Verdict
As a flagship OLED the Philips 55OLED+908 check most of the loge with a bright , richly colourful public presentation and first-class sound system for a television receiver . Aesthetically it looks great too , but it ’s trip up up by a few picture issues that stop it from earn top marks .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Like Cinderella , Philips tends to be later to the ( TV ) ball , and much like the fairy tale character , the Philips 55OLED+908 comes dressed-up in the prettiest gown .
A slim OLED dialog box adorned with a Bowers & Wilkins sound system wrapped in Kvadrat cloth means the Philips come through the manner stake . And with LG Display ’s 2nd - gen MLA instrument panel , it ’s a competitor for one of thebrightest OLED TVs .
Belle of the ball or a tragedy dress ? Let ’s find out which one the Philips 55OLED908 turn up as .
Design
The OLED+908 is not a sea change from theOLED+907but a shade . It ’s as elegant a television receiver uncommitted at the time of revue , the design mull mellow standards of craftmanship from its minimal edge bezel intention , sleek casing and integrated sound system of rules from Bowers & Wilkins covered in an acoustically treat Kvadrat cloth . This telecasting is a witness .
The cardinal pedestal is slightly different with a gap in the middle , but its footprint is minimum , which will facilitate allay it onto smaller bit of AV article of furniture . It ’s also on a swivel , so you could adjust the angle of the screen as you like .
Pivot to the rear and there ’s the three - sided Ambilight row of LED localise towards the taboo edges , while in the middle is an integrated subwoofer that accompany the Bowers & Wilkins speech sound organisation , plus down- and side - firing connections .
The OLED+908 comes in 55- , 65- and 77 - column inch size , so if you are concerned in a Philips OLED but desire a smaller sizing , theOLED808is the model to regurgitate your eyes towards .
Operating System
The interface is split into For You , Movies , boob tube , Apps , Library , and Philips ; the latter is a bespoke assistance and counsel hub that explains the television ’s various features .
For You puts testimonial at its heart with a range of pay and cyclosis options and a ‘ Continue Watching ’ row to resume content you ’ve started . you may manage what case of recommendations you get , and make profile for other people in the home .
Google TVis Dean Swift and fluid in term of scrolling through title with little to no interim to speak of . strike the configurations push on the remote control and that ’ll take you to the Philips ’ background menus . They ’ve been redesigned to cover less footprint on the screen with its overlays , and makes it easy to see the changes you ’ve made . It ’s a much more sensitive approach shot .
The remote control has been redesigned too , heftier in the hand and its backlit clitoris activate via motion . Unlike the OLED808 ’s remote control , there ’s only one mount button , which makes things simpler , though it does intend the access code to flying background seems to have gone by the wayside ( or I ’m dim and ca n’t regain it ) . It ’s rechargeable via USB - ampere-second , stool it more environmentally friendly .
There ’s still noFreeview Playintegration , which is reaching the microscope stage of “ will it ever happen ? ” . The apps are n’t available as standalone versions either so if you require the UK catch - up apps you ’ll need a streaming stick . That seems a bit much but Chromecast is supported by iPlayer and Channel 4 .
Features
Ambilight is in its three - sided form and one of the primary reason to get the 55OLED+908 is that this technology is undivided to Philips television . It sport the next - gen version ofAmbilight , which Philips claim offers a more elaborate , defined , and in - sync performance .
The OLED908 is go under up to be a gaming ball of fire with 4K/120Hz , VRR ( HDMI VRR , AMD FreeSync , Nvidia G - Sync ) , ALLM , and Dolby Vision Game mode under its smash . Input lag at 4K/60Hz is 12.7ms , and at 1080p/120Hz input meantime is a flying 4.5ms . That ’s the same as theLG OLED65G4 .
The icon is powered by Philips ’ P5 AI processor that uses rich get word AI algorithms that ( apparently ) process images in a similar way as the human encephalon to birth rich contrast , quiet motion , and “ lifelike ” item . And with LG Display ’s 2nd - genMLA METAscreen , the Philips tout one the bright HDR OLED screen .
AV supporting include HDR10,HDR10 + Adaptive , HLG , andDolby Vision HDRformats , withIMAX Enhancedand Filmmaker fashion on the table too , along with compliance of the UHD Alliance ’s criterion . The 3.1 - channel , 80W Bowers & Wilkins sound system supports Dolby Atmos andDTS : X(but does n’t feature upfiring speaker system for height channels ) . With DTS sport - Fi the 55OLED908 can connect to other compatible wireless speakers to create a multi - room scheme , or function within a base movie house sound system .
In price of connectivity , there are four HDMI inputs , two of which back 4K/120Hz and one is share with theeARCinput for well-grounded system . Though with the Bowers sound system and DTS Play - Fi , you don’thaveto use that stimulant for the purpose of audio as you have other options .
Other physical connection include three USB inputs , CI+ , Ethernet , digital audio frequency yield , headphone yield , plus service and orbiter connector . Wirelessly there ’s the option of Wi - Fi with Chromecast cyclosis orBluetooth 5.2connectivity .
There’sGoogle Assistantfor bright telly functionality such as vocalisation search , and if you have Alexa product they can connect too .
Picture Quality
picture are rich in colour but balanced . In the past , I would have labelled some Philips OLEDs as excessively processed but the Light , Dark , and Colour Optimization feature help rein in some of its previously crying oversteps .
And for those who care about peak luminosity , the MLA META gore in the 55OLED+908 compares favourably to a ( 65 - inch)LG G3 . In the Personal picture preset I measured brightness at a 2 , 5 , 10 , and 100 % windows at 1803 , 1638 , 1362 , and 257 nits respectively . The LG hit 1339 , 1340 , 1314 , and 222 nit in comparison .
Does that needfully make for a brighter overall image ? In the highlights the Philips has more headroom , but with bigger , bright object I would n’t say you ’d notice abigdifference .
Philips appear to have pare down its bright musical mode ( now Crystal Clear ) . I expected my retinas to be scorch keep an eye on Cinderella ( 4 K Blu - ray ) but like the Sony A95L , there ’s just a fragile rise in the overall brightness . bend the Light Optimisation Detail sport off however and brightness is unleashed .
Nevertheless , I do n’t mean it ’s with vertex brightness where the P5 AI processor make its prominent divergence . It ’s the sharpness and detail levels that most impress . It wrings out a much corking sense of fine detail , keenness , and clarity from textures , face and object than any other current flagship OLED .
watch The Marvels on Disney+ there ’s so much fine detail and sharpness that you ’ll notice detail that make rival TVs such as the Sony A95L look easygoing . Is it accurate ? Arguably not , but I delight the results .
Contrast is excellent . Black levels are ample with plenty of depth – as you ’d ask from an OLED – while dark detail is an melioration over previous Philips good example . The Dark Detail Optimisation gives a good peak into the vestige of dark aspect in Zero Dark Thirty or a TV serial publication like The Last Airbender , and in a better fashion than the Sony A95L.
However , the Philips OLED+908 suffer from a similar issue the LG G3 suffered from in that figure have a green tint . It ’s not as widespread or as obvious as it was on the LG , but mid - whole step , greys and vapors await unripe than they should in The Marvels and Avengers : Endgame ( Dolby Vision ) as well as Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049 ( HDR10 ) .
And like Samsung’sS95C OLED , the Philips goes ‘ Hulk crash ’ green in a scene from Marvel ’s confidential Invasion . I ’m sure Talos ’ hair is n’t meant to be that gloss unless he ’s going through a toughie sway phase .
Other consequence crop with some dicey banding and gradation in Blade Runner 2049 as K head back to the constabulary place at the rootage of chapter two , plus some discolouration in the background of stroke in the police station , both in Home Cinema and Crystal Clear picture modes .
Philips claims it had fixed the micro stammer issue I last saw on the OLED808 , but I ’ve not find that to be the case with the OLED+908 . It seemed to getworseover time with the scene where K ’s spinner lands on the police station again a pain tip . There was even stutter with movement processing turned off , which I ’m struggle to comprehend .
With regards to movement , the Movie setting is in force – much smoother with far few artifacts , but the Philips is still a spoke below the the likes of of Sony , LG , and Panasonic in my notion .
Upscaling is as dependable as its contender . A videodisc of Inglorious Basterds showed good , natural reproduction of colours , with no dissonance , ringing or over - sharpen edges ( in Filmmaker mode ) . swop to Home Cinema modal value and the P5 AI processor kicks in , send skintones towards orange ( it ’s worth disabling Colour Temperature Optimization in this instance ) .
disregardless of the picture mood , there were good levels of detail , and strong contrast . It wo n’t convince you it ’s a HD epitome but it ’s passable give its origins .
Blu - rays of Dune and The Amazing Spider - Man 2 calculate ( naturally ) sharp and elaborated ; the P5 AI processor is sound enough to recognise the difference between flick / digital metric grain versus noise . The green / black tone of the Atreides clothing is more faithfully procreate than on the Samsung S95C and skin tone come out both healthy and faithful .
The color performance in Spider - Man 2 showcases some colourfully rich reds and blues , the intensity of Electro ’s skin really ‘ pops ’ on this screen . I might say a few of Philips ’ film presets take a few liberties , but I ’m not complaining when it ( mostly ) looks this good . It all adds up to a very self-colored upscaling performance if you want to upgrade HD and Coyote State informant .
Sound Quality
The Bowers & Wilkins 80W 3.1 sound system features a left over , center of attention , right ( LCR ) configuration , fend for by a woofer and a sustenance act of four passive radiators to allow some clunk . And it ’s easily one of the better - sounding television .
Dialogue clarity is excellent . Tricky scenes like the Gom Jabbar sequence from Dune is easily overcome in footing of intelligibility . Moreover , dialogue feels like it ’s lock to its origin on screen which helps in a television receiver series such as Netflix ’s Drive to live on where there are lot of talking head sequence .
The tv set also has a undecomposed grim - end comportment , displaying some nice intensity and perforate with sea bass - heavy sequences , while gunshots in The Matrix Resurrections check with a overnice snappiness . It ’s not as volatile as a subwoofer , of class , and there ’s a slight wavelet of distortion with the opening of Blade Runner 2049 but this is much better than the lacklustre efforts of LG and Samsung ’s 2023 range .
Where it suffers a little is at the top conclusion of the frequency range . It ’s open but sharper edges are rather dulled .
There are n’t Dolby Atmos upfiring talker but there is an Atmos virtualiser that can make the soundfield tall and bigger . It works fine but without a native , built - in organization like thePanasonic MZ2000 , the Philips struggles to bring forth a sense of height tall than the goggle box itself .
disregarding , this is a large , wide soundstage to love , and it sounds clearer , louder , and in some ways richer than the Sony A95L , specially in the bass voice section .
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Should you buy it?
In terms of outright HDR performance , the OLED908 is a dramatic looking set , and its Bowers & Wilkins sound system is good than the majority of TVs on the market .
Issues include banding , discolouration , micro stutter , and a green tone to images . It ’s enough of a job to knock down the Philips ’ overall depiction marks .
Final Thoughts
The Philips 55OLED+908 is almost a majestic flagship OLED TV . Its feature set is competitive , its motion picture performance is in ways a footprint above contender , and it gasconade an fantabulous sound system for a flatscreen telly .
It still does n’t support UK catch - up apps , necessitating other agency of getting them . Arguably if you do n’t watch them , you wo n’t be bothered but for public toilet ’s interest …
And though simulacrum caliber is very undecomposed , it ’s not as pernicious or as wide - ranging as theSony A95L QD - OLED . It ’s another Philips OLED that suffers from micro stuttering , and like LG ’s G3 andC3 OLEDs , there ’s a unripened tint to some HDR images .
Philips has been fast-growing in its pricing though , and this screen is less expensive than thePanasonic MZ2000and Sony A95L. If you could overlook its issue , the Philips 55OLED+908 is a very fine OLED TV indeed .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try every TV we refresh soundly over an drawn-out period of time . We use industry received tests to compare characteristic in good order . We ’ll always tell you what we get hold . We never , ever , accept money to retrospect a product .
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FAQs
To hang the 55OLED+908 on a rampart , you ’ll need a VESA 300 x 300 mm wall mount bracket .
