TELEVISIONS
With TV tech becoming ever more impressive, you’ll find these 2021 sets are real eye-openers
Philips 48OLED806 £1299
In a world of ever larger TVS, the 48-inch OLED remains a beacon of hope for those with more modest needs. This Philips model is one of the second generation of such TVS, which promise genuine flagship performance at a more manageable screen size – something that’s impossible to find on the LCD side of the market.
The 62 x 107 x 28cm dimensions might not mean a huge amount on paper, but what it really amounts to is the kind of size and shape that will work in almost any home. Philips’s famous four-sided Ambilight system features, with four backwards-facing strips of LED lights around the rear edge of the set that change colour to match the on-screen picture and help make for a more atmospheric and cinematic experience.
Masterminding it all is the second-gen Philips P5 AI Perfect Picture engine. It’s packed with image-processing technology for sharpening, noise filtering, contrast and light boosting, motion, upscaling and even adding an HDR effect to SDR material. The 48OLED806 supports both the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic HDR standards, and Philips has also thrown HDR10+ Adaptive into the mix. It uses the TV’S light sensor to choose automatically the best brightness settings while watching HDR10+ material, according to your ambient light conditions. It’s fully stocked for gaming, too, with two 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports with support for VRR, ALLM and 4K@120HZ, while input lag measures around 14ms. Meanwhile, Philips’s mixed OS approach means almost total coverage when it comes to apps and services.
Its picture performance is simply the best. Sharper and more sophisticated in its use of light, it just feels a step above. Watching Deadpool in 4K HDR, particularly impressive is how threedimensionally our anti-hero is rendered compared with the same scene on other sets. The harsh spotlighting in the dingy Sister Margaret’s dive bar can look clumsy and blunt but Philips’s picture processing is able to recognise the scene for what it is and shade Wilson’s face accordingly. This tricky combination of fine detail and careful shading creates a better feel for every scene than most TVS can manage.
There’s nothing groundbreaking about the sound, but the simple, rear-facing 2.1ch, 50W, three-speaker system does a decent job, particularly at this small panel size. There’s not so far for the sound to travel around the back of the screen before it heads out into your room and the result is a respectable audio presentation.
The Philips 48OLED806 is the best on the market right now for those after a premium TV with a more manageable footprint. Pair it with an external sound system and you’ve got an AV force to be reckoned with.