The Philips OLED909 features an extra-bright OLED panel, while the OLED959 features the new Ambilight Plus and a bespoke sound system from B&W.
01.23.24 – 7.15pm
Barcelona/Sound and image: Philips TV was not present at CES2024, but will follow as usual with its own show in Europe immediately after the Las Vegas trade fair. The scene is the same as the last time we visited Philips, namely Barcelona in Spain – which has become a favorite place, after “Ambilight TV” became one of the main sponsors of the FC Barcelona football club last year . Here we were able to get to know, among other things, the new flagship models OLED+959, OLED+909, OLED809 as well as the new LCD screens The One and The Xtra!
From the presentation of Philips TV – TP Vision live 2024. (Photo: Audun Hage)
2024 Philips Ambilight TV
Spain and Barcelona are definitely slightly brighter and warmer places than the Nordic countries, and particular attention is paid to light during the launch of this year’s Philips TVs. An important unit of measurement in this case is the “nits”, which indicates the brightness that the screen is capable of emitting.
It is both about being able to create a bright, high-contrast image in a bright room (during the day, in a sunny environment) and at the same time reproducing the sparkling details of video content in HDR (High Dynamic Range) format with sufficient depth and intensity. .
Importantly, OLED screens have come a long way since the first generations, where brightness could be limited to 5-600 nits in a small area. With today’s models, it’s relatively easy to achieve 1000 nits or more, and more advanced panels can now handle up to 3000 nits in a small screen area! This is something Philips knows how to use to its advantage.
This year’s 2024 models Philips obviously knows how to take advantage of LG Display’s latest OLED panels (MLA/Meta 2.0 and EX). In addition to OLEDs, they are also launching a new generation of Mini LED LCD models also known as Xtra, which now go up to 85 inches.
I still bet on Ambilight and B&W audio
Philips finds itself in a slightly unique position in today’s TV market: As a relatively small but independent TV maker, it can largely choose different panel technologies, and it’s also a little freer to choose who it wants to work with. The model range for 2024 is also proof of this, where, for example, they collaborate with B&W on the audio side for the seventh consecutive year.
Today’s OLED models have been a breath of fresh air in the market with a powerful combination of picture, sound and, of course, Ambilight, which is the manufacturer’s ambient light.
The latter has been called into question lately after Samsung, Signify and other competitors started offering similar solutions, but as Kostas Vousas, the head of Philips TV himself, said, the company has a long experience to draw on.
This year they celebrate 20 years with Ambilight and choose to present themselves exactly like this: Ambilight TV. At the same time, they are introducing the new Ambilight Plus version, which will be available for the first time in the flagship OLED+959 model. It is based on the “NextGen” version launched a couple of years ago, with some improvements.
Philips OLED 959 and OLED 909. (Photo: Philips)
The new top model: Philips OLED+959
The OLED959 is “a true flagship model” according to Philips. This model will be the new flagship model in the Philips range with top spec picture and sound. It uses LG Display’s latest OLED panel, which is said to be capable of reaching 3000 nits of brightness. And Philips, with its robust image processing, will likely benefit from this increased capability.
OLED959 uses the most powerful P5 AI ‘Dual Engine’ processor combined with META 2.0 OLED panel and META Multi Booster algorithm.
The video processor that tames everything is the eighth generation P5 AI-OLED959, which features, among other things, an “Ambient Intelligence V3” light sensor that helps adapt the image to its surroundings. In our experience, this is important – and perhaps especially on an extra bright TV like this, to exploit the potential of the panel and at the same time show the HDR video material from its best side.
Bowers & Wilkins 5.1.2 sound system
The OLED+959 wouldn’t be a true flagship model if it didn’t get the “black and white treatment.” The speaker specialists at Bowers & Wilkins designed the integrated 5.1.2 speaker system, which in this case extends across the front, bottom, sides and top of the screen. Of course, it is compatible with surround sound formats such as Dolby Atmos. The key word here is “downsizing,” which means packing in a powerful sound system while maintaining a slim form factor. It seems that B&W managed to achieve this without saving too much on gunpowder.
B&W has developed new bespoke 30 x 50mm drivers specifically for the new OLED+ models, and the OLED+959 uses a total of 18 drivers, including titanium tweeters. This allows the screen to maintain a slim silhouette and reportedly “without compromising performance,” according to Philips and B&W.
All speakers are acoustically isolated, mounted in their own hard cases. At the rear of the set is a dedicated bass unit with a 75mm subwoofer supported by two pairs of 45 x 65mm balanced passive radiators. The amplifier has a total of 12 channels and 102W, where each channel has its own dedicated signal processing. .
Those looking for even deeper bass also have the option of connecting an external subwoofer.
Unfortunately, we haven’t had the opportunity to listen to the sound of the OLED+959 as it is still a prototype, but we did have an impressive demonstration of the OLED+909, which appears to have sound at least as loud and clear as the OLED+ 959. last year’s critically acclaimed OLED908.
A word of warning: the Philips model is only available with a 65-inch screen, and interested buyers will have to wait a bit, as the release is scheduled for the third quarter of 2024.
Philips OLED+909 and OLED809
Two models that arrive a little earlier in the year are the little brothers OLED+909 and OLED809. The former uses the same bright OLED panel as the 959, combined with four-sided Ambilight and a slightly simpler P5 AI video processor. This gorgeous successor to the OLED+908 also features a 3.1 sound system from Bowers & Wilkins and is available with different screen sizes: 55, 65 and 77 inches.
The OLED809 is the successor to last year’s popular OLED808. This model uses a slightly more conventional OLED EX panel (without MLA), but in exchange it will have a cheaper price and larger screen size.
The case is updated!
2024-01-23 18:15:11
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