Philips 55OLED907 55inch 4K UHD OLED

Overview

Along with the OLED937, the 55OLED907 is the only Oled model from Philips with the Oled EX panel and a heat sink for increased brightness – the OLED807 does not have the heat sink. Compared to the 807, the Philips 907 also has a more powerful video processor (Philips P5 AI Dual Engine 6th generation) and a much more powerful 80W Bowers & Wilkins 3.1 audio system. Otherwise, it retains the Ambilight system – a true signature of Philips models – in its latest version, a rotating stand, HDMI 2.1 connectivity (4K 120 Hz, VRR, eARC, ALLM) and Android 11.

The Philips 55OLED907 is currently priced at around £2000. It is also available in a 65-inch (165 cm) version (Philips 65OLED907) for around £3000. The Philips 48OLED907, the 48-inch (107 cm) version, is equipped with a less bright Oled EX panel, but all other features remain the same.

The Philips 55OLED907 uses the same sub-pixel structure as the LG 65C2, which uses the latest generation Oled EX panel. Still, the Philips model is equipped with an additional dissipation system that should enable it to achieve a higher peak brightness. The Oled panel functions similarly to the other models equipped by LG Display. The blue and green sub-pixels are thin, while the red sub-pixel is larger to support a higher peak brightness while maintaining a colour temperature close to 6500K. Oled technology offers excellent viewing angles. The loss of brightness at 45° is limited to only 19%. Only QD-Oled TVs do better with almost no brightness loss at 45°. Of course, there is no variation in black, as the sub-pixels are individually switched off.

The Filmmaker mode shows excellent image quality. We measured the average delta E at 2.1 – well below 3, a value below which the eye can no longer distinguish colour drift. The colours displayed can be considered faithful to those sent by the source. The temperature curve is perfectly stable over the entire spectrum, and the average measured at 6350 K is close to the video standard’s reference value (6500 K). The same is true for the gamma curve with an average of 2.36, relative to the reference 2.4, which translates into perfectly reproduced grey levels. Oled technology means that the contrast is infinite since each pixel can be switched off individually, ensuring unequalled precision of even very deep blacks.

The 6th generation P5 AI Dual Engine video processor offers little improvement over the previous generation and even over the “Simple” P5 AI processor of the OLED807. While the Perfect Picture Engine is not used in Filmmaker mode, it works wonders on images from HD or Full HD sources, especially on platforms such as YouTube or even DVB-T, significantly increasing the level of detail without creating artefacts. The P5 Perfect Natural Motion compensation engine is as impressive as ever, producing perfectly sharp images in motion without forcing smoothness. This is the best on the market, along with Panasonic’s. The novelty introduced by this 6th generation is, above all, the support of the luminosity sensor, which allows unblocking the dark areas when watching certain contents during the day, at the price of a loss of fidelity, as it is the case with the Dolby Vision IQ or the Filmmaker with Intelligent Sensing at Panasonic which we tested.

HDR

The Philips OLED907 is compatible with all HDR formats, from the dynamic metadata formats Dolby Vision and HDR10+ to the classic HDR10 and HLG.
With a maximum HDR signal at 10,000 cd/m², the Display Tone Mapping used by Philips follows the reference EOTF curve well but is slightly higher. This curve is achieved with the Perfect HDR setting turned off. This setting is interesting with game consoles that have their own clipping threshold setting. The smoothing of the HDR signal can be accentuated via modes (minimum, medium and maximum). More detail is then retained in the bright areas. The adaptive mode adapts the smoothing to the peak brightness of each scene.

Ergonomics

With its comprehensive connectivity, rotating stand, responsive and versatile Android system and backlit remote control, the Philips OLED907 offers the best ergonomics.

It has a neat design and an excellent finish. Like all Philips TVs, it is most recognisable by its Ambilight lighting system. This model also has an easily recognisable sound bar.
The main original feature of this TV is the ±30° rotating central stand. This feature has almost disappeared from the market and is rare in high-end TVs. It can be found on Panasonic (JZ1000/JZ1500/JZ2000) or as an option on the LG 65G2.

The TV is 6.9 cm thick with the stand, but as always, the stand’s footprint determines the amount of space it takes up on the TV cabinet. The OLED907’s stand is 26cm deep, relatively compact for a 55″ TV. The stand is also 50 cm wide at the back and only 21 cm wide at the front. This TV fits perfectly on our reference TV stand, measuring 160 x 40 cm.

The rear of the TV is classic. The power supply is on the left side, the 30W woofer is in the middle, and the connections are on the right. A removable cover completely hides the connections. The cables are grouped at the back of the stand using a basic but effective cable management system.

The connection system is divided into two areas. On the side, there are two HDMI 2.0b inputs, two USB ports, including a USB 3.0, a PCMCIA (Common Interface CI+) port and a headphone output. On the rear are two additional HDMI 2.1 inputs, optical digital audio output, an Ethernet port and satellite and rake antenna connectors. The TV has a DVB-T/T2/T2-HD, DVB-S/S2 and DVB-C tuner. It also features 802.11ac Wi-Fi, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 for connection to a wireless audio device (headphones or speakers).

The Android TV system is one of the most complete on the market and offers the most applications. The Chromecast function allows you to receive and display a video stream from a smartphone, tablet or computer. The Google Assistant can be accessed via the remote control’s microphone to perform searches, while the TV can be controlled via Amazon Alexa.

As with all Android TVs, the first start-up takes longer. It takes 38 seconds, making it one of the fastest Android models. Samsung’s Tizen or LG’s WebOS system takes less than 5 seconds to boot. Fortunately, the TV wakes up from standby in just 5 seconds while consuming less than one watt in standby. As is often the case, standby is instantaneous.

This TV comes with a comprehensive remote control that allows access to all features. It has a handy backlighting system that allows you to find the position of the buttons in the dark. Finally, it has a microphone, essential for voice searches via Google Assistant.

Audio

The Bowers & Wilkins audio system consists of three 17W two-way speakers and a 30W subwoofer at the rear of the TV. Everything is more significant than the Philips OLED903 tested in 2018 (total power of more than 80 W). The sound rendering is excellent, with notably a beautiful clarity of voices made possible by the front positioning of the speakers. The spectrum is well-covered and descends sufficiently in the low mids to produce a good sound. Those looking for even better sound should look for specialised models such as the Philips OLED937 with its sound bar or the Panasonic TX-65LZ2000 with its full Dolby Atmos system similar to that of the JZ2000 that we tested, or even more simply for a dedicated soundbar.

CONCLUSION

The Philips 55OLED907 is one of the best TVs on the market. Whether in SDR or HDR, it delivers excellent picture quality, and the slightly boosted peak brightness further enhances the impact of HDR content. Philips impresses above all with its foolproof image processing and the performance of its motion compensation engine. The manufacturer also sets itself apart from the competition with a rotating stand, a backlit remote control, a Bowers & Wilkins audio system, and it’s signature Ambilight system. The Philips OLED907 is a success.