TP Vision’s 2019 Philips LCD TVs are finally shipping in Europe. The company is offering an array of different models, some of which are powered by the Android TV platform, while others feature its own Saphi operating system.
The launch of 2019 Philips LCD lineup was first revealed by FlatPanels HD. It said the TVs range in size from a tiny 24-inch model all the way up to 75-inches. Philips' LCD TVs are shipping ahead of the company's OLED range, which are likely to follow within a few weeks.
As always, one of the main features on Philips’ TVs is its Ambilight mood lighting system, which is a series of LED lights set into the back of the TVs that shine light onto the surrounding wall. The idea with Ambilight is to draw the viewer in to whatever content they’re watching. The light, which has the effect of surrounding the display with various trippy colours, can either follow the same hues as whatever is on screen, or be set to a static white, red, blue or green colour. Ambilight is also a great feature to have when using the TV to play music, as it automatically and intelligently adjusts the light intensity and colours displayed depending on the tempo, intensity and volume.
Philip’s flagship LCD TV this year is the PUS9104, a stylish little number (pictured, above) running the Android 8.0 TV platform that was designed in collaboration with Georg Jensen. Priced at £1,200, it comes with a 50W speaker system and is available in 55-inches only.
One tier down is the Philips PUS8004 series, which interestingly runs the more recent Android 9.0 version. It also comes with support for Dolby Vision, which is something the PUS9104 lacks, and is equipped with a Bowers & Wilkins soundbar. U.K. pricing for that model is not currently available, however.
Dolby Vision, and also Dolby Atmos, are in fact being added to almost every TV in Philips’ 2019 lineup, which makes its omission from the PUS9104 all the more curious. Philips’ TVs already supported HDR10+, so it means the brand now supports both of the competing premium High Dynamic Range formats.
The more expensive models in Philip’s lineup will all run Android, which offers access to various apps and games as well as Google Assistant and Chromecast. But its lower-end models, including the PUS6814, PUS6704, PUS6504 and the PUS4304 will instead run the company’s Saphi platform, which provides access to Amazon, Netflix and other apps, but no digital assistant.
All of the new TVs come with HDMI 2.0 ports and all feature 4K resolution. The PUS7304 series and up are all powered by Philips’ latest P5 processor, with the cheaper models running an older chip. Philips hasn’t yet moved on to HDMI 2.1, nor has it announced any 8K TVs so far.
