PHILIPS 55OLED856/12 55inch 4K UHD OLED SMART TV WiFi Dolby Atmos Ambilight

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One of the reasons I find Philips TVs so compelling is their decision to offer as much choice as possible to the consumer. Be that through a range of OLED models, of which the 856 is the popular middle ground, or their decision to support as many HDR formats as possible in the vast majority of their TVs, Philips makes decisions that other manufacturers have avoided. For the time being, the OLED+935 continues through to 2021 with its successor likely coming in the second half of the year. The OLED+935 has the 4th Gen P5 AI processor with its dedicated AI Machine Learn Sharpness function, and improved versions of the AI Smart Bit Enhancement system and Perfect Natural Reality (PNR) function for upscaling sub-4K images and handling motion.

Philips is renowned for its video processing and the new 3rd Generation P5 chip is onboard the 854. Upscaling is good with 576i SD broadcast looking as good as you can expect for such a low resolution on a 4K panel. HD Blu-ray and streaming looks nice and sharp with good line definition and no obvious signs of edge ringing within the content. We didn’t notice any artefacts with upscaled images in the accurate modes, even with test patterns. Obviously, with the P5 chip, you have lots of image manipulation options including extra sharpening and edge enhancement settings if you really want to go to town with these settings, but when set to off we didn’t see anything being applied that shouldn’t be there.The Philips has a clear advantage over most rivals when it comes to definition and detail resolution, though. The image is crisp and solid to a degree that makes these other sets look a little flat by comparison. What’s most impressive is that this detail and definition doesn’t look forced or artificially enhanced – the set’s crispness doesn’t come at the expense of naturalism. The storage humidity shows the lower and upper humidity limit, which ensures safe storage of the display. Storing it outside these limits might damage the display. Upscaling is handled well by the set’s P5 processor, and HD content retains a lot of the same qualities as 4K footage, with punchy, vibrant colours, superb detail and good contrast. There is a touch of noticeable noise, particularly in streamed content, but it’s still a very enjoyable watch indeed.

As Geralt is given a tour of Stregobor’s gaudy courtyard, the individual leaves of a tree are more clearly rendered, the fantastical glow of the scene is rich but controlled, and there’s a general crispness and solidity to the reproduction that makes the excellent LG look just a bit flat by comparison. Philips’ latency of their premium TVs has always lagged behind their competitors, but that should change in 2021. The Philips 48OLED806 is such a great size. If you’re thinking of replacing a smaller, older TV, then don’t discount this 48-incher. Its minimal bezel might well mean that it comes up a lot smaller than you think. Unlike some mid-range competitors, the central stand here is made from metal with a brushed matte finish. It swivels 15 degrees on either side to allow you to adjust your viewing angles with ease, which helps with placement. The fact that the stand is located in the centre also makes it easy to accommodate on smaller TV units (though it’s worth noting that the 70-inch and 75-inch models are pictured with a two-feet stand, which will require something larger).Switching to Movie mode does hamper the directness and projection of dialogue, and the speaker system isn’t quite crisp and clean enough to maintain complete control at particularly cacophonous moments, but for an integrated sound solution at this level, it’s good. You should still budget for a soundbar or home cinema system if you’re able to, though. Verdict The Philips’ unique selling point in a crowded TV market, however, is Ambilight, and the 805 has a three-sided implementation. Technically speaking, it’s an integrated bias lighting system that, besides adding to the overall immersion, can reduce eye fatigue for long sessions in front of the screen – especially so in darkened rooms. That said, there's no reason to be majorly alarmed: while Google TV is an improvement over Android TV in terms of usability, its feature set is more or less the same. What's more, it essentially goes on top of Android TV 10, so there's no reason that Philips couldn't make it available as a software update if its TVs don't launch with it pre-installed. Philips 2021 TV range breakdown

The static contrast shows the ratio between the brightest and the darkest color, which the display can reproduce simultaneously, for example, within one and the same frame/scene.One of the attractive things about Philips TVs is the Ambilight system. This provides illumination from the rear of the television that can spread the colours across the room. This can be coordinated with other Philips Hue devices, with the TV driving the colour show based on what's on the screen. The latest models offer four-sided Ambilight which is great for wall mounting, some older models are only three sided. On the HDR front, the OLED806 has pretty much the full house, with HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision all supported. HDR10+ Adaptive is on board, too, allowing the TV to automatically adjust HDR10+ content to ambient lighting conditions, and while Dolby Vision IQ isn’t officially supported, Philips says the combination of standard Dolby Vision and its AI-powered light sensor effectively does the same thing.