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)

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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… 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. The 65OLED937 handles bass better than its predecessor too. Low-frequency sounds reach deeper, sound smoother, and enjoy more frequency variation and responsiveness, while also avoiding significant phutting and buzzing issues with even the most demanding of movie basslines. How B&W has managed to get so much bass from the 65OLED937’s external speaker enclosure without using an external subwoofer is beyond us. Especially as the bass is delivered without feeling dislocated from or impinging on the audio system’s impressively open and dynamic mid-range. The set also carries a Dolby Vision Game mode (though this only supports DV up to 60Hz, not 120Hz like LG's OLEDs), and provided you select its Monitor setting the OLED807 can deliver 4K 120Hz without suffering the half vertical resolution issue that has affected some premium Philips TVs. We also didn’t get on with the new Ambient AI modes, especially in the way they tend to make pictures look excessively dark, leading to a loss of shadow detail, if you’re watching the TV in a dark room. So you should turn these off.

It's worth noting that you can technically upgrade your current television to include Ambilight, even if it isn't a Philips TV. Keep in mind, though: a company called Funai owns the Philips license in the US, meaning you won't get anything like Ambilight. But for those in the UK and Europe, with an eye on an Ambilight TV, this is the guide you need. Should I buy a Philips Ambilight TV? Compatibility depends on Wi-Fi Miracast certification and Android 4.2 or later. For more details please refer to your device documentation.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. Last year’s Philips OLED806 was up there with the very best mid-range OLED TVs – but the OLED807 beats its predecessor in pretty much every way. This need to change the default motion processing mode brings us to the fact that while the OLED807 is better out of the box than its predecessor, you should still get involved with its intimidatingly convoluted picture set up menus if you want to make sure you get the absolute best picture results. As well as the motion adjustments, all noise reduction should be turned off for the vast majority of native 4K and premium quality HD sources, for instance.

Editor’s Note: As we have already reviewed the 48-inch with many of the same features, large areas of this review will feature exactly the same text. Where there are differences between the models they have been added to the review as well as the measurements for this 65-inch TV which was fully tested and measured. 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.There’s certainly nothing else out there that looks like it. From its super-sleek metallic sculpting to its immersion-boosting Ambilight system, it looks far more expensive than it actually is. And there's Ambilight. This unique-to-Philips technology spreads light that matches what's on-screen across the walls, making the TV feel even bigger, and helping with eye comfort and atmosphere. We'll talk more about it later, but it really is a compelling addition. 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. The size of the soundstage the 65OLED937 can produce, for starters, is both bigger and, more importantly, more accurately defined than that of its predecessor. This is especially noticeable when it comes to height/vertical effects in a Dolby Atmos mix, but the whole soundstage has a more effective, accurate, three-dimensional and immersive presence.

Panel uniformity is very good on the Philips 65OLED807 with no signs of dirty screen effect or banding on brighter patterns. A 5% grey slide held up well with just some mild banding seen in very dark surroundings, however, this is not seen within actual viewing content, even in dark scenes in dim viewing surroundings. We also didn’t encounter any vignetting to the edges of the panel. Immerse in legendary and exclusive titles from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic available on Philips Android TVs.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.

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. A new Aurora feature even lets you combine Ambilight with a selection of ‘screen saver’ videos and images, ensuring that your TV could remain an attractive centrepiece to your living room even when you’re not actually watching it… assuming you don't mind the extra energy use. 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. 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.USB recording for digital channels only, recordings may be limited by broadcast copy protection (CI+). Country and channel restrictions may apply.