Philips OLED808 overview: A shocking mid-range OLED

The 55-inch OLED808 is a part of Philips’ 2023 8-Sequence household, which additionally contains 48-, 65- and 77-inch fashions. It might not be the flagship mannequin for this 12 months, however there are two large causes to concentrate to this explicit Ambilight TV.

Firstly, it employs the newest P5 image engine, the seventh Gen P5 AI, which options improved Ambient Intelligence and a slew of recent image enhancing wizardry. Secondly, it makes use of OLED EX panel expertise, which pre-MLA (Micro Lens Array, expertise used within the a lot pricier LG G3), was about nearly as good as OLED acquired.

There are or course, many different sights onboard – plus the inevitable caveat or two contemplating the value. I’ve had it on my testing bench for the previous week or so, and this is how I’ve acquired on.

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Philips OLED808

Editor’s selection

It might not be Philips’ flagship TV, however this superior 8 Sequence 4K mannequin will not depart you wanting. It seems to be beautiful, provides elegant picture high quality and has enhanced Ambilight, which seems to be as beautiful as ever.

Execs

• Dynamic HDR image efficiency
• Very good design
• Google TV OS works properly

Cons

• Solely two HDMI inputs assist 4K/120HZ
• No Freeview Play
• Lacking mainstream catch-up TV gamers

Specs, pricing and availability

Obtainable now, the Philips 55OLED808 sells for £1,799 (though savvy deal hunters ought to have the ability to discover it for much less) within the UK, and €1,590. Owing to the complexities of name licensing, this mannequin, which is made by TP Imaginative and prescient, isn’t out there within the US, Canada or Australia.

Design

All the time a powerful level of Philips TVs, the design of the OLED808 warrants admiring glances. Gloriously skinny, the razor skinny, zero bezel panel is introduced in a darkish metallic body, and sits on a central, rectangular metallic satin chrome stand, with a beneficiant quantity of swivel.

The protruding again panel is dwelling to audio {hardware} and basic connectivity. It is also the place you will discover a three-sided iteration of Ambilight, right here in next-gen guise with improved colour-matching accuracy, because of a brand new RGB sensor, and an prolonged menu of visible kinds. It seems to be nearly as good as ever, and stays an enormous promoting level for Philips TVs.

Connectivity contains 4 HDMI inputs. Inputs 1 and a couple of are 4K/120Hz suitable, with HDMI 2 forming the ARC/eARC connection.

There’s additionally a digital optical audio output, a trio of USB ports, a headphone mini jack, and a CI bay for people who want one. The panel has each terrestrial and single satellite tv for pc tuners, which I will contact on extra shortly.

The OLED808 ships with a slim, black Bluetooth distant management. Along with a pleasant hairline end, there are devoted buttons for Ambilight, Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix and Rakuten TV.

Options

The good platform of selection for Philips this season is Google TV, the content-centric sibling of the extra widespread Android TV OS. Full display, it is a simple sufficient interface to stay with.

Because the set runs Google TV, there is not any provision for Freeview Play on the time of testing. Additionally lacking are BBC iPlayer, ITV X and Channel 4 catch up apps. These might properly flip up in the end, however the hopefully you will be utilizing an exterior TV field, like Sky Q, or streaming system like a Fire TV Stick 4K Max, that may have them, so whereas disappointing, it is in all probability not a complete catastrophe.

Philips has ramped up assist for players on the OLED808. There’s not solely a devoted gaming UI (accessed through a protracted press on the Menu button), but additionally provision for Dolby Vision 4K/120Hz playback, VRR support for 4K at a full fats bandwidth of 48Gbps, in addition to FreeSync Premium and G-SYNC compatibility. There’s additionally Auto Recreation and Auto-Low-Latency modes as customary.

Latency is sweet in Recreation mode. I measured enter lag at simply 12ms (1080/60), which is not market main however does the job. Enjoying Overwatch in 4K/120Hz is buttery clean, with excellent definition and color vibrancy.

Usability is okay too. Philips has finished a lot to simplify its menu navigation system over the previous few years, to the purpose now the place you would possibly rightly describe it as intuitive.

There is a Fast Menu, which provides uncluttered entry to a TV information, related sources, and Aurora, a soothing viewing mode that performs animated scenes and JPEGs. In case you’ve ever felt the necessity to unwind with undulating jellyfish, it’s going to be proper up your wellness avenue.

As has change into commonplace with Philips, HDR assist is common. The set is compliant with HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ Adaptive and Dolby Imaginative and prescient. This offers it an apparent edge over instant OLED rivals from LG and Samsung, as they don’t play ball with all HDR protocols.

There’s additionally codec assist for each Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio streams, the latter hitching a trip on Philips DTS Play Fi compatibility bandwagon.

Play-Fi, if you do not know, is an interoperable audio streaming platform that helps multiroom audio and wi-fi dwelling theatre. Consider it as a substitute for Sonos and Denon’s Heos. It is in all probability greater within the US than different territories, which is odd contemplating the place Philips sells its TVs, however does seem like gaining some traction over right here too.

Image efficiency

The OLED808’s photos don’t require a lot TLC to look spectacular. Straight from the field, the display wows with deep, large color, inky blacks, vivid highlights and delicate shadow element.

Once you decide to look at HDR10 + Adaptive content material, you are served a selection of HDR Private, HDR Crystal Clear, HDR Cinema, HDR Filmmaker and HDR IMAX Enhanced image presets. Select Dolby Imaginative and prescient, and also you get a equally themed choice. Dolby Imaginative and prescient Brilliant appears to make one of the best use of the panel.

There’s additionally an HDR Recreation mode and devoted Calman calibration setting, for people who wish to get right down to the nitty gritty.

Because it occurs, the OLED808 is a wonderful HDR performer. I measured HDR peak brightness at simply over 1000 nits utilizing a 5 per cent measurement patch, when partaking the HDR Crystal Clear picture preset.

On a bigger 10 per cent window, the set was measured at simply over 900 nits. That is cannot contact the likes of Mini LED screens just like the TCL C845K, however does nearly beat the likes of its OLED competitors, the LG C3, and the Sony A80L.

Philips is leveraging loads of AI with its present silicon, and getting wonderful outcomes. It is properly value taking a deeper dive into this menu choice to get one of the best from it.

Ambient Mild Stage Optimization, which routinely adjusts the brightness of the show in accordance with room lighting situations, and Darkish Element Optimization, which extracts darker element when viewing in vivid ambient lighting situations, are highly effective instruments.bThere’s even the choice to optimise color temperature, once more by primarily based on ambient gentle.

Philips

I discovered Darkish Element Optimization to have probably the most pronounced impact when watching dimly lit scenes, resembling these which dominate Prime Video’s John Wick spinoff, The Continental.

Many sequences within the present are exceptionally darkly lit and tough to view in comparatively excessive ambient gentle. Darkish Element Optimization lifts textures and shapes from their surrounding backgrounds with out overly brightening the image.

As talked about, color vibrancy and replica are each distinctive, and there is a richness to the set’s presentation. Deep reds and nuanced blues particularly are spectacular with animated films.

Sound efficiency

Whereas the OLED808 lacks the refinement of Philips collaborations with Bowers & Wilkins in its flagship units, just like the OLED907+, it is nonetheless a surprisingly satisfying pay attention. The soundstage is generously proportioned and would not undergo too closely from the dearth of directionality of its speaker complement.

The OLED808 might solely have a 2.1 speaker configuration, with a downward firing stereo pair, however it really sounds excellent. For one factor, it performs loud with out overt distortion, because of 70W amplification. The model says it is taken nice pains to clean out the crossover between its stereo audio system and the devoted triple ring, rear-facing bass driver, and general, I might say it has been a hit.

After all if you wish to make extra of Dolby Atmos-encoded TV exhibits, then reap the benefits of the eARC HDMI output, and bitstream to a suitable soundbar or dwelling cinema receiver.

Verdict

The Philips OLED808 is a slick and spectacular TV that hardly places a pedestal foot fallacious.

The razor skinny design is a head turner, and the inclusion of Ambilight will win it inside design kudos. The true star of the present, although, is the mix of OLED EX panel and AI enhanced image processing, which delivers some high flight imagery.

The one vital draw back is the limitation of Excessive Body Price HDMI throughout its 4 inputs. Having simply two 4K/120Hz-capable inputs is annoying sufficient, however dropping certainly one of these to eARC is a royal ache for largers setups.

Nonetheless, in terms of the upper-mid vary 4K OLED market, you’ll battle to discover a better-rounded display, and it comes extremely advisable.