SONY BRAVIA 3 vs Philips PQS9011 / PQS9001 (The One 2026)

Bravia 3 does not hide the fact that it belongs to the group of televisions that are rather modest in terms of brightness. Our measurements showed around 370 nits, which is a value balancing on the borderline where one can still speak of any HDR effect. For some, this is an acceptable level; for others, it is rather typical for SDR materials, where spectacular highlights or vivid contrasts are not expected. The impression is that this is not a television for those focused on the highest image quality in demanding film content. However, this does not mean that we won't find any advantages here. Compared to its predecessor, the X75WL, Bravia 3 has gained an additional PFS filter, functioning similarly to solutions known from QLED technology. Thanks to this, the DCI-P3 color gamut has been significantly expanded and reaches over 91 percent, which in practice provides more saturated colors and a more pleasant image texture. As a result, even everyday content looks a bit livelier, and movies and series can surprise with their colorful presentations, despite the limitations in brightness itself.

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 primarily tested the Sony Bravia 3 in movie mode, which immediately proved to be the best choice among the factory settings. The picture is not perfect, but compared to the eco mode that the TV suggests right out of the box, the difference is significant and for the better. In movie mode, one can notice a certain problem—the image seems too warm, which results from a lack of blue in the white balance. Despite this, in SDR content, the final effect can still be considered quite decent and satisfying for everyday viewing. Much more serious errors occur in HDR materials. The Color Checker analysis showed significant deviations, and poor brightness management combined with limited color gamut coverage further exposes the shortcomings of the image in this mode. All of this makes HDR on the Bravia 3 look unconvincing and can spoil the impression left by the quite decent SDR content settings. Fortunately, this is not a situation without a solution. Various errors can be somewhat mitigated, and some can even be completely corrected through professional calibration. Therefore, we decided to check how the TV would perform after such adjustments.

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 calibration allowed us to extract significantly more from ChooseTV 3 than we could have expected at the beginning. First and foremost, we managed to address the shortage of blue color, which previously caused a noticeable warming of the image. After a slight adjustment in white balance, most of the errors in Color Checker measurements for SDR content practically disappeared. The shades of white gained a natural quality, and brightness management in gamma stabilized to a level that is nearly perfect, not exceeding the threshold of human eye perception. Therefore, it can be confidently said that in SDR content, after a few tweaks in settings, ChooseTV 3 performs really excellently. HDR content, however, fares much worse, although it is still definitely better than before calibration. The white balance has been corrected, but the limitations of the IPS panel are insurmountable. The lack of local dimming means that even the smallest elements can be overexposed, which immediately stands out. Color-wise, the effect has also improved, although it is far from ideal—many errors still exceed the threshold of four or even five delta E units, meaning they remain visible to the human eye. It was already clear before that ChooseTV 3 is not a television designed to amaze with HDR quality. Nonetheless, it is gratifying that in SDR content, after calibration, the image can look really great, and in this category, the television pleasantly surprised us.

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.

Bravia 3 brings something more to the Sony television family than just a common name. It stands out primarily for its ability to improve the quality of weaker materials thanks to the applied processor. Of course, we won't find the advanced XR chip known from more expensive models here, but it must be acknowledged that the image at a lower resolution looked surprisingly good. Scaling worked effectively, and most parts of the screen were free from the typical excessive jagged edges found in budget constructions.

The feature that enhances the fluidity of tonal transitions is also worth noting. In the high setting, it works really well, effectively masking the imperfections of gradation without significant loss of detail. It does happen that the algorithm overly smooths elements that should remain sharp – for example, faces – however, in overall terms, the effect is beneficial. The best results were achieved precisely at the highest setting, and this option could be recommended to those watching lower-quality content.

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 fluidity of motion has never been a strong point of TVs equipped with 60 Hz panels, and the Bravia 3 is no exception. Nevertheless, Sony has added something that might appeal to those who are more sensitive to the way images are displayed. We are talking about the proprietary Motion Flow motion smoother, which offers users a lot of adjustment options. Thanks to it, one can make the image smoother, even theatrical, or stick to a more cinematic style with the characteristic stuttering that many simply associate with the film atmosphere. These features work with content at lower frame rates, such as movies and series recorded at 24 or 30 frames per second, which are the materials we encounter on a daily basis. It is precisely in this area that the motion smoother proves to be one of the most important features in everyday use of the television, and here the Bravia 3 performs really well.

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.

Bravia 3 is not a device for e-sports enthusiasts or fans of late-night marathons with a controller in hand. The lack of 120 Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 ports wraps up the topic before it can even develop. This is a TV for casual gamers who, after work, want to fire up FIFA or racing games, not for someone who measures every frame in a spreadsheet. Nevertheless, Sony has added a few nice extras so it’s not too barren. ALLM works as it should, automatically switching the TV to game mode (low latency). We even find a simple Game Bar here that is clear. However, the biggest curiosity is the PlayStation Portal app. With it, you can launch games from PS5 wirelessly and immediately see them on the TV screen. It sounds great, but it only takes a few minutes to feel significant delays. In our opinion, it’s more of a showcase of capabilities than something usable on a daily basis. If someone really wants to play, it’s better to connect the console with an HDMI cable right away and forget about wireless problems.

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.