Sony A95L vs Philips PUS7000

Sony A95L offers an incredible HDR effect, achieving an impressive brightness level of 1500 nits in scenes such as those from Life of Pi or Sicario 2. These results are truly remarkable – the bright elements in these films practically come to life on the screen, providing the viewer with immersive visual experiences. The only thing to note is minor issues with maintaining brightness in the scene from The Meg, where the entire scene is flooded with light. However, this is a natural effect related to OLED technology. The wide coverage of the BT.2020 color palette at 89% is also a significant advantage, placing A95L Sony among the top TVs in terms of color reproduction. All of this is made possible by the QD-OLED panel from Samsung Displays.

Unfortunately, the PUS7000 is not suitable for watching HDR content. This screen is simply too dark. A brightness level of 200 nits is not enough to correctly display such a format. Even if a HDR signal message appears on the screen, the image will resemble a regular SDR recording. Therefore, it's better to stick with the latter format to avoid issues in displaying bright scenes, which you can read about below. The situation is not improved by the fact that this is a classic LCD model without additional layers to enhance colors, such as QLED or PFS. As a result, colors in HDR may appear washed out. Ultimately, this gives a worse effect than in the standard SDR format, which is simply better suited to the capabilities of this panel.

The best factory mode in terms of color reproduction in Sony A95L is IMAX Enhanced. This is a mode that, at first glance, seems to be well calibrated; however, upon closer examination, several areas requiring improvement can be noticed. First and foremost, the white balance for both SDR and 4K HDR content is skewed with excessive blue and red color, leading to a subtle pink tint, particularly noticeable on neutral tones. As a result, skin tones are inaccurate, affecting the realism of the displayed image. This is clearly visible in the comparison photo below. Additionally, the Colour Checker test confirms the presence of these errors—color samples often deviate from their reference values, indicating some inaccuracies in the factory color reproduction of A95L Sony. The maximum deltaE error values reach up to 5.8, which is a clear indication that colors are not always reproduced as precisely as they should be.

Regarding brightness characteristics, the gamma for HD/SDR content is generally quite correct, maintaining an appropriate balance between brightness and contrast. Unfortunately, there is a significant jump at the end of the graph, leading to a strong brightening of the image when the screen is fully flooded with white. This can make scenes with very bright backgrounds, such as snowy landscapes or intense daylight, appear overly vivid and lose detail. In the case of HDR content, the EOTF curve, which is responsible for controlling luminance, is slightly boosted compared to the reference values. This, in turn, causes the image to be somewhat brighter than it should be, which may affect the perception of more subtle details in the darker areas of the frame.

We tested the television in movie mode, which theoretically should provide the best and most natural colors. And indeed, this mode is quite correct; however, after connecting the calibration equipment, its biggest flaw became apparent. The PUS7000 has significant deficiencies in displaying red. Poorly tuned white balance and too low saturation of this color cause the image to appear too cool. As a result, one might get the impression that the displayed content is simply lacking in vibrant colors. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that both SDR and HDR content are excessively brightened. This is confirmed by the gamma curve and EOTF graphs, which show that the television displays the image brighter than it should. This causes scenes to lose their depth and may appear somewhat washed out. Fortunately, the Philips menu offers many functions to improve these aspects, so we immediately proceeded to calibration to see what could be squeezed out of this screen.

Sony A95L offers excellent tools for professional screen calibration, allowing you to maximize the capabilities of the IMAX Enhanced mode. We used them to bring the image to a level that will satisfy even the most demanding viewers. After calibration, the white balance for both 4K HDR and SDR content looks simply great – almost perfect. The Colour Checker test confirmed that deltaE errors do not exceed a value of "2", which means that color reproduction is extremely accurate, and any deviations are practically imperceptible to the human eye.

Calibration also brought a significant improvement in terms of brightness – gamma is now perfectly balanced, eliminating the previous issue of excessively brightening scenes with very bright backgrounds. As a result, even the most vibrant moments, such as snowy landscapes or intense daytime scenes, appear natural, without the effect of clipping. The EOTF curve, which is responsible for controlling luminance in HDR content, has also been improved – it now reaches a reference level, both in synthetic tests and in practical movie watching.

As a result of the calibration, A95L Sony offers excellent experiences, whether you're watching material from regular television or your favorite movies. Every detail is reproduced exactly as the creators intended – without unnecessary brightening, with perfectly rendered colors and appropriate depth. This shows that this television, after professional tuning, is capable of competing with the best screens on the market, offering an image that truly impresses.

After professional calibration, it is clear that the PUS7000 responds well to image adjustments. In this price range, this is not a given. The effects should be assessed in two scenarios, depending on what content we plan to watch. SDR performs the best. After our corrections, the image looks really good. Most color errors fell below level 3, which is the threshold at which distortions typically become visible to the naked eye in measurements. Movies, series, sports, and regular television present themselves naturally, without unpleasant deviations. If someone primarily watches classic channels or streaming in HD quality, the difference after calibration will be noticeable immediately. However, it must be made clear that the PUS7000 is still not a television suitable for sensible HDR, and calibration does not change much here. The reason lies in the hardware: colors remain too undersaturated. The television lacks solutions that expand the color gamut, such as PFS filters or a quantum dot layer, so the panel simply cannot show the intense colors required by HDR. This is most evident in reds, which still look pale. This limitation cannot be bypassed with menu settings, as it results from the design of the backlighting and the panel itself.

The tonal transition smoothing function in Sony A95L works really well and is worth noting. We recommend setting it to the "Medium" level because at this value, you achieve an ideal compromise – there are no artifacts, and the image looks extremely natural and pleasant to the eye. This allows for smooth transitions between different shades while maintaining scene detail, which further enhances viewing comfort.

As for upscaling, you can see the full power of the XR processor here. Sony A95L handled our test material featuring a model excellently – the image is exceptionally clear, there are no excessive jagged edges, and the details in the background are perfectly preserved. The XR processor effectively improves low resolution, providing very good results that allow you to enjoy content in almost high quality, even if its source is not ideal.

The PUS7000 handles digital image processing quite well. The distortion reduction feature deserves praise, as it effectively smooths out unwanted tonal transitions even at a low setting. However, it has a flaw: if the action is too aggressive, it can introduce undesirable artifacts on the screen. It’s a good idea to experiment with this setting to find the sweet spot between a smooth image and detail clarity.

The upscaling, which is the enhancement of lower quality materials to 4K, is adequate. The image after processing is very "soft," which is typical for almost all Philips televisions. The edges are plastic and smooth, making the image look cohesive. If someone finds it too soft, it can always be adjusted with the sharpness slider in the menu to achieve a more pronounced effect.

Sony A95L is a TV that should satisfy both gamers and movie lovers. When it comes to watching movies, this model is equipped with Motionflow technology, which allows precise adjustment of whether we want the image to be more "framey," like in traditional cinema, or exceptionally smooth, like in cinema TVs. The "Smoothness" slider allows you to regulate the level of smoothness – from subtle changes to a more noticeable effect, while the "Clearness" slider is responsible for reducing flicker and artifacts, helping to achieve more natural and clearer motion. Regarding gaming and watching sports, the A95L Sony television offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz, making every dynamic action look incredibly smooth. Gamers will appreciate the lack of blur, while sports fans will see every movement in full sharpness. Overall, the TV performs great – both with fast-paced gaming and emotionally charged movie sequences.

In this regard, we don't really have any good news. It might seem that the biggest downside is the lack of a 120 Hz panel, but in this price range, that's actually standard, and it's hard to expect more. However, the worst part is that the TV does not have any motion smoothing features. There are no supporting systems for either movies or sports. We have to accept that the image on the PUS7000 is processed "raw." This means that during dynamic scenes or fast camera movements, the motion may appear choppy or unclear. We have no way to enable any smoother that would soften this effect.

Sony A95L is a television that will truly satisfy gamers, thanks to several key features that set it apart from the competition. First of all, a 120 Hz refresh rate – this is something that anyone who loves fast action games, racing, or dynamic shooters will appreciate. This ensures exceptionally smooth visuals, making gameplay more satisfying without annoying stutters. The A95L Sony also has an ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature that automatically activates low latency mode when we start up a console. What does this mean? Above all, faster on-screen responses, which is invaluable in games where every second counts. Additionally, there’s VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which adjusts the refresh rate to match the frame rate generated by the console. The result? No tearing, and everything looks smooth and consistent – even with fluctuating FPS.

It’s worth mentioning the support for Dolby Vision with low input lag in games – something we don’t often encounter in televisions, yet it’s included here. This makes the visuals in HDR-enabled games incredibly vibrant, with rich colors and excellent contrast. Both the brightest and the darkest details are visible, making everything look just as the game developers intended. And let’s not forget the "Game Bar" – a small but very practical feature. It gives us quick access to all the important gaming settings, such as VRR and latency information. There’s no need to interrupt gameplay to adjust settings – everything is at hand.

However, it is important to remember that the A95L offers only two HDMI 2.1 ports with full bandwidth, one of which is designated for eARC. This may pose a limitation if we plan to connect multiple devices – for example, a next-gen console and a soundbar simultaneously. In such cases, the eARC occupying one of those ports may be somewhat troublesome, blocking the ability to connect a second console.

Although the PUS7000 is not marketed as a gaming TV, it does not perform as poorly in this category as one might expect. While there is no support for 120 Hz refresh rates, which is understandable at this price point, the manufacturer has included several important features that genuinely improve the comfort of playing on a console. The most significant of these are VRR and ALLM technologies. VRR is responsible for synchronizing the screen with the number of frames generated by the console. This prevents the image from "tearing" and keeps it consistent even during sudden frame drops in the game. In turn, ALLM is a solution that automatically switches the TV to the lowest latency mode right after detecting a signal from the console. All of these parameters are easily accessible thanks to the Game Bar feature. This is a special control panel for gamers that can be brought up on the screen at any time. It allows for a quick overview of current settings and connection status without interrupting gameplay, which is a very convenient solution.