A chance to talk to FlatpanelsHD's reviewers.
By Stian Jensen
#7641
Hi!

I was just offered to change out my broken 65PUS7600/12 - 2015 model for a 65PUS7101 2016 model or get refund for the 65PUS7600/12. What would you do ? Keep in mind that i bought the 7600 6month ago on black friday so i will get 2700 dollars back not full price. Which is 3100 in Norway.

What do you recommend instead of 65PUS7101 in same price range? Is there some available with HDR support? Thank you for the review
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By Rasmus Larsen
#7645
I wouldn't accept 7101 as a replacement fro 7600 if it was me.

If you want to stick with Philips I would consider the new 7601 (more expensive, though) with full-array local dimming. I can't confirm whether it has the same issues or not but it has better hardware for HDR, if you are planning on connecting a UHD Blu-ray player.
By Stian Jensen
#7647
Rasmus Larsen wrote:I wouldn't accept 7101 as a replacement fro 7600 if it was me.

If you want to stick with Philips I would consider the new 7601 (more expensive, though) with full-array local dimming. I can't confirm whether it has the same issues or not but it has better hardware for HDR, if you are planning on connecting a UHD Blu-ray player.
Thank you for your help and time. I will ask if it is possible to get 7601 as replacement and hope for the best.
By Nikica
#7651
I have recently sold mine Philips 55PFK7179/12. I was fairly satisfied with its picture quality with having in mind that I have only watched HD content. I was deeply frustrated with it's software, it's a complete disaster and I had to sell it.
I have bought a new model PHILIPS 55PUS6501 and I was impressed with 4k content. I was also able to run 4k content smoothly from the USB drive using KODI on Android, but this TV had huge banding issues because of direct-led back-light. TV frame was made from cheap plastic and looks pretty bad.

Youtube on Android was constantly freezing and crashing and that was frustrating. When I summed it up I have returned it to the store.

My plan was to wait for 7101 to become available since it is using edge-lit for back-light and I can live with some bleeding or clouding rather than banding stripes or dirty screen effect.

After reading this review I'm not sure what to do :( What would you recommend in this price range as Philips 7101.
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By Rasmus Larsen
#7652
Well, there's the more expensive 7601, which looks quite promising, but I cannot confirm if it has the same issues. I would guess that it has the same UHD Blu-ray playback issue since it seems like a common problem. Hopefully Philips will fix that.

Until Philips fix the issues I would be wary. Can you get a refund instead of a new TV?
By Nikica
#7653
Hello Rasmus,

thanks for your quick reply. Yes, I've got a refund.
In short words, I have sold 7179 to my friend because I wanted to switch to 4k and Android. I have initially bought Sony W755C and I was disappointed with its picture quality so I have exchanged it for Philips 6501. I have made some videos on banding issues and youtube freezing on 6501, but once you'll review it you'll see it yourself.
As mentioned, I was really satisfied with colors and sharpness, but your review has definitely pulled me back from buying 7101.

Unfortunately Philips 7601 will be available only in 65" and I'm not sure how much more will it cost comparing it to the 7101 55" price that should be around 1100-1300 euros here in Croatia.

I'd like to stick with Philips but I don't understand the company that obviously doesn't have a proper product testing.

I wouldn't go with Samsung because they're stuck with Tizen OS or Sony because of bad W755 experience. I am currently using Popcorn Hour as media content player and I would like to sell it and use only KODI on Android TV because in order to watch 4k content on my popcorn I would have to upgrade to Popcorn Hour A500 or V-Ten.

I still have Panasonic and LG as brands I haven't tried so far :)
By Nikica
#7654
And yes, 7601 has Direct-led, does this mean that it will probably have banding issues too?
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By Rasmus Larsen
#7655
Not necessarily. I didn't notice any banding on the 7601 sample I saw in Belgium when Philips unveiled it but you never know. We would have to receive a sample to check - or keep an eye out for some of the owners forum threads of there.
By Nikica
#7656
What would you recommend for me?

I'm a Philips + Popcorn Hour fan because I like to watch HD content to be as smooth as possible. I guess Sigma Chip in PCH and Natural motion feature from Philips helps with that. I could live without ambilight I guess..

I currently own Samsung Series 5 that I have bought for my kids. Although I like Tizen I'd rather go with Android and a KODI player for my living room TV.

I saw that you have recommended Sony x85, but from this video I can't say that it's worth the money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuT6ZKr7s_M

When you'll review 6501 please check for banding issues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9oxl120qPk

I had worse banding issues than this TV from video link above. Vertical stripes all over the place..
Have in mind that I consider myself a noob when it comes to TV's and once I noticed this banding issue I didn't know what banding is. I had to Google to find out what's the name of this effect :)

This one seems interesting if I replace Popcorn Hour considering it has a 10-bit panel and they full HDR with 1000 nits.
http://www.elipso.hr/audio__video/telev ... S7002UXXH/
I have to say that I'm lost as Samsung has so many models.

BTW, one thing regarding 7101 review. Have you tried to connect it to AVR? I have connected it to Marantz 1403 and I couldn't get a sound on my receiver. I have changed sound output from Stereo to Mixed if I remember correctly, as that was the only setting I could change regarding audio output.
I have also enabled pass-through on KODI player, but I couldn't get a sound on my AVR.
By Nikica
#7658
I have watched couple of videos on youtube for UH7700 and it looks pretty impressive, although currently only 55UH661V is available here and it's way to expensive.

For instance, recommended price on LG site for UH7700 55" is $1199 and UH661V 55" here costs $1373.
With this price image what will be the price for UH7700 when it becomes available, not to talk about UH8507 :))))

But yes, I'm interested in LG and I'm more and more distancing from Philips (thanks FlatPanelHD for detailed 7101 review).
By Nikica
#7668
I have found a good price for 55PUS7101 and no matter about bad review I decided to buy it. I got used to Philips vibrant colors and I really don't mind that calibration issues mentioned in the review although I've noticed the following:

- I can see that this TV had some banding and almost no bleeding which is strange for an edge-lit TV.
- I am using Marantz 1403 receiver and when I set Audio output mode to Mixed mode on a TV and enable passthrough along with other options (dts and dolby capable reciever) on Kodi player I can't get sound on my receiver.
- Youtube app is constantly freezing and when I turned off the TV I couldn't power it on anymore. Then I tried to disconnect USB drive from the TV but it still didn't power on. I could start it again after 5-10 minutes.
-When I turned it on at some point I got a message that home theater has been detected and that I should connect audio cable??? I am using HDMI ARC port on a TV that is connected to my Marantz 1403 receiver.
After that I have tried to connect optical cable anyway and guess what I couldn't connect it. I can normally connect this optical cable to my receiver or Popcorn Hour A300 player, but not to a TV.
I have also noticed that I have managed to peel of optical connector plastic when trying to connect it.
WTF is happening with Philips??? I guess that they don't pass quality check....

I'm so frustrated that I plan to return it...