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Philips is spreading Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support across 90 per cent of its 2019 TV range, it revealed at its European media preview this week. This even includes its upcoming budget 6 Series models.

What’s more, all these Double-D screens will also feature HDR10+ dynamic metadata compatibility.

Philips director of product strategy and planning Danny Tack said the inclusion of Dolby Vision on relatively low- brightness 4K HDR displays will help deliver a superior picture performance with Dolby Vision-encoded video.

Philips has also unveiled two new OLED TVs, the OLED804 and OLED854 (pictured top). Available in 55in and 65in screen sizes, the only difference between the two is stand design – the OLED854 features a swivelling T-Bar stand to optimise viewing angles.

The screens will employ a third-generation P5 image processor, claimed to be 20 per cent more powerful than its predecessor. Side-by-side comparisons with 2018 models revealed better black-level shadow detail and greater colour depth. Philips is quoting a peak HDR brightness output of 1000 nits for its new OLEDs.

The OLED804 and OLED854 will ship with the Android TV Pie (9) OS, with Google Assistant built-in and ‘Works with Alexa’ support.

Sound partnership
At its European preview Philips also confirmed it is extending its collaboration with speaker expert Bowers & Wilkins with the unveiling of the 8804 LED LCD TV, which features a variation of the integrated 50W 2.1 sound system first debuted on the OLED+903 model. One key difference is that the B&W-designed subwoofer assembly has now been decoupled from the TV chassis, a necessity derived from the differences in panel design between OLED and LCD, but a change which is said to improve bass response.

Certainly, a playback of The Greatest Showman proved extremely impressive. The set was also demonstrated with a music CD. 'We know from research that TV owners are using their TVs to play music,' explained Bowers and Wilkins' senior product manager Andy Kerr.

Although Dolby Atmos-enabled, the TV doesn’t pretend to offer an immersive listening experience. The sound system features two forward-facing drivers integrated into the lower bezel, finished in Kvadrat speaker cloth.

Philips says it also aims to simplify consumer buying decisions by focusing its marketing on a mid-range offering it dubs 'The One'. More prosaically known as the 7304 Performance Series, it will be available in a variety of sizes, starting at 43in and moving up through 50in, 55in, 58in, 65in and 70in models.

In addition to multi-HDR support and Dolby Atmos, this Android-connected set features three-sided Ambilight and boasts a clean, silver-grey minimalist design.

Yet the real One could perhaps be found in Philips' entry-level 6 Series models. The incoming 6814 LED LCD has Amazon Alexa built-in, and will ship in 43in, 50in, 55in and 65in screen sizes. The smart platform here is Philips' own Saphi Smart OS.

If Alexa onboard isn’t to your liking, there’s also the slightly cheaper ‘introductory Ambilight’ 6704/6754 range.

ETA and pricing on all of the above has yet to be revealed.

One screen technology missing from the Philips TV showcase was 8K. Danny Tack told HCC there was no reason to launch 8K yet, given that there is no software available. He was also dismissive of 8K image upscaling; a shootout between two 65in screens, one an 8K panel, the other 4K running Philips' latest P5 picture processor, certainly seemed to give weight to his assertion.