Philips has unveiled its 2013 line-up of very slim and minimalistic TVs. The high-end model is still the 9000 series and throughout the TV ranges you will see features such as Ambilight, Smart TV, built-in WiFi and elegant design. Philips also has a spectacular design TV with the new DesignLine.
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In 2013, Philips will focus more on the “smart” aspects of its TVs. More models than ever will have Smart TV features built-in and even though 3D is also included in most of the mid-range to high-end models, Smart TV is what Philips wants to promote and talk about.
Philips’s 2013 TVs
All models have been announced except the 9000 series that is said to be a range of Ultra HD TVs with four times the pixel count as Full HD. The 9000 series will be announced at IFA 2013 in September, according to sources.
Philips’s 2013 TVs
Next we have the 8000 and 7000 series with slim-bezel designs and Philips’ signature feature; Ambilight. Ambilight also extends to some of the other TV models and can either illuminate the back wall with a clear, white color or according to the colors on-screen. Ambilight has in the recent years started using LEDs instead of CCFLs which obviously also applies to the 2013 TVs. The use of LEDs helps reduce power consumption.
Philips unveils its new Design TV called DesignLine
Philips will also be releasing a variant of the 8000 series called DesignLine that is quite unique. Philips moves away from the usual TV design norms and has created a TV without a base. Instead the TV is the base. Philips believes that the new design will be a hit in modern residential areas.
Philips’s 2013 TVs
The Smart TV features are heavily advertised this year. The 6000 series and up feature Philips’ Smart TV Premium platform with more features and a faster dual-core processor. One of the new features is Miracast support that allows owners of Android 4.0 (or newer) devices to push media content such as video, images and music to the big screen. Miracast also lets you clone your screen from your smartphone or tablet onto your TV screen. Wi-Fi is integrated in all TVs
The Smart TV platform naturally also offers TV apps, including Netflix and other regional European TV services. Philips is part of the Smart TV alliance that hopes to create a unified Smart TV platform where TV apps can be “developed once and run everywhere”. Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, Sharp, Bang & Olufsen and Loewe are also members of the alliance.
Philips’s 2013 TVs
If you connect a USB hard drive you will be able to record TV programs and pause live TV shows. Another new feature is the so-called Multi-room function. Multi-room allows you to stream TV channels and recordings to other Philips TVs in your home or stream TV channels to smartphones and tablets on the same network via the Philips MyRemote app. It should work for pay TV channels, according to Philips, but the TVs only come equipped with one TV tuner so you can only watch one show at a time.
Philips’s 2013 TVs
When it comes to 3D, Philips still offers two solutions. The 8000 series has “3D Max” which basically means an active 3D system. The 5000-7000 TV ranges instead use “Easy 3D” which is passive 3D that only requires the inexpensive 3D glasses from movie theatres. Philips tries to improve the 3D depth through a picture analyzing algorithm called 3D Super Resolution. Another feature is Dual View that lets you watch two different images in a multi-player video game by using the 3D glasses. 2D-to-3D conversion is also built in - if that is your thing.
The remote control for the high-end models
The remote control for Philips’ new TVs has been redesigned and has a full QWERTY keyboard as well as a cursor control. Philips promises to make “internet browsing and navigation hassle-free and easy”.
Lastly, Philips advertises its many picture systems, including 1400 Hz Perfect Motion Rate (PMR) on the 8000 series. The high Hz number includes a frame interpolation system that calculates and inserts new picture frames in the video stream, backlight scanning and the actual Hz number of the panel. Only the 8000 series has a 200 Hz panel.
Watch Philips’ Ambilight promotion video below.
Philips 9008 (Ultra HD)
Philips’ new 9000 TV range is official and it is Philips’ first Ultra HD TV.
The Philips DesignLine is a variant of the 8000 series with a unique design twist. It has been designed from one piece of glass and leans up against the wall. The features are more or less the same.
Philips unveils its new Design TV called DesignLine
The 7008 TV range is one step down from the 8000 series. It still offers the Smart TV Premium platform but scales down to a 100 Hz panel. The 7008 TVs offer passive 3D.
The 5008 is another mid-range TV without the Pixel Precise HD engine. It is also the first TV with a 50 Hz panel and with the “standard” Smart TV platform with a slower processor and fewer features.