Philips 55OLED903
Fine blacks; punchy colours; upscaling; Ambilight; sound FOR Sony does motion better; some app gaps AGAINST
It’s fair to say we’ve been rather surprised by just how good Philips’ OLEDS have been this year. With many brands using the same Lg-sourced panels, competition is fiercer than ever, but this year Philips stands out as the manufacturer that has come closest to beating LG’S own models.
So, with the OLED803 already having one of the best pictures out there, the only obvious area to improve for a step-up model is the audio. And if you’re a TV manufacturer looking to add a serious sonic boost, it’s logical that you’d team up with a hi-fi brand such as Bowers & Wilkins.
The OLED903 then, here in its 55in version, combines Philips video with B&W sound. That sounds like a match made in heaven to us.
Integrated soundbar
Simply put, the OLED903 is an OLED803 with a soundbar attached to the bottom. That might sound like an inelegant proposition but in reality it’s anything but. The thin, grey, fabric-covered speaker section at the bottom of the 903 doesn’t detract from its sleek design. In fact, it adds a little by lifting the bottom of the screen off the furniture upon which the TV is placed.
That fabric soundbar section contains two oval-shaped, glass-fibre midrange cones and two 19mm titanium-dome tweeters, while the enclosure itself is stiffened to reduce resonance.
The new sound system adds just a millimetre to the overall depth of the set, and with the elegant feet removed, it is just over 5cm deep.
With a Philips OLED, the rear casework is also ringed with little LED strips that form the Ambilight system. Philips’ proprietary tech extends the edges of the picture you’re watching with coloured light on the wall around the TV. It sounds like a gimmick, but looks beautiful and makes the image seem bigger. 10
B&W’S influence isn’t restricted to the soundbar. The 803’s rear-mounted bass unit has been upgraded and now boasts greater internal volume, extra stiffness and bass radiators derived from those in B&W’S premium T7 wireless speaker.
While the feature set of the OLED903 is identical to that of the 803, there are some issues. The decision to use Android TV as the operating system is a slight disappointment because, while it continues to improve with each update, it still falls short of the bespoke software you’ll find on a Samsung or LG TV in terms of presentation, slickness, intuitiveness and customisation.
Android TV also lacks the ITV Hub and All 4 apps. Sony reinstates them on its own Android TV sets by adding Youview, but Philips hasn’t followed suit.
There are still plenty of apps to enjoy on the 903. Netflix is present in full 4K HDR, while Amazon appears in 4K but currently without HDR. Subscriptionfree 4K movies are available to rent or buy via Google Play Movies & TV, although these also lack HDR. Those with content on a NAS device or portable hard drive will be pleased to see Plex and VLC are on board, and those looking to test the B&W sound system with streamed music will appreciate Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and Tunein being available.
Hi-def developments
The Philips supports HDR10, HLG and HDR10+, but not Dolby Vision. Although if many more months pass without HDR10+ properly materialising, that inclusion may not be a great benefit.
There are four HDMIS around the back, all of which will handle 4K HDR signals and two of which are Audio Return Channel (ARC) compatible. There’s also an optical output to connect a non-arc sound system, as well as a headphone socket. For TV, you can use the aerial or satellite connections, although the TV does not contain a Freesat tuner.
The panel is the one used on LG’S own 2018 sets, which means it’s 10 per cent brighter than last year’s OLEDS and boasts a more sophisticated pixel arrangement. Telling the panel what to do is Philips’ P5 chip, first seen on the 803. It introduces a feature called Perfect Natural Reality, which upconverts SDR signals to Hdr-like quality.
Same hardware, added punch
The picture performance of the OLED903 is almost identical to that of the OLED803, and is actually punchier than the LG’S, with which it shares a panel. Play Ready Player One on 4K Blu-ray and the bright CGI action pops from the screen, but without ever looking garish or out of control.
The three-dimensionality of the image is helped by subtle shading and the pin-sharp definition of edges, plus the astonishing contrast that only OLED can recreate. Detail levels, meanwhile, are exceptional. This may be a largely computer-generated film, but it’s packed to the rafters with subtle touches and textures that other TVS may miss. But, like the OLED803, the 903 can be a little
off with skin tones. During the ‘realworld’ action, Wade occasionally looks a touch grey and zombie-like.
The out-of-the-box motion smoothing settings are a bit much, with occasional artefacts around tricky bits of movement and a dash of the soap opera effect. We’d recommend either switching it off or giving the Movie option a go. This reduces judder and blur without making a film look any less cinematic. We’d also experiment with the Perfect Natural Reality setting – we would recommend turning off Dynamic Contrast and reducing the Video Contrast slider.
While the 903’s upconversion of SDR to HDR is mildly unconvincing, we’re thrilled by its upscaling of 1080p and even 576p to the panel’s native 4K resolution. It’s a noisier picture than LG’S super-smooth 2018 OLEDS, but also significantly more detailed. Even DVDS are good to watch.
Sound judgement
With the picture quality on the OLED903 being similar to the 803, the question is whether the B&W sound system is worth paying the extra for.
Philips and B&W claim that with the 903, dialogue clarity, soundfield openness and dynamic range are all ‘notably increased’ over the 803, and they’re right. Sound is projected effectively into the room, lending voices and sound effects a directness that most TVS lack. Voices are fuller and more natural, too.
Open, weighty and rich
The soundstage is nicely open and spacious, which helps it deliver a degree of atmosphere that’s rare for a flat-panel telly. Play an action movie and the crashes, bangs and wallops are loud and distinct. Bass is weighty and there's a well judged richness to the sound. The treble is a touch harsh though, and voices can be a little sibilant. It’s enough to be distracting, even irritating at times.
The truth is that the best soundbars sound better, even those at the affordable end of the market. The Sonos Beam (£389), for example, is more dynamic, detailed and musical, while the Yamaha YAS-207 (£249) is crisp and spacious. We wouldn’t expect a TV to sound as good as a separate soundbar, but it’s something a buyer is likely to consider.
In terms of its picture, the Philips OLED903 is one of the best TVS currently available, not to mention one of the best-sounding TVS out there. And yet our preference would be to buy the Philips OLED803 and a separate soundbar, such as the Sonos Beam.
Officially, there’s a £500 price difference between the two Philips models, and it's the size of that gap that's helped us make our decision. For many people, an all-in-one-tv-and-soundbar solution may appeal, in which case you should opt for the OLED903 over the OLED803. But in any case, both are worth considering, particularly as they’re even more affordable than LG’S OLED55C8PLA.