Philips The One 8506 review

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Philips’ 8506 is The One, which is Philips marketing parlance for its mid-price LED TV crowd-pleaser. It’s designed to tick all the boxes that most buyers will be looking for in a new flatscreen – value, technology, and performance – without overcomplicating things.

The moniker certainly gives the set a lot to live up to, but this TV largely delivers on its promise. If you are looking for a screen that delivers maximum bang for your buck, this 8-Series star would indeed be The One.

It’s bright enough for daytime TV, offers decent movie contrast, and doesn’t disgrace itself when it comes to low-input gaming either.

Design & Build

Stylish but plastic
3-sided Ambilight
4 HDMI ports

The One looks surprisingly upmarket, although close inspection reveals it to be a bit plasticky. Still, the silver-painted panel edging is more presentable than rival cookie-cutter cheapies. The rear is spotted with three-sided Ambilight, Philips’s popular mood-lighting technology.

Connectivity is good for a mid-range model. There are four HDMI inputs, of which HDMI 2 is certified eARC, with the three remaining modes all ARC enabled. There’s no support for 4K 120fps (aka 120Hz) playback support.

We also get two USB ports, optical digital audio out, Ethernet as well as onboard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus both terrestrial (Freeview Play) and single satellite tuners. There’s also a CI card slot if you have a need.

The remote control isn’t the same premium pointer found higher up the Philips range, but it’s slim and feels good in the hand. Dedicated buttons are provided for Prime Video, Freeview Play, Netflix, Rakuten TV, Google and of course Ambilight.

Specs & Features

Android TV & Freeview Play
Voice control
Low input lag

The 8506 is built on the Android TV smart platform and Freeview Play – a familiar and formidable combination.

The former delivers a huge variety of top (and second) tier streaming apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Rakuten TV, Disney+, and Pluto TV, while Freeview Play guarantees a full suite of mainstream catch-up TV apps (including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, UKTVPlay), along with a roll-back program guide to search for shows you might have missed over the past week, as well as copious box sets.

Picture & Sound Quality

4K LED
Good HDR support
Unremarkable audio

Picture performance is where The One ultimately has to prove itself, so it’s good to report that this 8-series LCD LED screen manages to avoid many of the traps that plague similarly affordable flatscreens.

It’s big on colour and vibrancy, and really smashes it when it comes to presenting fine detail, making a fabulous job of 4K fare from streaming services. Off-axis viewing is good, with minimal loss of colour and contrast when you view from the side.

Price

As befits its mainstream position, the 8506 is available in a wide range of screen sizes – specifically 43-, 50-, 58-, 65-, 70- and 75-inches (43PUS8506, 50PUS8506, 58PUS8506, 65PUS8506, 70PUS8506, 75PUS8506). Our sample is the sweet spot 58-incher.

Pricing is highly competitive too. The screens are listed at £649, £649, £899, £919, £1099 and £1697 respectively, but hunt around and you’ll find them cheaper.

You can find the smallest model at Amazon while Currys is the best place to find a choice of sizes.

Read More: https://www.techadvisor.com/review/philips-one-8506-2021-3813319/