Philips 65OLED805 HDR TV review

Want to know how it compares to other TV models? Try our Samsung Q70A TV review and LG C1 TV review.

Jump to:

• Philips 65OLED805 review: summary
• How much is the Philips 65OLED805?
• Philips 65OLED805 features
• Philips 65OLED805 design
• Philips 65OLED805 picture quality
• Philips 65OLED805 sound quality
• Our verdict
• Where to buy

Philips OLED805 (65OLED936) review: summary

The OLED805 has plenty of wow factor. Philips P5 picture processing engine pushes OLED panel technology to dizzying heights, with supreme detail and colour depth. This TV doesn’t just look good with 4K HDR TV programmes, and it benefits from excellent upscaling that makes regular HD fare look almost as good. It also has a smart platform that’s well stocked with streaming and catch-up services.

Ambilight seals the deal, providing an atmospheric light show to accompany whatever’s on the box.

Its only Achilles heel is gaming. None of the HDMI inputs on this screen support 4K 120fps high frame rate gameplay. If you’re a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X owner, this could be a deal-breaker.

Price: You can buy the 65-inch Philips OLED805 for £2,199 at Amazon.

Key features:

• Three sided Ambilight
• Dolby Vision, HDR10+ support
• Android TV smart platform
• Freeview Play
• Works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa

Pros:

• Excellent picture performance
• Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support
• Ambilight lounge lighting

Cons:

• No 4K 120fps HDMI support
• Poor input lag

What does the Philips OLED805 do?

• The Philips OLED805 is a premium performing 4K OLED HDR flatscreen
• It uses the Android smart TV platform and has a Freeview Play terrestrial tuner
• Universal HDR support means it’s compatible with HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision for the best possible HDR performance
• The OLED805 works with Google and Amazon Alexa smart assistants
• The TV is compatible with DTS Play-Fi multiroom audio systems
• The screen features three-sided Ambilight mood lighting

How much is the 65-inch Philips OLED805?

The 65-inch OLED805 sells for £2,199. It’s also available in 55-inch guise (55OLED805), which sells for £960. The smaller screen size is particularly competitive, while the larger model is priced to match comparable OLED models.

You can buy the 65-inch OLED 805 for £2,199 at Amazon

You can buy the 55-inch OLED805 for £960 at Amazon

Is the Philips 65-inch OLED805 TV good value for money?

The 65-inch iteration of the Philips OLED805 can be considered reasonable value for money. It shares a similar price ticket to high-end OLED models from LG and Sony. The 55-inch version is more competitive, particularly if you can pick one up for less than £1000. What sets this apart from all its competitors is the provision of Ambilight, which remains a unique Philips selling point.

Philips OLED805 (65OLED805) features

The OLED805 doesn’t skimp on life’s luxuries. The Android TV smart platform is powerful and easy to use, with no shortage of top-line service apps on board (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, etc.). It also comes with Freeview Play, which means easy access to catch-up TV from BBC iPlayer, ITVHub, All4, My5 and UKTV Play, as well as loads of free to view box sets to binge.

There’s also Chromecast Built-in, so you can cast from your smartphone to the TV with compatible apps and voice control via Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

The Philips Ambilight system used here is three-sided (it illuminates from the sides and the top of the set). This doesn’t just wash your walls with LED light, there’s also a timed Sunrise mode which offers a faux sunrise lighting effect - although to be honest, this is only likely to be useful if you use the set in your bedroom.

The 805 also boasts DTS Play-Fi compatibility. This means it will work with other Play-Fi certified wireless speaker systems from other brands for whole-home music streaming. It’s early days for the Play-Fi standard, but if you haven’t yet signed up to Sonos or Heos (from Denon), then it’s quite an appealing system.

Philips OLED805 (65OLED805) design and setup

This big Philips favours a minimalist look and boasts a high level of finish. The screen has a thin, dark bezel supported by two widely spaced chromed feet. It looks fancy, but you’ll need wide AV furniture to accommodate it.

The OLED805 comes with a rather nice backlit remote control, lightly finished in Muirhead leather.

Connections comprise four HDMIs, two USBs, an AV analogue input and an optical digital audio output. In addition to dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, wireless connectivity is wired Ethernet.

Significantly, none of the HDMIs is 4K 120fps enabled, which will be a point of contention if you own a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X console. The screen is fine for regular 4K 60fps gaming, but if you want to push the output of those consoles to the max, this Philips isn’t suitable.

Emphasising this lack of gaming connectivity is its input lag performance. We measured latency at 33.2ms (1080/60) with Game mode engaged. This won’t impress Mario and his mates.

Setup and installation are routine, with clear, concise user prompts to get the TV online and tuned in.

Philips OLED805 (65OLED805) picture quality

This big Philips impresses with a picture that’s vibrant without being over-saturated, sharp, but free of unwanted edge emphasis. Much can be attributed to the brilliance of Philips P5 picture processor, here in its fourth generation guise and now bolstered by clever AI image enhancement.

Auto AI with dynamic image optimisation automatically adjusts picture processing based on what you’re watching. 4k programmes look hyper-textured and naturalistic, while the upscaling of lower resolution HD material borders on breath-taking.

The screen’s HDR performance can be considered extremely good. Contrast is super punchy, with excellent black level and near-black shadow detail. The 805 has no trouble delivering bright specular highlights, like glinting lamps, headlights and fireworks, all of which really help make the image seem more believable.

The TV also has universal HDR support. There’s Dolby Vision and HDR10+compatibility, along with HDR10 and HLG.

Motion handling is above average (in fact, much better than this set’s predecessor, the OLED804). For movies, we get a new Pure Cinema mode that maintains clarity but still keeps the picture looking cinematic. That’s quite a trick.

Philips OLED805 (65OLED805) sound quality

It may be super thin, but the 805 still manages to offer surprisingly decent audio. Philips has upgraded the drivers in this model to give a wider, cleaner sonic spread. Dialogue clarity is high while its bass drivers add welcome ‘umph’. The set is Dolby Atmos compatible and can send cinematic audio out over ARC to a Dolby Atmos soundbar or home cinema system.

Our verdict: should you buy the Philips OLED805 (65OLED805)?

This slick-looking thin screen has just about everything going for it. The design is stylish, it boasts sensational picture quality, and Ambilight lounge lighting is thrown in. It’s a difficult package to resist. That is unless you’re a gamer. The TV simply isn’t a good buy if you’re a serious gamer with a next-gen games console. The lack of High Frame Rate support on its HDMI inputs is a serious shortcoming, and even if you’re happy playing games at 4K 60fps, input lag is poor.

Still, this remains an easy recommendation for everyday TV watching, home cinema, and box set binging.

• Features: 4/5
• Design: 5/5
• Picture quality: 5/5
• Sound quality: 4/5
• Value for money: 4/5
• Overall rating: 4.5/5

Where to buy the Philips OLED805

You can buy the 65-inch OLED805 for £2,199 at Amazon.

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