SONY BRAVIA 3 vs Philips PUS7000

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.