Philips 55OLED761 Review

Price

The Philips OLED 55OLED761 sells for £1199. This positions it as one of the most affordable routes to OLED ownership for serious film fans.

The inclusion of HDMI 2.1, VRR, ALLM and compatibility with both AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync makes the set relevant to PC and console gamers, too.

While it’s a tad more expensive than last year’s OLED760, it’s significantly less expensive than the LG C6, which is largely comparable in terms of spec.

The OLED761 tested here is the 55-inch edition, but it’s also available in 65- and 77-inch screen sizes, priced at £1499 and 2299 respectively.

Don’t look for the OLED761 in the US or Australia, as it’s not on sale in those territories.

Design

• Ultra-thin Metal bezel frame
• Three-sided Ambilight
• Satin chrome feet

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That seems to be the mantra behind the OLED761, which looks much like its OLED760 predecessor, but that’s no bad thing.

The slim OLED chassis has a wafer thin screen surround, for an edge-to-edge picture. Satin chrome feet provide support, positioned towards the edges of the panel. The overall impression remains smart and contemporary.

Ambilight LEDs run along the top and sides of the rear panel. Pretty much everyone knows about Ambilight these days – it’s been around for more than two decades – but the version we have here is seemingly an updated iteration, with a number of fresh Illuminatory presets, such as AI, Standard, Sports, Gaming. Music and Fixed (white) Colour.

I’m a big fan, and really like the added ambiance it brings to movies, sports and games.

The set comes with Philips square-edged remote control, one of the less intuitive controllers the TV world currently has to offer. It uses its backlight to spotlight the dual functionality of certain keys, plus dedicated buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube, Freely and Titan OS FAST (Free Advertising Supported TV) channels.

Connectivity

• 4 x HDMI 2.1
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Connectivity is outstanding. All four HDMI inputs support high frame rate gaming, with HDMI 2 serving as the eARC connection. This provides a straightforward way of adding a compatible soundbar or AV receiver.

The TV also has terrestrial and satellite aerial inputs, alongside internet-delivered Freely reception. Additional connections include a digital audio output, 3.5mm headphone jack, Ethernet, two USB ports and a CI slot.

Wireless connectivity covers dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2, supported by Ethernet. Wi-Fi may win when it comes to convenience, but a wired link will always help avoid potential network instability.

Features

• Titan smart TV OS
• Freely
• FAST Channels

You know when you shop in Lidl or Aldi, they’ll have biscuits and cereals that look remarkably similar to better known brands, in terms of packaging and design. But they don’t quite taste the same.

The Titan OS featured here is like that. It looks very much like its better known rivals, but doesn’t quite have the same depth or flavour.

Navigation is reasonably quick. The home screen leads with a horizontal ribbon of apps (pretty much all that’s available), followed by rows of curated programming from services including Netflix, Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, alongside other broadcasters and streaming providers.

There’s a separate Freely television guide plus a dedicated section for FAST streaming channels, simply labelled Channels. The distinction is worth pointing out, as the two programme sources are accessed independently.

Picture Quality

• Dolby Vision & HDR10+Adaptive
• P5 AI Perfect Picture Engine

OLED’s defining advantage remains its ability to deliver deep blacks and precise contrast. Because individual pixels can switch off, dark scenes retain detail, often without the haloing that can blight some backlit LCD televisions.

Even if your OLED panel isn’t at the cutting edge of screen development, that characteristic remains key to its appeal.

Watching Spider-Noir on Prime Video on the OLED761 (in 4K HDR10+ Adaptive) provides an excellent demonstration of these abilities. The series’ gorgeous monochrome imagery is tailor made for appreciating black levels, subtle tonal transitions and shadow detail.

The OLED761 handles all such things with assurance. Inky blacks sit alongside carefully resolved textures, giving dark interiors and shadowed faces a convincing sense of depth. The Spider’s costume is deftly textured, while street lights graduate smoothly into shadow.

The set’s HDR performance is impressive, particularly given its entry-level OLED status.

I measured a peak brightness of 953 nits using a 2% measurement window, and 720 nits with a 10% window. This is, I think, perfectly fine, even if it’s not actually an improvement on last season’s OLED760.

Fleeting pinpricks of bright specular highlights that add depth and vibrancy to scenes of contrast are reassuringly intense. A reflection on glass, a distant light source or a glint in The Spider’s goggles all stand out convincingly against a darker background.

Mid-shadow performance is particularly effective. Rather than crush blacks or flatten mid-tones, the Philips preserves much of what gives these scenes their atmosphere.

Colour reproduction is another strength.

The colour version of Spider-Noir (Prime Video), presents a rich, old-fashioned palette. The OLED761 responds with bold primary colours, allowing saturated shades to stand out without looking cartoonish.

As you’d expect, there are several picture modes, including Crystal Clear, Natural, Reference, Eco, Personal and Prime Video. Crystal Clear may be useful for assessing the set’s untethered potential, but for a more restrained presentation experiment with Natural or Reference.

Motion requires a little more care.

Standard interpolation produces a sharp, detailed depiction of moving objects, but it does introduce visual artefacts. During the opening sequence of Spider-Noir episode one, as our titular hero swings through the city, you can’t help but notice clinging motion artefacts.

I found Pure Cinema mode to be the best option for cinematic-style viewing, as it reduces the artificial smoothness of soap-opera effect, but remains clean and film-like.

Sound Quality

• 2 x 10W stereo
• Bass light
• IntelliSound processing

Audio is where the wheels fall off. The set employs a downward-firing stereo speaker system with two 10W full-range drivers, providing a combined rated output of 20W RMS.

It’s an uncomplicated arrangement, but the limitations become apparent fairly quickly. The soundstage is thin, occasionally sibilant, with no depth or warmth. Watching Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, audience applause is harsh and brittle, so much so I involuntarily cringed.

If there’s an upside, it’s that dialogue is sharp and clear.

Philips’ IntelliSound is intended to improve dialogue clarity and adapt the audio presentation to different types of programming.

There’s no significant bass response below 100Hz. While the system generates some output when fed lower-frequency signals lower down, it doesn’t amount to anything meaningful.

Thankfully, support for Dolby Atmos and DTS ensures you can bitstream audio out to a compatible soundbar or system, and not have to deal with the onboard speakers at all. Headphone Atmos support is also listed.

If you watch movies regularly, budget for a soundbar or a separate audio system.

Gaming

• Game Bar 2.0 interface
• HDMI 4K/120Hz
• ALLM and VRR

OLED may look majestic with movies, but it’s pretty great with games too – and the 761 outscores many more expensive rivals when it comes to game functionality. All four HDMI inputs support 4K 120Hz, along with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility.

I took Overwatch out for a spin, and it played as smooth as ice. Input lag measured 13.1ms (1080p/60Hz), which is an improvement over last year’s 760 model.

When you need a quick heads up, there’s Philips Game Bar 2.0 interface, which provides access to gaming-related settings, along with refresh rates up to 144Hz at 2560 x 1440, plus HGiG support, which will doubtless be particularly interesting for PC gamers.

The TV also includes a gaming hub, supplied by Blacknut, as part of its Titan suite. This offers subscription access to arcade titles, platformers, racing games and puzzles. Bluetooth controller pairing is available.

Should you buy it?