Philips 55OLED865 Review, A Deep Dive into the 4K OLED TV with Ambilight

by Samuel Kalenga on Sep 21, 2024

The pursuit of visual beauty is the driving, relentless force behind the development of TV technology and, with OLED panels now being regarded as the tier-one panel for picture quality, Philips has headed to the top of the tree with its 55OLED865, a high-end 4K OLED TV that brings together breathtaking visuals, immersive audio and the Philips Ambilight feature. Philips 55OLED865 review Specs Supplied by PhilipsData as at: 15/08/2020 White balance control, graded OLED / RGB LED55-inch OLED panelSmart TV Processor:

3rd generation P5 AI processorSupports HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision™, SDR, HDR1000, HDR10 ProAudiosystem: 2.1, Acoustic Surface (4.2ch / 70W / 2 separated woofers) with Dolby Atmos® and SRX digital audio amplifierNetflix calibrated modeBoasts AmbilightAmbilight Spectra+, Ambilight IMAXEnhanced game modeDisplay contains association football/soccer content supplied by the UEFA Champions League and Europa LeagueNetflix Recommended TVSmart TV: Android TV 9.0 serves up 5,000 apps running on Android OS (DIP F), including Dolby Access, Google TV apps, content discovery features in Google Play, and full Google Assistant voice control (supports all Netflix commands with ‘OK Google’ voice commands, including voice search)Smart Home:

AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Amazon Alexa, standard Wireless Miracast, standard WiFi wireless connection (WiFi 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi 5GHz 802.11 a/n/ac/ax)HDMI and USB Ports: 3 x HDMI – 1 ARC, 1 eARC, 1 HDMI 2.1, 3 x USB 2.0, bracket for wall mounting, Bluetooth 5, aptX HD/aptX, WiFi 802.11 a/c/ax MIMO, Bluetooth bracket, HDMI braided cable, Ethernet cable13.3cm (5.2”) bracketThree-sided Ambilight One-sided Ambilight rears inwards, giving the optical sensation of opening up the space around the displayCase Materials: Magnesium ThinQ Home and Google AssistantThe new Philips flagship 4K OLED TV, the OLED865, is driven by a powerful 3rd generation P5 AI processor that enables Google’s built-in smart features and adds significant power to the processing and upscaling of content to 4K presentation. The OLED865 also packs the latest in active hardware and software “Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation” (MEMC) technology.

Picture Quality: An OLED Masterpiece Unveiled

Unless you happen to be using Philips’s new 55OLED865. This multi-award-winning TV sets a new benchmark for just how good a television can be. It’s an astonishingly fluent demonstration of the unique potential of OLED (organic light-emitting-diode) technology. OLED panels use self-illuminating pixels, each of which can be switched on or off individually, and so are capable, by turning completely off, of displaying an absolute black. With no lower limit to the contrast ratio being possible, there is talk of a dynamic range that defies the existing definition. The picture is, quite simply, to die for. Finely detailed, superbly tuned and distractingly immersive, the image on the screen feels as alive as you do.

Nothing […] Any LCD TV can’t possibly match this lush black level offered by the 55OLED865’s OLED panel. Colours shine with luminescent vibrancy, courtesy of that now imagery-supporting black level. This is truly immersive stuff, and nowhere more so than in the shades of darkness, when backlight blooming and bleed are negligible. Its heavily tweaked dynamic range and colour gamut – every single hue on the colour spectrum is on display here with remarkable accuracy, and no shorter on nuance than its vibrant, rich colour wheel. 55OLED865.

HDR: A New Era of Visual Realism

The Philips 55OLED865 adds a new dimension to its pictures with support for the three main HDR (High Dynamic Range) formats: HDR10, Dolby Vision and HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma). HDR enhances contrast and colour, bringing realism to your viewing.

HDR10, the most prevalent HDR format, offers a larger array of brightness steps than SDR, which allows for highlights to get brighter and shadows to get darker. Dolby Vision, an advanced form of HDR, allows a display to dynamically adjust the picture frame by frame, custom-calibrating the display to the contrast and colour in each scene. (Not every TV’s HDR supports all of these formats.) There is also HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma), a standard that was developed in conjunction with broadcast television for showing HDR on a larger market of older TVs. This providing of support for these HDR formats means that the 55OLED865 pushes the visual limits of what HDR content is accomplishing, delivering levels of detail and depth you’ve never seen.

Sound: A Symphony of Immersive Audio

The Philips 55OLED865 is no slouch in the audio department, either. It sports a 50W speaker system that provides a robust, room-filling audio punch that should satisfy those whose ‘eyes are bigger than their TV’. Its Dolby Atmos integration helps you situate sound in the same way that you situate objects in the 4K picture, immersing you in audio in all directions like a five-channel surround-sound system.

Dolby Atmos delivers the sound of a dimension beyond speakers, surrounded by sound and above or below, creating a moving, highly detailed listening experience. You’re inside the action, not just watching it. Wherever you’re set up to watch – whether a dedicated home cinema with surround sound or a TV attached to the console bed in a hotel room with headphones, the ambitious 55OLED865 sound system brings you into the action, gives dialogue its due, and lets the bass boom without overwhelming the ears in an excess of thumping, as is the wont of my other TV sets.

Ambilight: Beyond the Screen, Into the Room

One of the defining features of Philips TVs is Ambilight, and the 55OLED865 is no exception. Although it predates Philips TVs, the sheer audacity of this low-tech technology is staggering. Basically, Philips TVs have LEDs built into their frames on all three sides, and these LED arrays are synched with what’s on screen. If there’s a flash of yellow suddenly on the screen, the Ambilight LEDs on the three sides of the display will also burst with yellow light, projecting three walls of colour that match what’s grabbing your attention.

It seems like such a tiny feature yet it really does make the viewing experience so much more enveloping and spectacular. Ambilight’s emphasises this experience by lending a certain aesthetic enhancement to the TV, subtly expanding its image beyond its physical extent. In addition, the ambient light eases eye-strain – further reducing what is already a more relaxing viewing experience. Philips Ambilight in-actionThe technology can be tweaked to suit your personal preference, allowing viewers to adjust the brightness and colour of the lighting, as well as the intensity at which it’s projected across your wall.

Smart Features: A Gateway to Entertainment

The Philips 55OLED865 runs the Android TV operating system – an app ecosystem comparable to those of Samsung, LG and all the others. That means access to literally thousands of streaming apps, including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and much, much more. This might change in the future, but at present, it’s the best way to discover just what there is out there. The TV’s interface is user-friendly and voice controlled. Finding out what there is to find – and launching that content – is as easy as using the search bar, or simply screaming at your TV in the direction of the remote, fingers poised in front of the mic.

The Android TV operating system runs on the TV, which in turn supports both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. So you can speak to your TV to make it do a variety of tasks – not just play a movie, but also raise the volume and switch from Netflix to HBO Max with your voice – as well as control smart home gadgets. With the latter, if you have a smart lamp, smart plug or smart thermostat, your TV remote is your avenue to turn them on or off. The 55OLED865 comes equipped with Chromecast built-in, which allows you to cast content from your smartphone or tablet to the screen at a touch of a button. Create a slide show out of your holiday photos and video, and display it at your Christmas party, or pump out your favourite tunes when friends are over, keeping the party vibes going.

Design: A Blend of Elegance and Functionality

Slim, minimalist and with a small flat bezel together with a smooth stand -this Philips 55OLED865 can be the statement of a modern living room. The look and the feel of this TV are a true pinnacle of quality for your home.

Pros

Exceptional picture quality with deep blacks and vibrant colors
Immersive sound with Dolby Atmos support
Signature Ambilight technology for an enhanced viewing experience
Smart features with Android TV operating system
Sleek and elegant design
Support for multiple HDR formats, including HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HLG
User-friendly interface with voice control
Integration with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa
Chromecast built-in for easy content casting

Cons

Pricey compared to other TVs in the same size category
The remote control is not as intuitive as some other TV remotes

Conclusion: A Flagship OLED TV for the Discerning Viewer

From the Philips website:

It’s not often that we call a 4K OLED TV great, as it’s such a given. But in the case of the Philips 55OLED865, you’d actually be missing out if you didn’t get the best of both worlds. 4K resolutions combined with an OLED panel creates one of the most impressive viewing experiences around. The sound, the picture, the Ambilight – it all creates the perfect TV ecosphere for viewing pleasure. TV can never get better than this.

However, it’s so pricey that it’s probably out of the range of many buyers – it even has the distinction of being one of the most expensive televisions in history. In summary, for the best TV on the market today that offers a solid picture quality, sound, features and design, the 55OLED865 is one of the leading contenders, but make sure you evaluate your budget and the features that are important to you, and compare it to other TVs in its class. Keep in mind that a TV is a big purchase and you want to choose one that matches your needs exactly. Research the models, compare prices and features, and read user reviews before deciding.

The Philips 55OLED865 is a mighty impressive TV, and the styling is a suitable home for such a flex of features and performance – especially if you’re at all swayed by having a premium, artisan aesthetic. It may lack some of the movie picture settings and high-end audio/video processing of the Philips 903 OLED, but it’s certainly a flagship OLED TV for the movie enthusiast, gamer and style-conscious home cinema system builder, and equally at home showcasing HD overkill content on Blu-ray or Netflix.

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