Mini LED TV with a Philips twist
Home Cinema Choice|March 2021
The TV corp has unwrapped its premium flatscreen range for 2021, adding the state-of-the-art shrunken LED tech to its now traditional roster of Ambilight, Atmos and OLED. Steve May reports
Steve May
Mini LED TV with a Philips twist

PHILIPS IS GOING large on Mini LED technology this year, as well as prepping a serious upgrade to its OLED fleet. The brand, which has been pushing the picture envelope for several years now, clearly hasn’t run out of steam.

As is the way of things, we’ve not yet had a chance for the customary hands-on with any early prototypes, but what we have seen, divulged remotely, has got us chomping at the bit.

The big news (literally) is Mini LED. Philips has joined Samsung and LG in announcing an early foray into this new backlight technology, which replaces conventional LED backlight modules with an array of thousands of tiny LED bulbs. The upshot is far greater precision for HDR and contrast, even when compared to a generously specified full-array LED LCD backlight.

Philips will launch two Mini LED sets in 2021, both on the large size. The 9636 (pictured above) and 9506 will debut as 65in and 75in screens, and there are no immediate plans to go smaller. A key difference between the two is the 9636's integrated 3.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos soundbar system, designed by Bowers & Wilkins.

OLED XXL

Mini LED is squaring up to be the main display story of 2021, and our interest is more than piqued by what we’ve heard so far, but OLED sets will no doubt remain a star attraction – and Philips is also thinking big here, launching its first 77in OLED screen.

This story is from the March 2021 edition of Home Cinema Choice.

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This story is from the March 2021 edition of Home Cinema Choice.

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