Philips PUS8808 (The One): A mid-range TV that impresses

Philips has named its most popular TV The One and packed it with the latest technology. A mid-range TV impresses with decent picture and sound quality. Philips 65PUS8808 series TVs are equipped with fast GoogleTV operating system and Ambilight backlight.

In addition, the models of The One series have a very attractive design. Philips uses high quality materials for the cabinet and stand. Will these TVs be able to satisfy the majority of consumers with their quality? Should I buy PUS8808? The answers to these questions and more can be found in the Philips 65PUS8808 / 12 Ambilight 4K HDR review.

Philips PUS8808 Review

Design

Many people know that Philips PUS8808 TVs, also known as The One, are among the top selling Philips TVs. Like the previous Philips PUS8807 series , PUS8808 also has an elegant bezel around the screen, which is made of brushed aluminum.

Externally PUS8808 looks very stylish. The TV has an aluminum stand located in the center. Models of the same series with diagonals of 75 and 85 inches have a stand in the form of two aluminum legs. The depth of the TV at its thickest point is 84mm.

Such a considerable size is explained by the fact that in addition to direct backlighting, the TV also has built-in Ambilight backlighting. If you prefer to hang your TV on the wall, you can use the VESA 300 x 300 (65″ diagonal) wall mount instead of the stand, which is not included.

Equipment

Features of the Philips 65PUS8808 TV do not go unnoticed. External storage media such as a USB flash drive or USB hard drive can be connected to the TV via the USB port. This connection is also suitable for recording TV programs. The TV tuner is suitable for cable TV and DVB-T2 HD as well as for satellite reception (DVB-S2).

Switching from one channel to another does not take much time. In some cases, this value does not exceed one second. As for Smart TV, the 65PUS8808 TV is equipped with Google TV operating system based on Android. The clearly structured OS offers quick access to all the popular media libraries and streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube.

The PUS8808 doesn’t neglect ease of use either. You can control the TV not only through the buttons located on the remote control, but also using voice commands. The operating system responds quickly to input and does not make the viewer wait long. Ambilight is only available from Philips.

The background lighting shimmers with the colors of the screen and makes the image appear larger than it really is. Rear-mounted LEDs shine upward as well as left and right. If desired, the color gradient can be transferred to all living room lighting with additional Philips HUE lamps . In addition, you can set the Ambilight backlight to only one color of your choice.

Sound quality

The built-in acoustic stereo system sounds decent for a not very large room. This is mainly due to the automatic calibration of the speakers. As with an expensive AV receiver, the TV’s speakers are also calibrated during initial setup and individually adapted to the spatial environment.

The sound system has 4 speakers. The power of each is 10 watts. However, the bass is a bit lacking. On the other hand, this is even more than enough to watch ordinary TV programs. However, action movies and music videos sound a bit flat. Since the PUS8808 TV’s sound system is Dolby Atmos ready , buying a soundbar is ideal.

A Philips Fidelio FB1 soundbar equipped with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and a maximum output of 310W would be a great addition to this TV. The soundbar is a perfect match for this TV and is fully controlled with the TV remote control.

Image quality

Philips’ 65PUS8808 The One TV proves that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good picture. The LCD screen has 4K UHD resolution and runs at a variable refresh rate from 40 to 120 Hz. Unlike cheaper 50Hz TVs, fast movements look nice and crisp, and unsightly streaks are prevented.

The 65PUS8808/12 TV is also very good for watching sports such as football or Formula 1. The Philips 8808 also delivers incredibly crisp motion sequencing when playing on console or PC. However, there are also small problems. The device cannot display really deep blacks.

This is due to the IPS matrix that the TV is equipped with. However, during a moving picture, this is not particularly noticeable. It is also almost imperceptible when viewed in a lit room. On the other hand, Philips is particularly stable in terms of viewing angles. Even when viewed at an angle of more than 60°, Philips impresses with its accurate color reproduction.

No matter what streaming service you’re talking about, HDR movies look very good on the 65PUS8808/12. With a peak brightness of over 500 nits, Philips makes colors and vibrant lighting effects look great. The TV has a full package of HDR standards. Both HLG and HDR10 are supported, as are the dynamic HDR standards Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

In terms of scaling, conventional TV programs also look decent and are displayed clearly and sharply. However, HD channels look slightly better. When viewing SD channels, the picture looks partially blurred. In general, the image of Philips 65PUS8808/12 is more than impressive. Thanks to the built-in Micro Dimming Pro technology, the Philips 65PUS8808/12 panel is lit evenly right up to the corners and does not show any light spots.

Connections

The set of connections that the Philips 65PUS8808 TV patch panel has can be considered excellent. Four HDMI inputs are available for external playback devices such as Blu-ray players, set-top boxes or game consoles. Two of these ports support the HDMI 2.1 standard.

They provide 4K at 120 fps signal passing, Variable Frame Rate (VRR) control and ALLM. One of these ports has an eARC option . With a latency of just 9 milliseconds, Philips is also suitable for gamers. In addition, the TV is equipped with AMD FreeSync Premium technology. As for wireless connections, the TV has technologies such as Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0.

Also on board there are a couple of USB connectors, an RJ45 Ethernet line-in, an optical digital audio output, antenna inputs and CI + 1.4 for connecting paid channels. Unlike many TVs produced in recent years, the device is equipped with a 3.5 mm jack for line-in headphones.

Conclusion

In conclusion of the Philips PUS8808 review, it remains to add that The One TVs have a very good value for money. The consumer will receive a clear image with realistic colors. The fast 120Hz display handles fast movements quite clearly.

When playing high-definition 4K movies and Full HD content, the Philips PUS8808 TV provides a detailed picture with a good depth effect. Audio sounds much better than TVs with two speakers. Equipment with 4 HDMI inputs, TV tuner and Google TV leaves nothing to be desired. The Ambilight backlight makes this TV stand out from its competitors, which makes the picture bigger.