Well, I have a new favorite, and all wine lights. Philips OLED 803 TV - review

For years, Philips has been shamelessly riding on the same TV in its televisions: Ambilight lighting. I hope it will not stop because I love the effect it provides. However, this trick would not be effective if it did not accompany the TV, which by itself is excellent.

For reasons that I can not really indicate myself, I have been isolated from Philips products so far. Only news related to this company appeared on Spider's Web, but for years there has not been a single review of the producer's RTV equipment. Well, nobody is perfect. Fortunately, I was able to use the Electronics Show 2019 to renew contact with the company.

I only tell you about it for one reason. The first equipment I borrow from Philips is the TV OLED 803 described here. It is not a fresh-air market, it will soon be sold to its successor - model 804. So you probably had long ago to read the TV in other media. Despite this, I would like to add my three cents, though late. Because there is definitely something to talk about.

Ambilight is simply poetry.

Forgive me, but I have to mention it before I describe the equipment at all. To your excuse: Ambilight lighting instantly catches the eye looking at Philips equipment. And although this supplement may not like it ( stupid lights, how old are you bloggers, thirteen?) And of course you can turn it off, so I was captivated in its entirety.

Ambilight in OLED 803 has several modes of operation. It can highlight the wall behind the TV the color you indicate (also when the receiver itself is turned off), it also has several intensity modes. We can combine it with the sound, which will probably appeal to fans of playing music on the TV. The most interesting, however, are those modes that synchronize Ambilight with the image.

It's irrational even when this matching glow of multicolored light behind the TV increases the pleasure of watching movies, series or games with video games. Especially since if we arranged a TV corner after God , then this illumination will be perceived by us at the edge of the field of view - because our eyes mainly include the image from the television itself. Green glow in scenes in the jungle, flashing effects when replacing fire from laser cannons, calming down the natural film with whales ...

... I know, it sounds a bit like a text from a marketing leaflet, but Ambilight actually extends experience with interacting with video content and increases immersion. A lot of threadbare terms, but so what if it's true. I point out these stupid lights without any hesitation as one of the main advantages of this TV, which gives it a significant advantage over the competition.

It would not work if the television itself was bad.

Fortunately, it can not be. Philips would have to try hard to screw it up. After all, OLED 803 uses LG Display organic matrices, and we already know the capabilities of these matrices. They are an absolutely perfect contrast, unattainable for any other solutions and excellent color reproduction and viewing angles

Disadvantages? OLED matrices from LG Display are relatively dark - these are not the best dies to watch TV in a sunny room, curtains or blinds will be useful. They are also less durable than LCD matrixes. Admittedly, as long as we watch different content on the TV, we have nothing to fear, but if the TV is switched on one TV station for the most part of the day, the OLED matrix may partially burn out . So, for example, permanently discovering, for example, the non-stop display of the logotype of the station we are watching.

In order to be clear, I do not intend to scare anyone or discourage anyone here. I am a huge enthusiast of OLED technique myself. I believe that buying such a good and expensive TV and so we do it with a view to watching movies in perfect conditions, so not in full sun. And we will watch various games, movies and series on it, not 12 hours a day TVN24 or TVP Info. The OLED TV, which is normally used, will provide us with unparalleled experiences, also on classic television. I warn only a very specific potential customer.

And since we know that this is the "LG matrix with Ambilight", what else is going on here? Well, it's not that simple. Another important element of the TV is its software, which also influences image and sound as well as equipment. Let's check, then, whether the aces in the sleeve still have Philips, except fancy lights.

Let's start with the equipment.

Philips OLED 803, like most OLED TVs, is extremely slim. It is not overly difficult to achieve, after all, the matrix of this TV does not require any lighting elements that take up space. We find in it a CI card slot, 2 USB connectors (2.0 and 3.0), a headphone connector and four HDMI 2.0b ports. Two operating at full capacity (4: 4: 4, 4K @ 60p) and two 4K / 30, all four with ARC support. The whole is complemented by antenna connectors, Ethernet, Component, jack and optical.

There are two remote controls connected to the TV. The larger, classic, it contains a nice addition, which is the QWERTY keyboard on the back. It makes it even easier to log into the application on the TV, although the pilot itself is awkwardly in the palm of his hand. The latter, smaller, is primarily oriented towards intelligent functions. Its minimalist and unusual form required a long time to get used to it, but it's an interesting idea. And quite sensible, although somehow I can not convince myself - despite the lack of arguments against it.

The TV is managed by the Android TV system, modified by the manufacturer. Of course, the modifications mainly concern the main elements of the interface, and these are designed quite logically and conveniently. I have never managed to find a function to edit the name of the connector (and the attached manual describes Android TV in the older version, which has already been waiting for the upgrade), but maybe it was wrong with me. Although the system itself could be a bit more responsive - sometimes the TV can think for a few seconds after pressing the button on the remote control. Though luckily, rarely.

The TV supports HDR10, HLG and HDR10 + standards. Unfortunately, Dolby Vision was missing.

What about the picture and sound quality? Philips has several aces in the sleeve.

As I mentioned earlier, the OLED matrix guarantees excellent viewing angles, excellent contrast and perfect homogeneity of the backlight, which results from the design of the matrix itself. What is surprising, however, is brightness. Philips OLED 803 shines brighter than LG Electronics TVs, despite the use of LG Display by both manufacturers. It improves the experience of watching content both during the day (the picture is clearer) and in the evening in HDR content, where the TV has a larger field for manipulation of luminance. In special situations, OLED 803 can even reach 900 nits, unprecedented in other OLEDs. And in almost any other situation, it offers clarity on average 100 nits higher than organic competition. Wow.

One should also praise the author's image processing mechanism, built around the original P5 processor. The TV ensures almost perfect color reproduction, it also copes well with the mapping of movement. At least under the condition of using the ISF mode, which is basically so well configured at the factory that it will go without calibration. Unfortunately, I can not say the same about the Game Mode (input lag at 35 ms, it is a very good result, though not perfect), in which the image on the default settings is saturated to the limits of the absurd. Here, almost everyone will want to make corrections. I suggest inspiring well-chosen ISF profiles, of course, excluding active image processing mechanisms. Which also work great in movies and series, ensuring no noise or smooth color transitions. Undoubtedly, Philips' technology combined with LG technology provide one of the best solutions on the market in terms of image quality - if not the best. So there is no marketing mismatch here.

I would advise against learning about the mechanism of Perfect Natural Reality. His task is to intelligently manipulate the SDR image to make it look like an HDR image. It works very well as long as we use the video materials prepared by the producer. In practice, however, the image as a result of its action looks very artificially, although this mechanism can find supporters. Probably in the same group of customers who like to set their TVs in the Dynamic mode, where all the parameters of the image are unnaturally curled.

Sound? Here, no surprises. It's like almost everywhere, meaning miserable or possibly correct. You can buy a loudspeaker or soundbar for almost every TV in this class. Such a wonderful picture deserves rich sound accompanying it, and even the cheapest audio sets will provide incomparably better sensations than thin speakers in slender OLED TV panels.

Philips OLED 803 is a wonderful equipment. It is hard to recommend it, although there is room for improvement.

The TV provides the image perfectly perfect, offering in some respects even more, than LG TVs. The application for the TV will not be missing, after all, it is managed by the popular Android TV platform. Well, let's not forget about the unique Ambilight, which in an amazing way increases the pleasure of communing with the TV - although it probably is not an addition for everyone.

It is a pity that Dolby Vision was lacking, although this will change in the successor of the eight-hundredths . Certainly also buying a TV in 2019 this class is worth paying attention to eARC support, which significantly facilitates the expansion of equipment for home cinema - in this model it ran out. And Android TV itself does not work too briskly on this TV: competitive webOS and Tizen I find more pleasant to use and more convenient, although the Philips Android TV is scarce.

So it is not equipment without defects. But forgive me, maybe I am infantile, but Ambilight is something so brilliant that I would personally close my eyes to the inconveniences indicated above. Especially that in the most important - and therefore in image quality - the Philips OLED 803 absolutely shines. The 55-inch version of this TV costs 6,000 today. PLN, and 65-inch 9.4 thousand. zł.

Well, I have a new favorite, and all wine lights. Philips OLED 803 TV - review