Philips intros new premium OLED TVs with better Bowers & Wilkins audio systems

Philips has unveiled the OLED+986, a new 65-inch flagship OLED TV, and a sibling OLED hero, the OLED+936, available in 48-, 55- and 65-inch screen sizes. Both are produced in collaboration with Bowers & Wilkins.

The new 55- and 65-inch models employ the latest, high-performance OLED panel technology from LG Display, which boasts a 20 per cent increase in peak light. The 48-inch version has the same OLED glass used across the rest of Philips 806 range, beacuse there is no commercially available 48-inch version from supplier LGD.

However all three boast a twin-chip, 5th generation P5 Intelligent Dual Picture Engine.

This 5th Gen P5 AI adds a new Film Detection Mode to the existing five AI categories while Ambient Intelligence incorporates the TV’s light sensor to ensure that contrast, for both SD or HDR content, is always optimised to the local ambient light levels (effectively mimicing what we’ve seen from Dolby Vision IQ).

Additional HDR support covers HLG, HDR10 and HDR10+ Adaptive, which combines HDR10+ dynamic metadata with real-time ambient light monitoring to automatically optimise brightness levels on a scene-by-scene basis, depending on available room light.

HDMI 2.1 connectivity covers VRR, Freesync Premium & G-Sync compatibility, as well as high frame rate 4k. The sets also have four-sided Ambilight system.

The high output panels of OLED+986 and OLED+936 are also protected by Philips unique anti-burn-in solution. This advanced logo detection function monitors a grid of 32,400 zones, to identify static content and gradually reduce the intensity of its local light output and avoid burn-in.

Professional level calibration is on offer via the Calman Ready feature that brings easy access to auto-colour calibration allowing the set to be finely adjusted to ensure absolute colour accuracy to industry agreed standards.

The sets feature upgraded Bowers & Wilkins sound systems, with a revised enclosure and an improved Dolby Multistream Decoder. On the OLED+896 model, the Bowers & Wilkins sound system employs proprietary Continuum cones, as found on its 800 Diamond Series speakers.

The central tweeter features a new surround and tand the brand’s famous metal Nautilus tube, said to improve heat dissipation. The three 100mm mid/bass drivers now feature Continuum cones plus a higher specification voice coil and crossover components.

The decoupled Tweeter-on-Top mounting ensures that high frequency performance is delivered without the blurring associated with cabinet diffraction. Inside the system are three independently isolated enclosures, with the left and right-hand enclosures also featuring decoupled, baffle-mounted tweeters, positioned to the far ends of the speaker system to ensure outstanding immersive sound with exceptional clarity and detail.

For deeper bass extension, both the OLED+986 and OLED+936 include the option to connect an external active subwoofer.

The OLED+936 is no slouch in the audio stakes either. Sound system improvements include new higher quality crossover components, new surrounds for all three tweeters, a new profile stiffer cone for the dedicated bass driver, and new voice coils for the four mid-range drivers.

The OLED+936 48-, 55- and 65-inch models are expected to sell for £1,800, £2,100 and £3,000 respectively. There's no official price for the OLED+986 yet, but don't expect much change from £3,800.