Televisions

It's a pity the OLED806 doesn't yet support 4K/120Hz Dolby Vision (Philips is investigating whether this can be fixed). It's also weird that you have to enter the TV's HDMI Ultra HD menu and choose a specific Auto Game option to enable VRR and ALLM. There are also no menu options for switching between VRR formats. But these are small gripes in the context of everything the TV gets right for gaming.

It's equally as effective with movies. Black levels are amazing, for starters – inky deep across the screen and totally consistent. HDR highlights have more intensity than you'd expect from such an affordable OLED model. The stylised, high-contrast look of Zack Snyder's Justice League (4K Blu-ray) looks so radiant and spectacular on the 55OLED806 you'd swear the disc was mastered specifically to show this telly off.

The immaculate contrast performance is supported by and contributes to beautiful colours. The fairground shots at the start of It: Chapter 2 (4K Blu-ray) are seriously dazzling as bright, multi-coloured lights and neon signs blaze against the darkness around them. This vibrancy doesn't come at the expense of subtle shading. On the contrary, the 55OLED806 handles light stunningly well right across every nook and cranny of every image.

Philips' processing also seems able find the true heart and relative weight of every part of an image, helping the set craft one of the sharpest pictures around. Some of the exquisitely detailed interiors in The Shining (4K Blu-ray) take on a 'beyond 4K' feel. 6K, maybe?

The Filmmaker Mode is the only preset that looks a little soft, since this turns off the TV's Ultra Resolution processing to maintain an 'as the director intended' look. It still looks impressive, despite not fully exploiting all the processing power at the TV's disposal. And its presence is significant, as it highlights the shift in Philips' philosophy over recent years towards catering for a varied array of picture quality tastes and needs. No longer is it 'my heavily processed way or the highway.'

The sense of intense sharpness holds up unusually well with HD too, as the P5 processor efficiently adds detail. Some of Philips' motion processing settings also allow the image to retain this detail, as witnessed during...Justice League's endless action scenes. But if you want to stay clear of unwanted processing artefacts, you should stick with the Pure Cinema – or if you don't mind sacrificing a little brightness – Fast Motion Clarity options.

Inevitably this mid-tier TV isn't absolutely perfect. Subtle HDR colour blends, such as those in the dusk skies in Exodus: Gods And Kings, exhibit gentle colour banding, while out of the box, all the picture presets tend to crush out a little shadow detail information in the darkest areas (nudging the brightness up a couple of steps sorts this well, however). And... I can't think of much else, really.

Setting The Stage
Even its sound quality is solid considering the OLED806 appears to be all panel and no speakers. Soundtrack effects are projected well beyond the boundaries of the screen, especially with Dolby Atmos content. There's nothing about this impressively grand soundstaging that's forced either; effects placement doesn't feel vague, and the dynamic range is impressive. Vocals sound clear even when they arrive against a sonically huge set-piece.

Bass is punchy and prominent, albeit not particularly deep – extreme low-frequency moments, such as Blade Runner 2049's huge bass swells (4K BD), can put the TV under strain, but for the vast majority of the time the 55OLED806's sound is bang on the money.

So, simply put, this is a fantastic TV. It looks great, it adds basically all the features we wished were there on last year's 805 models (particularly the upgraded HDMI specification), and it ekes out improvements to both image and sound performance. An already vintage year for OLED TVs just got even better n

HCC Verdict

Philips 55OLED806

Price: £1,600
www.philips.co.uk

We say: New features and improved picture and sound make Philips' 55OLED806 not just great value, but one of the best TVs you can buy below £2,000.

Overall: 5/5

Specifications

4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 HDR: Yes. HDR10+; Dolby Vision; HLG; HDR10 TUNER: Yes. Freeview HD; generic satellite CONNECTIONS: 4 x HDMI inputs; Ethernet port; 3 x USB; optical digital audio output SOUND (CLAIMED): 50W (2.1-channel)BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): N/A CONTRAST RATIO (CLAIMED): N/A 4K/120 PLAYBACK: Yes DIMENSIONS (OFF STAND): 1,227(w) x 706(h) x 68(d)mm WEIGHT (OFF STAND): 19kg

FEATURES: Fifth-generation P5 processing engine; VRR support including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia GSync; ALLM support; 120Hz black frame insertion mode; Dolby Atmos decoding; eARC; CALMAN calibration support; 4-sided Ambilight; anti-burn in technology; HDMI 2.1 on two inputs; Wi-Fi; DTS Play-Fi; Android TV OS