Philips 65PUS7601 user review

  • A Scientific Dictator

    I was very excited about purchasing this TV considering the great reviews it had received, but it didn't take long to feel like those 'reviews' where from the industry backhanders variety.

    I've always been a fan of Philips, my first flat screen was Phillips and it was, is, bombproof. Still going strong fifteen years on. But Philips isn't Philips anymore, with TP Vision making the new wave of televisions using the Philips name under licence; can they mimic the heyday of Philips? I love an underdog and I have always wanted an Ambilight TV, so thought it was time to give them a try. This is the most money I have ever spent on a TV, even at its reduced rate, it brought excitement and apprehension but ultimately didn't fulfil my dreams.

    Out of the box, the picture setup is disgraceful. Thankfully with some basic tweaks and settings found online you can settle it down and remove all the blue scale, and then do you realise, the image produced now away from all that colour is not actually very good. Using standard HD TV viewing, it is very 'sharp' with little subtlety - if a German dictator made a TV, it would be this. Its almost as if it is standing to a form of attention with ironed spirit level creases it its clothes - there is no realism in its imagery. Sure it may be precise, but precise is not life. SD quality channels are the worst I have ever seen - they are never good per say on a 4K TV, but this made them worse. Think 1990's Atari 520 or Commodore Amiga resolution.

    Switching to 4K HDR viewing is where it gets better, much better. Deep blacks and fantastic motion (once you turn all the 'enhancement' options off) is present, and the fluidity of it's framing movement is exceptional. A little haloing here and there, but nothing that detracts you from the image. This is its party peace, the 4K image is exceptionally good and makes movie viewing a treat especially with the awesome Ambilight system (once you wind it down to 'relax' mode from the disco popping teenage boy’s bedroom setting).

    The sound I felt was very good. It's still a flat TV with small speakers, but with some adjustments, provided a nice sense of warmth with clarity. It's never going to knock you dead with audible crescendo's, but that’s simply not really possible in any TV of this size. Its good, acceptable, and not an area where there has been compromise, unlike...

    A TV in 2017 with none of the catch-up apps other than BBCiplayer, and at this price point is pretty atrocious. The basic Freeview system built in also doesn’t do backwards scrolling, nor have an EPG, and Google Chrome browser can’t be downloaded. For a smart TV, its not very, well, smart. After contacting Philips, they have no idea as to when, and if, the other catch-up apps will be added. Personally for this money I want to watch Channel 4 when I want to.

    One other thing to mention is how bright his thing bright is. Too bright. Out of the box it's like a graphic EQ of the 80's, that terrible 'V' shape we all thought was 'how it was meant to be'. All treble, all bass, nothing in the middle. This is that TV..and don't start me on the remote. White on grey buttons so you can't read it in a darkish room without using a tourch, and it has a touchscreen that is more sensitive than a sharks nose. Still nice effort on the aluminium casing, but boy does it weigh, can use it as part of your gym routine.

    So to summarise - great telebox for 4K movie watching, or a great lifestyle set as it looks good, has a quick OS and the Ambilight is simply sublime (other manufacturers really need to develop something similar - this is a must have), but if you enjoy watching actual TV and want to have some 21st century functionality then this really isn't the unit for you.

    There is something here with this unit though, don't get me wrong. TP are on to something here, but I feel they need to employ some film makers rather than scientists to fine tune the design of this unit and the panel display. The quality is there, but it needs to be made more 'real'. Anyone can write a nice piece of music that sounds good, but its about turning that music, into a ballad, into a hit, which takes art, not science to do.

    It just isn’t got any soul, (merely scientific calculations).


    (still blinded by the lights)
    This item was purchased for 1499.99 from AO in 2017 . The reviewer replaced this with the product Panasonic DX900b.

    Pros

    • Ambilight
    • HDR Performance

    Cons

    • HD Performance
    • Catchup Services

    Scores

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Philips 65PUS7601

Comments
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Author
The Chronicals
Review score
6 / 10
Average score
8.0 / 10
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