Ambilights staying on with dark/black scenes - When will Philips finally fix it?

Ronner

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A while back in another thread @georgeback noticed that in one of the Philips software updates the ambilight system responded differently in certain modes. (see Quietly released OLED 705 (Owners Thread))

Previously the ambilights would turn off completely in darker or black scenes but since a software update Philips has changed this behaviour. Now during darker or black scenes the lights will still be illuminated with white light. I myself and some others noticed this as well and I contacted Philips about this. At first they guided me through the usual factory reset stuff etc. and later on they said it would be fixed in a future software update.

Today however, after months, I get an e-mail from Philips support stating the following (translated from Dutch to English):

Thank you very much for your patience thus far.

It has taken a while for our software team to provide us with an answer as to why this is happening, and tell us the following:

This was changed in a fairly recent update, because we had received many complaints from customers who found the opposite less pleasant (ambilight completely off with dark/black content). As a result, they changed this in a software update. As this is normal behavior they will not make any changes.

Unfortunately, we cannot change this behavior as a result of the above. Anyway, I hope with the help of the explanation the reason behind this will be clear.

After I replied to them and said there are also customers who complain about them staying on and that they could easily fix it by either adding different presets or by adding a switch to turn that behaviour on or off, I got this reply:

Unfortunately, we have been explicitly told that no further changes will be made in this regard.
As a result, we cannot process your request.

I find this unwillingness of Philips very disappointing.

If anyone else would like for Philips to change their software so that customers can choose for themselves whether they want that specific ambilight behaviour or not, please respond in this thread so that maybe we can pursuade Philips with a larger group of people to change their software so that everyone gets a satisfactory ambilight experience. At the very least Philips could add the original presets back in so we can enjoy our TV's in the way they were when we purchased them.
 
A while back in another thread @georgeback noticed that in one of the Philips software updates the ambilight system responded differently in certain modes. (see Quietly released OLED 705 (Owners Thread))

Previously the ambilights would turn off completely in darker or black scenes but since a software update Philips has changed this behaviour. Now during darker or black scenes the lights will still be illuminated with white light. I myself and some others noticed this as well and I contacted Philips about this. At first they guided me through the usual factory reset stuff etc. and later on they said it would be fixed in a future software update.

Today however, after months, I get an e-mail from Philips support stating the following (translated from Dutch to English):



After I replied to them and said there are also customers who complain about them staying on and that they could easily fix it by either adding different presets or by adding a switch to turn that behaviour on or off, I got this reply:



I find this unwillingness of Philips very disappointing.

If anyone else would like for Philips to change their software so that customers can choose for themselves whether they want that specific ambilight behaviour or not, please respond in this thread so that maybe we can pursuade Philips with a larger group of people to change their software so that everyone gets a satisfactory ambilight experience. At the very least Philips could add the original presets back in so we can enjoy our TV's in the way they were when we purchased them.
I think I like it that it doesn't get completely dark.. But I agree that it would be nice if people could choose in the settings...
I always have 2 ledlamps behind the tv at left and right.. I keep these on also.. As I don't want to have it completely dark.. That's to much change for me... I want it more steady.. I don't watch in the dark neither..
 
Yeah, it was better with Ambilight off on dark scenes. I would like if they revert this feature as it was or at least add an option or new mode that turns off completely on dark scenes
 
Can you not change the ambilight mode from Standard to Natural to achieve this ?
 
With LED/LCDs, especially IPS it make sense, because it increase contrast. Anyway, when I had LCD TV I rarely watched movies in complete darkness.

With OLEDs it is complete different story. I agree that for OLEDs the white ambilight at dark scenes is definitely harmful. It kills fundamental OLED's advantage - infinite contrast. Instead expand the picture it shrinks it (black night sky ends at top edge of TV etc, scenes of Outer space are destroyed totally.).

Now, when I am using my 65OLED705 for movies, Philips is forcing me to turn off Ambilight completely for the best expierience. I turn it on for daylight watching shows only.
 
Can you not change the ambilight mode from Standard to Natural to achieve this ?
No. Not on the recent firmwares and the newer model TV's (the one I have is the 77OLED806) came with this change in it's factory firmware.

The only option is to use "Game" mode. Then the lights are completely off in dark scenes, but that mode feels way too nervous for regular TV/movies etc.
 
Yeah, it was better with Ambilight off on dark scenes. I would like if they revert this feature as it was or at least add an option or new mode that turns off completely on dark scenes
You can use "game" mode. In that mode the lights turn of completely on dark scenes, but in that mode the lights respond very fast to changes and feels a bit nervous for regular tv/movies. But you could give it a try and see if you like it better than having the lights stay on in darker scenes.

I really wish Philips comes to their senses and either adds some extra modes or adds a setting where the owner can choose if the lights stay on or off in darker scenes.
 
With LED/LCDs, especially IPS it make sense, because it increase contrast. Anyway, when I had LCD TV I rarely watched movies in complete darkness.

With OLEDs it is complete different story. I agree that for OLEDs the white ambilight at dark scenes is definitely harmful. It kills fundamental OLED's advantage - infinite contrast. Instead expand the picture it shrinks it (black night sky ends at top edge of TV etc, scenes of Outer space are destroyed totally.).

Now, when I am using my 65OLED705 for movies, Philips is forcing me to turn off Ambilight completely for the best expierience. I turn it on for daylight watching shows only.

Exactly. This change really kills the fundamental OLED advantage of infinite contrast. My house is never lit up much. Just a few lights dimmed to their lowest positions. Now when the screen is completely black, the brightest light in my house are the Ambilight lights (!). Really not nice and indeed destroys the atmosphere it should bring.

Anyway, I have mine set on "game" mode now as in that mode the lights do turn off completely, but it's not as nice as "natural" or "standard" as in "game" mode the lights respond very fast, which may not suit everyone. I would love to have 2 extra modes, natural-dark and standard-dark.
 
No. Not on the recent firmwares and the newer model TV's (the one I have is the 77OLED806) came with this change in it's factory firmware.

The only option is to use "Game" mode. Then the lights are completely off in dark scenes, but that mode feels way too nervous for regular TV/movies etc.
Ambilight on my ‘newer’ model TV 65OLED856 is behaving EXACTLY how it does on my older 65PUS7601 that I’ve had for 5 years.

Standard mode leaves some background lighting on, Natural only a very very small amount and Game mode none.

Updated to the new firmware today and no change.
All working as I’d expect.
 
Ambilight on my ‘newer’ model TV 65OLED856 is behaving EXACTLY how it does on my older 65PUS7601 that I’ve had for 5 years.

Standard mode leaves some background lighting on, Natural only a very very small amount and Game mode none.

Updated to the new firmware today and no change.
All working as I’d expect.

I bet if your PUS7601 had it's original firmware instead of the more recent firmwares (you probably updated within those 5 years, no?) then in standard and natural modes the lights would be off. Has been off in my previous 65OLED953 and my daughters 3 year old PUS model as well, until those TV's got their firmwares updated. Then standard and natural still have them on in dark scenes.
 
It hasn’t had many updates for a last couple of years, just Android security updates, nothing has changed re Ambilight, it’s always behaved like it does .

I’ve always preferred Standard for the very reason it does leave some lighting on in dark scenes, I find it makes it less distracting than say natural or game where you really notice the difference on scene changes as the ambilights follow the lighting in screen more closely ( by not lighting up dark areas).
Vivid has never been in option as it’s too over saturated and Colours don’t match up well.
 
Vor einiger Zeit ist in einem anderen Thread @georgeback aufgefallen, dass das Ambilight-System in einem der Philips Software-Updates in bestimmten Modi anders reagiert. (siehe Leise veröffentlichtes OLED 705 (Besitzerthread) )

Früher gingen die Ambilights in dunkleren oder schwarzen Szenen komplett aus, aber seit einem Software-Update hat Philips dieses Verhalten geändert. Bei dunkleren oder schwarzen Szenen werden die Lichter jetzt immer noch mit weißem Licht beleuchtet. Ich selbst und einige andere haben dies auch bemerkt und mich diesbezüglich an Philips gewandt. Zuerst führten sie mich durch die üblichen Werkseinstellungen usw. und später sagten sie, dass dies in einem zukünftigen Software-Update behoben werden würde.

Heute jedoch, nach Monaten, erhalte ich eine E-Mail vom Philips-Support mit folgendem Inhalt (übersetzt aus dem Niederländischen ins Englische):



Nachdem ich ihnen geantwortet und gesagt habe, dass es auch Kunden gibt, die sich darüber beschweren, dass sie eingeschaltet bleiben und dass sie dies leicht beheben könnten, indem sie entweder verschiedene Voreinstellungen hinzufügen oder einen Schalter hinzufügen, um dieses Verhalten ein- oder auszuschalten, erhielt ich diese Antwort:



Ich finde diese Unwilligkeit von Philips sehr enttäuschend.

Wenn jemand anderes möchte, dass Philips seine Software ändert, damit Kunden selbst entscheiden können, ob sie dieses spezielle Ambilight-Verhalten wünschen oder nicht, antworten Sie bitte in diesem Thread, damit wir Philips vielleicht mit einer größeren Gruppe von Leuten dazu bewegen können, ihre Software zu ändern damit jeder ein zufriedenstellendes Ambilight-Erlebnis bekommt. Zumindest könnte Philips die ursprünglichen Voreinstellungen wieder hinzufügen, damit wir unsere Fernseher so genießen können, wie wir sie gekauft haben.
Diese Antwort ist völliger Schwachsinn. Wenn das der Wille gewesen wäre, wären alle Ambilight TV geändert worden. Bei unseren, bis auf die Größe baugleichen 65OLED806/12, ist die Änderung nämlich nicht eingetreten. Zum Glück!!! Mit unserem 77OLED806/12 bereiten Filmabende keine Freude mehr.
Die Bilder zeigen den Vergleich in der Einstellung Video "Spiel". Beim 77 Zoll überstrahlt das weiße Licht die dunklen Bildbereiche. Das kann nicht gewollt sein.


GOOGLE TRANSLATE

This answer is complete nonsense. If that was the will, all Ambilight TV would have been changed. The change did not occur with our 65OLED806/12, which are identical except for the size. Luckily!!! With our 77OLED806/12, movie nights are no longer fun. The images show the comparison in the "Game" video setting. With the 77 inch, the white light outshines the dark image areas. That cannot be intentional.
 

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I have the same problem with my new 55OLED936.
TV came with .012 firmware - everything was fine. One day later I got the .026 firmware per OTA-Update.
Now Ambilight is completely useless for me. TV goes back, if Philips doesn't fix the bug quickly.
 
Hi All,
As you may have seen in the other thread, one of the forum participants (maik096) has started a topic on Philips support site where he addressed this problem with Ambilight on .026 firmware.

Feel free to reply and upvote the problem at Philips support topic in order to push Philips to fix it a.s.a.p. (I just did it from my side, my message is 'pending review' yet).
 
Someone on another thread linked to a site with downgrade firmware, looks like an easy job:


post #12

Waiting for your move Philips. If nothing changes back, who knows, maybe one should try to downgrade?

For now I turned off autoupdate, who knows what else will get "improved"
 
I am considering raising this issue with Trading Standards, as Philips fundamentally changed the behaviour of their product (65OLED935/12), post launch/purchase, which diminishes the value proposition of the TV, forcing me to turn off Ambilight as [Follow Video] mode is current unusable in a dark room. With Ambilight off I could have purchased any other A brand OLED TV from LG, Sony, Panasonic etc.
I explain my situation on this thread here: Philips Ambilight TV, any way to make the Ambilight lights go off on black screen during scenes?
 
Diese Antwort ist völliger Schwachsinn. Wenn das der Wille gewesen wäre, wären alle Ambilight TV geändert worden. Bei unseren, bis auf die Größe baugleichen 65OLED806/12, ist die Änderung nämlich nicht eingetreten. Zum Glück!!! Mit unserem 77OLED806/12 bereiten Filmabende keine Freude mehr.
Die Bilder zeigen den Vergleich in der Einstellung Video "Spiel". Beim 77 Zoll überstrahlt das weiße Licht die dunklen Bildbereiche. Das kann nicht gewollt sein.
First of all, please keep things in English. Others shouldn't have to take things through Google Translate if you reply in an English thread.

Then as to your answer, I think you are confused about the setting I was talking about. I was not talking about the setting for "video-mode" but about the Ambilight preset with the name "game". I have been in contact with Philips about this and they confirm they have changed the Ambilight behaviour for certain Ambilight presets, so no, my answer was not complete "Schwachsinn".
 
Tut mir leid, ich spreche nicht gut Englisch.
Ich meinte nur, dass die Antwort von Philips ********* ist, nicht deine. Ich hatte das gleiche Problem mit meinem Fernseher.


Moderator Edit
I'm sorry, I don't speak English well. I just meant Philips' answer is ***********, not yours. I had the same problem with my TV.

Please post in English only. I obtained the above translation via google translate. Any future posts that require this action will simply be deleted.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tut mir leid, ich spreche nicht gut Englisch.
Ich meinte nur, dass die Antwort von Philips ********* ist, nicht deine. Ich hatte das gleiche Problem mit meinem Fernseher.


Moderator Edit


Please post in English only. I obtained the above translation via google translate. Any future posts that require this action will simply be deleted.

I understand it if your English is not that good, but like the moderator said, just use Google translate to translate your reply from German to English instead of letting others do that for you ;-)

As for your answer, my apologies, I must have misunderstood you. It appears that the last couple of days a lot more people have complained about this to philips seeing all the other responses on other threads and on the philips forums as well, so let's hope they will soon fix this or provide a firmware with extra ambilight settings so people can choose themselves what they prefer.

I for one would like to have a "custom" preset where you can tweak all kinds of things in a much more advanced way. That way Philips can satisfy their supposed users that have asked for the lights to stay on using the standard presets and can also satisfy they other customers such as us that want more control over Ambilight and its behavior.
 
Hi Guys!

Glad I found this forum. I've exactly the same problems with the ambilight. First I thought my tv was broken. But I had automatisc updates enabled so I wasn't aware on the fact that my 77OLED806 has installed the latest version TPM211EA_001.001.233.022.

I just had contact with the chat of Phillips support desk in the Netherlands. They are not aware in any sense of the "unofficial" software version TPM211EA_R.001.002.092.000 . They are reach out to their technical departement and they will give me feedback later on (but I don't have that many trust in these guys) I tried to download this version from the links that are in several threads but the link is expired. So my question is, is there anyone who can share version 002.092.000 with me?

Thank you in advance!
 
Hi Guys!

I tried to download this version from the links that are in several threads but the link is expired. So my question is, is there anyone who can share version 002.092.000 with me?

Thank you in advance!
Hello,
No probs, I can upload it to one of cloud storage services and share the link with you (in the conversation thread).
 

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