Don't cut out the middle man

Philios' new mid-range OLED TV might just be its best all-rounder yet, decides John Archer

- John Archer

Now that OLED TVs have started introducing actual hardware improvements to go with their software tweaks, brands such as Philips have more opportunity to introduce real variety into their ranges. Which is why we currently have Philips' lower-mid-range OLED807 TV, the flagship OLED+937 model and the OLED+907 set we're looking at here, all utilising performance-enhancing tech to out-do its OLED707 entry series.

To explain, the OLED807 TVs use new EX' panels to deliver around 20 per cent more brightness than traditional WOLED TVs; Philips' OLED+937 models have external Bowers Wilkins-designed speaker systems, an additional heat sink element for even more brightness, and a more advanced dual-chip processor; and the OLED+907 keeps the heat sink but steps back to the single-chip processor and deploys a built-in, less powerful but still B&Wdesigned audio system. Got that? Let's move on.

Sixth-gen, five pillars

Using that single-chip processor means the 55O0LED+907, priced 2,199, misses out on some extra Al-inspired picture recognition and enhancement brainpower, plus the Advanced HDR frame-by-frame picture optimisation system found on the OLED+937. As we'll see, however, the TV still benefits from a potent version of the sixth-generation of Philips' P5 picture engine. The P5 name refers to what the company deems the five pillars of picture quality: colour, sharpness, motion, contrast and source recognition, all addressed in the most effective order by dozens of processing steps'.

Gamers may well actually prefer this model's singlechip solution to the twin-chip premium alternative, since oddly the OLED+937 TV can only show 4K/120Hz gaming signals at half their vertical resolution.