHILIPS PUS9010 (IPS) vs TCL X11L

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.

Such a large number of zones translated not only into deep, inky blacks but also into the panel’s brightness. The X11L is an extremely bright TV. Peak brightness can easily exceed 4000 nits, and with the special "Boost" mode enabled, under specific conditions that brightness can even hover around the marketing figures of 9000–10,000 nits. This is undoubtedly one of the brightest, if not the brightest, screens on the market. But how do those numbers translate to real-world movie measurements? The results are very good, though of course far from the marketing promises. Our measured brightness in actual movie scenes hovered around 2000–3000 nits. That’s an outstanding result, considering that the vast majority of content is produced to those brightness levels, including the rarer material mastered to 4000 nits. But it also shows that the numbers the manufacturer brags about don’t always translate directly to the video content available at home. The only "quirk" (if you can call it that) is that when very small, bright elements appear on the screen, their brightness drops below 2000 nits. The dimming algorithm does this deliberately to preserve deep blacks and minimize halo. This is entirely understandable and the effect remains very strong, but it also demonstrates that even with such powerful hardware, Mini-LED technology has its limits and does not always work without compromise. In HDR, brightness isn’t the only thing that matters; color saturation and color accuracy do as well. On the X11L these are very good thanks to the new Super QLED quantum dots (SQD). The addition of a newly applied filter delivered excellent coverage of the P3 color gamut and the ultra-wide BT.2020. Although it doesn’t reach the advertised 100% of BT.2020, values around 89–90% can be called excellent. Colors are not far off those of RGB Mini-LED panels. We can even say they’re more stable because they use a less demanding algorithm than the one RGB screens often have to deal with.

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.

When you enable the supposedly best Filmmaker Mode, you expect a one-to-one image of what the director saw. On the X11L it's pretty good, but the mode has obvious flaws that our measurements immediately exposed. Let's start with SDR. Both the white balance and the gamma are simply misaligned here. The whites have too much blue and red, giving a faint pink tint. That also hurt the gamma, which instead of holding the cinematic 2.4 runs closer to 2.2. What did that result in? The whole image ends up pushed and artificially brightened. The worst is saved for last: the HDR measurements. Apart from that slight white balance drift, the X11L fails on the brightness management curve called the EOTF. What we saw in the measurements instantly explains what we noticed earlier in the films. The image is unnaturally bright because the curve is massively overshot above the reference. The TV simply and ruthlessly lifts the dark parts of the image to create a "wow" effect, completely ignoring the director's intent.

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.

After a professional calibration we were above all able to fully tame the SDR signal. The X11L responded perfectly to our adjustments. We were able to completely straighten the white balance, eliminate that pink tint, and set gamma to a stable 2.4. After that treatment the picture finally became consistent with the director’s intent, natural and free of artificial boosts. For HDR we also managed to make minor corrections, but the TV’s biggest flaw remained unchanged. I’m talking, of course, about how the X11L manages its brightness and how badly it overshoots the EOTF curve. Unfortunately, TCL provides virtually no tools to manipulate this parameter. Even during professional calibration the software offers no way to tame that curve, so the TV will always tend to brighten the image in HDR.

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.

Like in the C8L model we tested earlier, TCL has delivered a substantial upgrade in its flagship X series in this area. It's all thanks to the MediaTek Pentonic 800 processor used in this model. Thanks to it, features that smooth tonal transitions or even upscale content to higher resolutions finally look the way they should. The biggest Achilles' heel of previous TCL models has finally been addressed. The processor excels at digital processing, and in this respect the TV no longer lags behind flagship models from Korea or even the most refined ones from Japan.

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.

In terms of specs, the X11L can impress: it supports refresh rates up to 144 Hz at 4K, and at Full HD it can be pushed to 288 Hz. But from a real-world perspective, we were most interested in how the screen handles 120 Hz. After all, modern hardware is limited to that rate, led by current-generation consoles. How does it perform in practice? Although it uses a VA panel, the screen doesn't exhibit heavy ghosting. With very fast-moving objects you can notice a slight smear, but it's subtle enough that it doesn't stand out when gaming or watching sports. The motion smoothing feature called "Motion Clarity" is also very helpful; it lets you adjust motion smoothness to your liking. Recommended settings are shown in the photo.

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.

For gamers the X11L is simply a superb screen. TCL has already gotten us used to the fact that its products deliver practically every feature available on the market, and it's exactly the same with the flagship from the X series. Thanks to the new processor, the X11L offers four HDMI 2.1 ports with the full 48 Gbps bandwidth. Naturally, the 2.1 standard brings a set of extremely useful options, such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and VRR frame synchronization, working across the full refresh range up to 288 Hz. All of these features can be conveniently controlled from a dedicated Game Bar. Interestingly, its appearance can be customized to your taste, with three ready-made themes referencing Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. And speaking of Xbox: Dolby Vision Gaming also works on the X11L without any problems.

When gaming in the standard HDR10 format, however, you should be aware of the specific tuning of the brightness curve, which can cause problems during initial setup. Although the TV supports HGiG, configuring everything through the PlayStation or Xbox system menus can be tricky. The screen's algorithms tend to artificially brighten the test checkerboard pattern, making it really hard to hit the correct white clipping point by eye. For HDR10 content to look right, we recommend manually setting the brightness in the console menu to around 2500–3000 nits.