Want a super-sleek, super-slim OLED TV with out the super-spend? It’s not unattainable – however usually it means making one or two super-sacrifices. You’ll be shopping for right into a model with restricted credibility, and shopping for a TV with pretty restricted efficiency.

Or, a minimum of, that’s the way it was. But now you should purchase a giant (55in), glossy, slim OLED TV from a model (Philips) that’s present process one thing of a renaissance, a TV with only a few efficiency limitations.

It’s referred to as 55OLED754, and it is yours for a quid lower than a grand. No, it’s not excellent – and in some methods, it virtually looks as if Philips has gone out of its approach to ensure it’s not excellent. But is it an incredible TV for the cash? Oh sure certainly.

Design and construct: Maxing out the minimal

The 55OLED754 does what each new TV is meant to do. It has loads of display, next-to no bezel and, as a result of it’s an OLED design, it’s supernaturally slim (besides the place it isn’t). If the notion of ‘minimalism’ appeals, the Philips has loads of it. If you see what we imply.

That minimalism even extends to the 754’s ft. It sits on two tiny shiny chrome sticks, one in all which carries the one ‘Philips’ branding on your entire TV – so the underside of the display is about as near the floor it’s standing on as any TV you’ve ever seen. Which helps the ‘minimal’ vibe no finish, however means there’s merely no area to place a soundbar shut by. (That’s not as large an issue as it’d at first sound, although. Philips has paid shut consideration to the audio situation, as might be mentioned a bit later.)

The clear simplicity of the Philips’ design is in proof all over the place. Even the rear of the chassis (the place it doesn’t swell to accommodate the inputs and accompanying digital {hardware}) is of mildly brushed steel. Nothing within the Philips’ design or execution suggests it’s among the many most reasonably priced OLED TVs in the marketplace.

And that’s equally true of the construct high quality. Everything is easily fitted, nothing creaks or groans, there’s not a pointy edge in proof.

Features: Ambilight up your life

The headlines of the OLED754’s specification actually don’t recommend a product that’s been constructed all the way down to a worth. This is a 4K OLED TV, and it has each usable HDR normal on board – that’s broadcaster-tastic HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision dynamic metadata. This makes the truth that the likes of LG, Samsung and Sony don’t have a full suite of HDR algorithms on their TVs look fairly backward, and provides the Philips the largest likelihood of delivering the best-quality photos from any supply.

On its strategy to the display, all of the incoming image data is dealt with by the second era of Philips’ P5 processing engine. Philips has at all times been a giant believer in giving the top consumer an entire stack of choices with regards to adjusting image efficiency (which, because the ‘interface’ part beneath makes clear, is simply as a lot of a double-edged sword because it ever was), and the 754 isn’t any totally different. It’s potential to whereas away many an hour making infinitesimal changes to the way in which the Philips delivers photos.

As far as sound goes, the Philips is packing Dolby Atmos compatibility. That doesn’t imply the OLED754 offers even the slightest impression of surround-sound, not to mention venture sound above you within the accredited Atmos method – however it implies that Atmos soundtracks will be dealt with with out alarms. And due to the serious-looking midrange and bass-driver array on the again of the display, the Philips would appear to have extra likelihood of delivering worthwhile audio than any variety of rivals.

Those three drivers are positioned roughly within the centre of the ‘lumpy field of digital {hardware}’ part of the rear of the TV, and round three sides of the sting of this lump is the place Philips has positioned its Ambilight LEDs. For the uninitiated, Ambilight beams colored mild onto the wall behind the TV – it may possibly mimic the on-screen colors or be set to enrich your decor. Either approach, it manages to assist the Philips’ image look even bigger and extra immersive than it truly is. No different model has a characteristic something like as novel, and it’s efficient sufficient to make an already fascinating TV appear fairly compelling.

There’s no scrimping on inputs, both. The OLED754 has 4 4K HDR-ready HDMI sockets, an Ethernet enter, a few USB sockets, part video inputs and aerial posts for satellite tv for pc and 75ohm TV tuners. There’s additionally a digital optical output.

Interface: Remote working

It was sure to occur in some unspecified time in the future – and it’s right here the Philips offers its first trace that price is an element within the OLED754’s specification. It’s not the top of the world, in fact, however the distant handset provided to regulate this TV will not be all that nice. If its plastics had been any thinner it could turn into flexible, it feels low cost within the hand, and the quantity up/down/mute rocker management has seemingly been designed to be as hit-and-miss as potential.

At least it options an built-in mic for voice-control, although. And a minimum of it controls Philips’ proprietary Saphi consumer interface, which is among the extra simple, much less intrusive and fairly logical techniques at the moment fitted to any model’s TVs. It consists of all the foremost catch-up and streaming service apps, in addition to Freeview Play – and each the Amazon Video and Netflix apps come full with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compatibility.

As talked about, Philips isn’t any stranger to handing over an enormous quantity of image settings management to the top consumer – and the OLED754 isn’t any totally different on this respect. It might appear to be there’s an intimidating quantity of adjustability choices within the set-up menus – which is true, there may be. But beginning in ‘Vivid’ mode and making changes from there ought to see you arriving at an agreeable image sooner fairly than later.

Performance: Covering all of the angles

So the display is ready as much as ship footage simply the way in which you want them. The quantity degree is as you need it, so you’ll be able to put that distant management to at least one facet. And any supply that’s not in use however bodily linked to the TV ought to be turned off, as a result of in any other case the Philips hunts by way of its HDMI inputs restlessly. Then you’re good to go.

What’s initially most spectacular concerning the 754 is how usually OLED-like it’s the place depth and purity of black ranges, and efficiency of contrasts, are involved. No matter how pitch-deep the black tones, they carry specific ranges of element; regardless of how evident the on-screen contrasts between darkish black and vivid white, the Philips resists crushing the blacks or permitting whites to bloom.

It’s acquired these successful viewing angles which might be part of the OLED attraction, too. You can sit fairly radically off-axis with out dropping a lot brightness or element from the photographs you’re seeing, and contrasts and color steadiness keep devoted too. A 4K Dolby Vision stream of the great-looking-yet-utterly-incoherent 6 Underground makes the purpose in some model. Colours are as loud because the soundtrack, element ranges are sky-high, and the OLED754 does an incredible job of describing skin-tones and -textures in convincing model.

Getting secure motion-tracking out of the Philips isn’t a course of that may be rushed, however it’s potential to get rid of the worst of the doubling and shadowing the TV indulges in when recent from the field. Picture noise is oppressed effectively – solely probably the most open, uniform swathes of color can provoke any grain or blocking. And even then, these will be minimised by delving deep within the set-up menus – though the trade-off is a mild enhance in movement smearing. And as an upscaler of sub-4K content material, the Philips could be very practically as adept.

Watch a regular 1080p Blu-ray of Midsommar and there’s no denying image stability drops off a bit – it’s noiser, grainier and extra stressed round edges than native 4K stuff. But none of those traits even threaten to show into drawbacks, and the 754 does good work protecting movement blur minimised and contrasts excessive. It even retains a bit of that HDR dynamism round brightness and color constancy that’s so watchable in higher-resolution content material.

As far as TV reception goes, the Philips is of course on the mercy of the usual of broadcast it’s receiving. Consequently it seems to be fairly secure and convincing with the evident whites and popping colors of BBC One’s MasterChef and is a nightmare of softness, blurring and noisiness of a rerun of The Sweeney on ITV4.

There’s a Game mode within the 754’s infinite set-up menus, and as soon as it’s engaged the image retains a great deal of the distinction and color constancy of the film and TV-based modes. It’s not probably the most responsive, although – actually its response time is nowhere close to the gnat’s-blink of (admittedly costlier) LG OLED options.

In phrases of sound, the OLED754 does effectively to battle in opposition to the prevalent flatscreen traits of hardness and flatness. The rear-firing drivers do an honest job of spreading sound across the display (except you’ve by some means managed to web site your TV out in free area, that’s). There’s satisfactory weight and assault to the sound, though it’s no substitute for a half-decent soundbar. As noticed, although, the display sits so low on its little ft {that a} soundbar goes to be difficult to place.

Philips 55OLED754 verdict

Yes, you need to put up with an iffy distant management and a few perplexing set-ups menus. But it is a small worth to pay when you think about the small worth of the OLED754 and, in fact, its total efficiency.

Fingers crossed this Philips provokes different manufacturers into bringing their OLED TV costs all the way down to real-world ranges.