The new Philips TVs, which will go on sale in 2021, will feature new audio technology that will help users calibrate the TV’s sound system to their hearing personality. Now Philips TVs can adjust the sound using Mimi Sound Personalization technology.
Mimi Sound Personalization on Philips TVs
The Mimi Sound Personalization feature, dedicated to World Hearing Day (March 3), allows TV users to “personalize TV sound to suit their unique hearing profile”. To use it, you must take a short hearing test on an “iOS or Android phone or tablet”.
The test will create a “Hearing ID Profile” that you can sync with your TV. The test result is transmitted to the Philips TV by photographing the QR code on the TV screen using a smartphone. According to Philips, you don’t have to tinker with your audio settings to get an audio output that’s truly comfortable for you.
The company explained that “hearing ability is primarily assessed in two areas: the lowest sound intensity a user can hear, and the ability to process ‘masked’ sounds. That is, the quietest sound that a consumer can perceive in the presence of masking sounds such as noise. ”
This feature will be available on “most” Philips TVs with Android 2021 operating system. These TVs will begin rolling out in early May 2021. The Mimi Sound Personalization feature in question will be rolled out to both mid-size LCDs and Ambilight TVs, as well as flagship OLED TVs due in 2021.
So far, the list of TV models with Mimi Sound Personalization is as follows: PUS8506, PUS9006, PUS9206, PUS9506, OLED706, OLED806 and OLED 856. It seems that this feature is supposedly intended for deaf or hard of hearing consumers. It’s worth noting, however, that Mimi emerged during extensive audio customization for headphones, TVs, and other audio devices.
Many flagship TVs these days use a ping sensor to sense the size of a room. These sensors calibrate the sound according to the surrounding environment. Mimi sound customization is now available. All this suggests that progress, albeit slowly, is still being achieved.
Mimi Defined for Loewe
Philips (TP Vision), according to the brand owner, is currently the only manufacturer in Europe to adapt TV sound through individual hearing profiles using Mimi Sound Personalization. However, Loewe can object to this claim.
After all, the German TV maker is also using at least Mimi Defined to create hearing profiles in its new TVs. The ultimate goal is to achieve a sound adapted to the respective hearing ability of the viewer, or rather the listener.
Samsung, the world’s largest TV maker, has also made some major changes in this area with its 2021 lineup, announcing new features to help people with vision or hearing impairments.
These features include the ability to move title and subtitle fields to different areas of the screen. In addition, it will be possible to zoom in on sign language translators, which are usually found in the corner of the screen.
Advantages and disadvantages
It should be noted right away that Mimi technology gives an advantage only if the user sits alone in front of the TV. Otherwise, this advantage for you personally may become a disadvantage for other listeners. It’s a lot like creating a custom profile that only pays tribute to the creator of that profile.
Also, personalization of Mimi sound for individual TV users is “punishable” by added value. In any case, Mimi Sound Personalization should provide better sound and good dialogue intelligibility. So far, the feature in question will only be built into 2021 TVs.