This year I’ve been really blown away by the quality of the best TVs going on sale. I’ve been stunned by the LG OLED G5 and blown away by the Samsung S95F too.
But what happens when those test TVs get boxed back up and returned to sender? I move back into my trusty personal TV, of course. Which just happens to be one of the best OLED TVs – a 65-inch Philips OLED 809.
And I do really love it. Fine, it might not have the brightness skills of the S95F mentioned above, nor the same black level finesse of the G5. But it does have one trick up its sleeve that you won’t find anywhere else.
And that is Philips Ambilight. This means on the top and side edges behind the set are LED strips which project light onto the surrounding walls in real-time, as if extending the picture – and creating a more immersive experience.
What features does the 809 offer?
(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)
Ambilight is configurable, too, so you can adjust how bright (or not) it appears, how intense its colour palette, how rapid the changes in relation to what’s on-screen, even set a single colour, or switch it off completely.
You can set it on for one content type and off for something else – so you might want a dark room experience for a movie night, but splashy extra Ambilight colours for a gaming session playing Mario Kart World on the new Switch 2.
But there’s plenty more besides. The panel, for example, is an LG ‘EX’ OLED type, so will keep up with the likes of an LG OLED C4 equivalent. That’s a 2024 model, granted, with the OLED C5 out now and, in fairness, Philips’ own replacement, the OLED 810 (and step-up 910) incoming.
The quality is super, though, as per my 5-star OLED 809 review. It’s the Ambilight that really sets it apart, as I noted. But other features are truly flagship, too, with two HDMI 2.1 ports ensuring up-to-scratch gaming levels too.
Why buy the Philips OLED 809?
(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)
One of the great things about the OLED 809 is that, as it’s technically a 2024 model, it’s approaching its replacement, as I’ve mentioned. That sees prices drop by quite a margin.
So, whether you’re looking for the 55-inch, the 65-inch (same as mine), or want to go XL and buy a 77-inch, the pricing is quite reasonable at present. All those panels remain the same type, too, no trade off for size choice.
Take a look at the shopping widget below for the latest and best offers. Those are better prices than many competitors, but with the addition of added Ambilight goodness, of course.
