PHILIPS Ambilight 65PUS8545/12 65-Inch LED TV (4K UHD, P5 Engine, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HDR 10+, Freeview Play, Works with Alexa, Android TV) Light Silver/Silver Chrome (2020/2021 Model)

Product Information

The biggest step up comes from its brightness. We measured a decently sustained peak light output of nearly 870 nits on a white HDR window covering 10% of the 55-inch OLED807’s screen, which is around 100 nits up on the peak light output of the OLED806. This amounts to an almost 15% increase that can be keenly felt in both small bright highlights and full-screen brightness when watching HDR sources. However, please note that the 48-inch OLED807 won't be able to match the same highs as this, because the panel can't get as bright at this size (it's the same for all 48-inch OLEDs) – this brightness applies to the 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch models. The sharpness isn’t messed up by camera pans or fast moving objects, either, thanks to Philips’ excellent motion compensation processing. The ‘Standard’ setting for this that’s the default for some picture presets is too aggressive, creating too much soap opera effect (excessive fluidity) and too many unwanted side effects. Its Pure Cinema and Movie settings, though, both offer excellent options for taking the edge off hardware judder without the image starting to look unnatural or uncinematic. Gaming is supported by two HDMI 2.1 ports (in addition to two HDMI 2.0 ports), with support for 4K 120Hz and Variable Refresh Rate, plus Auto Low Latency Mode so it switches to its Game Mode when you fire up a console.

It's worth noting that you can technically upgrade your current television to include Ambilight, even if it isn't a Philips TV. Fans though we typically are of Bowers & Wilkins products, be they hi-fi speakers or Philips TV audio systems, we didn’t fully warm to the sound of the OLED937’s predecessor. Despite it also sporting an external multi-channel speaker enclosure, something about its sound left us feeling a little cold. Especially when you’re talking about a TV that commands quite a price premium over OLED TVs that don’t feature such high-falutin’ integrated audio. There's Dolby Atmos decoding built-in, and HDMI eARC support for connecting to one of the best soundbars.Being able to deliver more native brightness means, too, that there’s a wider range of natural looking tones in the brightest parts of HDR images, as well as reducing the potential for clipping (lost shading) in peak light areas. To put it simply, Ambilight is a proprietary TV technology exclusive to Philips TVs, and in a saturated market full of near-identical goggle boxes, it really does help Philips stand out from the crowd. Ambilight is essentially the inclusion of an LED array around the side of a television, which projects color onto the wall behind a TV. That said, it’s seriously welcome to find the 65OLED937 providing the latter two picture options (along with support for the third-party IMAX Enhanced‘format’) for viewers who really do like a more restrained, ‘authentic’ look to their TV pictures. Philips no longer takes the ‘my way or the highway’ approach to picture quality it could perhaps have been accused of a few generations ago. Philips also supports the HGiG system that lets you use set up menus built into your console to establish the best gaming HDR experience, rather than the TV trying to figure out on the fly how best to handle incoming HDR game graphics.

Happily, the 65OLED937 sees – or rather, hears – B&W delivering significant improvements that lift the new set’s sound into truly five-star territory.Precious few TVs at the OLED807’s price point carry a 70W audio system – never mind a 70W audio system with a dedicated bass speaker. It’s hardly surprising, then, to find that this Philips model sounds far better than the vast majority of other TVs in its class, despite the remarkable thinness that characterises much of its bodywork. Google Assistant is available on Philips Android TVs running on Android O (8) or higher OS version. Google Assistant is available in selected languages and countries. It’s well-populated with content these days, too, with the likes of Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Prime Video, and Netflix all present and correct. It’s still missing the catch-up services for one or two of the UK’s main terrestrial broadcasters, but Philips has covered that by also equipping the OLED807 with the Freeview Play app, which brings all the UK’s catch-up apps together into one easy overall interface. The 65OLED937’s pictures manage to keep the spectacular feel going. As we might have expected given Philips’ penchant for going ‘all out’ with its TV pictures, this OLED model grabs the new brightness potential made possible by its EX OLED panel with both hands, pumping out the brightest, most vibrantly saturated high dynamic range pictures we’ve seen from any OLED TV on the market today bar Samsung’s S95B QD-OLED.

So, does the Philips 65-inch OLED807 offer up the image quality goods to compete as an ‘A’ brand in today’s TV market? Let’s find out…The set’s mid-range is wide and dynamic enough to deliver even dense action scenes with authority and conviction, easily avoiding the thin, hemmed in feel you get with big movie moments on so many TVs. The power and dynamic range that delivers this impressive mid-range performance also contributes to excellent detailing; a nicely projected sound stage that seems to exist well beyond the edges of the screen; and convincing, clear vocals. The OLED807 retains Philips’ long-running reputation for sharpness, too. Its pictures look emphatically 4K with the set’s Ultra Resolution feature in play – and this feature now seems to cause no significant unwanted side effects, so we see no reason not to use it (we recommended avoiding it in the past). The OLED807’s extra brightness also brings out more shadow detail in dark areas than we got with the OLED806, and HD sources are upscaled with more sharpness and detail than you get from most rivals. This television contains lead only in certain parts or components where no technology alternatives exist in accordance with existing exemption clauses under the RoHS Directive. Compatibility depends on Wi-Fi Miracast certification and Android 4.2 or later. For more details please refer to your device documentation.

Not every Ambilight TV is made the same, though. Low-end models have two-sided Ambilight, meaning colour emanates from the left and right of the TV. Mid-spec models have three-sided Ambilight, with LEDs pointing upwards too. Some very premium models, like the 2020 flagship OLED+935, now come with four-sided Ambilight, meaning the LEDs glow from the bottom edge of the set too. It feels, too, as if some of the provided picture tweaks can work against each other. For instance, running the Advanced HDR Tone Mapping feature in conjunction with the Maximum HDR Perfect setting can cause dark scenes to start to look a bit unstable. We could spend a good few thousand words next on the myriad picture adjustments provided within Philips convoluted menu system. It really does feel like Philips has given you control over, well, everything. For the sake of everyone’s sanity, though, we’ll limit ourselves to saying that while enthusiasts may embrace and enjoy exploring the huge range of adjustments the 55OLED807 carries, it can all be a bit intimidating to more regular folk. Crucially, outside of the spectacular but occasionally forced-looking Crystal Clear preset, there’s nothing gaudy or forced about the OLED807’s new brightness and colour achievements. The P5 processor deploys the extra capabilities of the new EX display with enough finesse and experience to ensure that it delivers nothing but positive outcomes.We’d also recommend slightly reining in the sharpness and colour slightly with the Crystal Clear preset, while adding a touch more punch to the HDR Personal preset. Smart TV app availability varies per TV model and country. For more details please visit: www.philips.com/smarttv. Philips has released something called the Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Strip, which comes in sizes for 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch TVs. It effectively replicates three-sided Ambilight – though not four, which is apparently to prevent odd reflection off TV stands or soundbars by non-Philips manufacturers. Philips can hardly be accused of failing to provide enough set up features, though, to help pretty much any buyer get the picture looking exactly as they want it to look. Disney+ subscription required. Subject to terms at https://www.disneyplus.com (c) 2020 Disney and its related entities. Disney+ is available in selected languages and countries.