NEWS: Philips unveils 9636 and 9506 MiniLED TVs

Is this what causes some scenes in movies etc to appear blurry and out of focus?

I am not sure what/how you perceive it.. but maybe/probably. Turn off the Local Dimming in some scene when you perceive it in and see if it makes a difference - draw conclusions from that.
 
I also got my philips pml 9506 today and am absolutely thrilled and ambilight is fantastic. I have also tested forza horizon 4,borderlands 3 and microsoft flight simulator and all games look really great. So I do not have to have a 9636 the 9506 is great! Then I still have the samsung hw q950a soundbar connected which in my opinion soundwise belongs to the best, the disco scene in John Wick where he shoots through the club is although only in dolby digital absolutely cool, you think the bullets fly around your ears and the subwoofer has powerful pressure and all sounds good even with music! Maybe someone has the best settings for the TV?
 
I am not sure what/how you perceive it.. but maybe/probably. Turn off the Local Dimming in some scene when you perceive it in and see if it makes a difference - draw conclusions from that.
I have the software update now and the issues are pretty much gone, but thanks for your advice anyway😀
 
Well, my 9636 from Currys just arrived. Agonising wait now for my other half to come back to help me set it up. Dare not try on my own haha.

Me after getting the price I did:
villain-chillin-like-a-villain.gif
 
@megagold5

Seems like Black Friday came in early for you. Nice price! Please, let us know how you like it in comparison to the 9506 and if you see any real differences at all picture-wise. Enjoy your new tv!
 
If the TV was a mess, since the last update it's even worse..

Sad, because i cannot change it already, i've waited for an answer from Philips about these issues and i've lost track of the 14 days to return it, well...

The HDMI Optimal (GAME) is just broken on PC, it worked fine before the update, but after it, the black levels are not properly recognised, the screen blinks, g-sync stopped working (They say it's not a G-Sync monitor, yet BEFORE the update it worked perfectly as one...)

They won't improve the dimming algorythm, they dont have any intention of doing that, also we won't get any menu like Samsung or LG to see if VRR/Freesync is working as intended, their menus are just a mess

2 points Calibration is broken, you can change the higher points, but in the moment you touch the lower points, all the grayscale gets wrecked

This is not a 3000€ TV (9636), avoid buying it for more than 2000, and seeing how philips software technicians are working, ignoring the issues and doing whatever they want... Better 1500 than 2000
 
If the TV was a mess, since the last update it's even worse..

Sad, because i cannot change it already, i've waited for an answer from Philips about these issues and i've lost track of the 14 days to return it, well...

The HDMI Optimal (GAME) is just broken on PC, it worked fine before the update, but after it, the black levels are not properly recognised, the screen blinks, g-sync stopped working (They say it's not a G-Sync monitor, yet BEFORE the update it worked perfectly as one...)

They won't improve the dimming algorythm, they dont have any intention of doing that, also we won't get any menu like Samsung or LG to see if VRR/Freesync is working as intended, their menus are just a mess

2 points Calibration is broken, you can change the higher points, but in the moment you touch the lower points, all the grayscale gets wrecked

This is not a 3000€ TV (9636), avoid buying it for more than 2000, and seeing how philips software technicians are working, ignoring the issues and doing whatever they want... Better 1500 than 2000
You should still be able to return it for refund as warranty as tv not fit for purpose : as example not able to calibrate, screen blinks, g-sync not working etc... Present issues to retailer and they will have to refund you. Like I said before philips support is none existent, they drag time so people cant return.
 
Couple of days with the 9636 now and here are my thoughts in comparison to the 9506 I had:

  • Screen is basically the same as far as I can tell. Less DSE on this one, but still some VERY faint vertical lines -Hardly noticable.
  • The built in soundbar is excellent and looks/feels of much higher quality than I expected.
  • The TV felt a bit more "premium" in terms of its physical set up to the stand (soundbar) etc.
  • For some reason the standby light is white instead of red?
  • I don't think "premium micro dimming" is any different to "pro micro dimming". Test patterns appear the same to me.
Really happy with it all round. I don't have a PC attached and probably wouldn't mess with white point adjustment so that doesn't bother me particularly.

A speed update for the algorithm would be nice, but I have only noticed an issue like once on the 9506 so I'll survive hopefully.

If anyone has any questions let me know!
 
@megagold5 , mine is due later I was hoping to see if there were any real reviews whilst in my 14 day period before opening so i could return it but you seem quite pleased with it?

I also wont be using for a PC, just Xbox S X, Virgin Media and streaming apps, I have been looking at TVs a lot and whilst i know its show room conditions i struggle to tell the difference between LG/Sony/Samsung apart from the full black on the OLEDS so think for my use case it will be OK but its annoying there aren't any Philips to see in show rooms for myself.

Have you seen any issues with general interface lagginess or light blooming, how is the set for standard TV watching?

Im also coming from a 2015 mid range Bravia which has struggled with Android TV from the start so its not that high a bar for improvement.
 
@megagold5 , mine is due later I was hoping to see if there were any real reviews whilst in my 14 day period before opening so i could return it but you seem quite pleased with it?

I also wont be using for a PC, just Xbox S X, Virgin Media and streaming apps, I have been looking at TVs a lot and whilst i know its show room conditions i struggle to tell the difference between LG/Sony/Samsung apart from the full black on the OLEDS so think for my use case it will be OK but its annoying there aren't any Philips to see in show rooms for myself.

Have you seen any issues with general interface lagginess or light blooming, how is the set for standard TV watching?

Im also coming from a 2015 mid range Bravia which has struggled with Android TV from the start so its not that high a bar for improvement.
Android is MUCH snappier than it was back in 2015. Basically no lag at all. Still not a fan of some of the settings layouts though.

No blooming really except if looking off-axis. If by standard TV you mean like TV channels, it's fine. Netflix and PS5 and that are all great.

I'll be keeping this one for sure.
 
Thanks, yeah i meant at up-scaling SDR content. Android is better now than it was on the Sony, it was a hot mess when i bought it.

Ill be unwrapping and setting it up then if it ever arrives!
 
Hmm, it looks ok. I don't watch much standard content anymore and don't have much to compare it to.

No flicker I have seen, but I did watch episode 4 of Travel Man on Amazon Prime just now, had some rather obvious ghosting which wasn't....Ideal...
 
Couple of days with the 9636 now and here are my thoughts in comparison to the 9506 I had:

  • Screen is basically the same as far as I can tell. Less DSE on this one, but still some VERY faint vertical lines -Hardly noticable.
  • The built in soundbar is excellent and looks/feels of much higher quality than I expected.
  • The TV felt a bit more "premium" in terms of its physical set up to the stand (soundbar) etc.
  • For some reason the standby light is white instead of red?
  • I don't think "premium micro dimming" is any different to "pro micro dimming". Test patterns appear the same to me.
Really happy with it all round. I don't have a PC attached and probably wouldn't mess with white point adjustment so that doesn't bother me particularly.

A speed update for the algorithm would be nice, but I have only noticed an issue like once on the 9506 so I'll survive hopefully.

If anyone has any questions let me know!
How is the screen brightness / light output, the the 9506 is rated at 1500 nits and the 9636 2000 nits, so would be nice to have your input on this ?
 
How good is the viewing angle? Just like a normal VA panel, or it has some coating.

Suprisingly i do not see any rainbow reflection on the screen. :)
 
How is the screen brightness / light output, the the 9506 is rated at 1500 nits and the 9636 2000 nits, so would be nice to have your input on this ?
I can only say subjectively it is maybe a bit brighter, but I don't have any tools to measure this.
 
I am still testing my philips 9506 on different games and movies but for now no issues at all.
Can anyone post the optimal picture settings for this TV?
Which movies and games on xbox series x are the best for testing?

Thanks in advance!!
 
I was really hoping that these Philips mini-leds would fill the gap that Sony left behind ever since they went with OLED. The X95J seems like an afterthought compared to the ZD9, where Sony really brought their A game. Samsung does offer the full package hardware wise, but they’re not really known for picture accuracy. Philips used to make excellent TV’s back in the day. But TP vision seems to not have caught on.
 
I can only say subjectively it is maybe a bit brighter, but I don't have any tools to measure this.
Thanks man, im guessing that it's not a 500 nits difference, because that is a lot of extra brightness, so might just be a marketing thing /ploy, like the 2 different dimming engine's might be ......
 
Samsung does offer the full package hardware wise, but they’re not really known for picture accuracy. Philips used to make excellent TV’s back in the day. But TP vision seems to not have caught on.
How does Samsung offer a full hardware package, when it has less dimming zones than 9506/9636 and does not even support Dolby Vision/Dts? I am sure if you go to the Samsung forum, you will find people complaining about them too. As for the original Philips, they would not have survived as a Dutch-owned company with their high tv prices. They knew the future was in China and decided to pull out of the market. I still remember buying a 63" plasma at the same price of a 42" 9 series Philips ambilight in 2007. TP Vision's philosophy seems to be clear. They want to flood the market with ambilight TVs in all price ranges. It was never more affordable to buy an ambilight tv than nowadays. Get people addicted to it and they will likely buy another ambilight tv. It is stupid, but a lot of people cannot watch tv without it anymore, me being one of them. As for picture performance, well Danny Tack is still the head of their TV department and picture quality guru, as he was back in the day.
 
How does Samsung offer a full hardware package, when it has less dimming zones than 9506/9636 and does not even support Dolby Vision/Dts? I am sure if you go to the Samsung forum, you will find people complaining about them too. As for the original Philips, they would not have survived as a Dutch-owned company with their high tv prices. They knew the future was in China and decided to pull out of the market. I still remember buying a 63" plasma at the same price of a 42" 9 series Philips ambilight in 2007. TP Vision's philosophy seems to be clear. They want to flood the market with ambilight TVs in all price ranges. It was never more affordable to buy an ambilight tv than nowadays. Get people addicted to it and they will likely buy another ambilight tv. It is stupid, but a lot of people cannot watch tv without it anymore, me being one of them. As for picture performance, well Danny Tack is still the head of their TV department and picture quality guru, as he was back in the day.
Samsung indeed doesn’t offer Dolby Vision, but overall, the QN95A is still one of the most feature packed LED-LCD TV’s out there. As for picture quality, the 9506/9636 early impression appear pretty mixed. It may have more dimming zones, but if the algorithm is bad, it will do more harm than good. Will need to see more reviews between the QN95A, X95J and these Phillips mini leds to decide which is going to be the best. So, any and all information about the 9506/9636 in terms of picture quality, motion etc. is highly appreciated.
 
@ Nure

At the risk of sounding like a Philips fan boy, I took a quick peek at the QN95A thread in this forum and read things like "audio and hdmi dropouts and cut outs, unstable eARC, faint vertical lines and 5-6 replacement TVs". How is this much different to what we read in the Philips section of the forum? Even Samsung, one of the two biggest tv manufacturers right now, cannot seem to get their act together with their top tier mini led. Also, no Dolby Vision support just to promote hdr10+ is so not cool for their paying customer. As for picture quality, I don't really put much credit to reviewers anymore and I am more interested in actual user reviews and whether they are happy or not with their tv in everyday use.
 
Thanks man, im guessing that it's not a 500 nits difference, because that is a lot of extra brightness, so might just be a marketing thing /ploy, like the 2 different dimming engine's might be ......
Well, i've measured 2100 nits in vivid, 1800 in game mode
 
Maybe someone has the best settings for the TV?
That's interesting for me too. I think I'm on a good way, but not sure, what some options affect. Definitely you have to set the Motion styles to Off or Pure Cinema. All other points cause the soap effect!

Can someone explain, what happend, if I turn on Dolby Atmos in the sound settings, but watch a movie without Dolby Atmos source?
Furthermore: what is the best sound setting? KI-Mode?
 

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