Philips The Xtra 55PML9008 - Ambilight (2023)

This TV's apps work dramatically. When using Netflix or Prime, the TV goes to standby after a few minutes. The same problem also occurs with the connected Apple TV. Coolblue connected and mounted the TV itself, so it should work. Been working for 3 days now, but the problem remains.

We ordered this TV on a gamble. A new line from Philips and therefore no reviews from others yet. Very exciting!

We deliberately opted for no OLED or QLED television because of the mirroring of the image. Our apartment has sun all day and nothing is more annoying than having to look at yourself all the time. Fortunately, the mirror effect on this TV isn't too bad! On the other hand, the quality is not nearly as good as that of an OLED or QLED TV, but we knew that. Despite this, the quality is really excellent and a significant improvement over our four-year-old 50-inch Philips TV. My boyfriend is also very satisfied: his FIFA team has never run so fast ;) That is almost impossible with 120 GHz!

In combination with the Ambilight, the cinema experience is complete! See pictures!

What really disappoints me is that the screw holes on the back of the TV, which allow it to be hung on a wall bracket, are a lot further apart, so we cannot use our current Vogel bracket (which can also be used for 65 inches). to use! So we had to order a new TV bracket again…. So we have to wait a while before we can hang it on the wall again.

We use a JBL soundbar and subwoofer, so unfortunately I can't say much about the sound of the TV itself.

Good picture and sound, but for those who need it: HDMI CEC is incomplete, delay on the headphone output, and the own app platform does not seem recommended to me.

This television was chosen for use with (only) a KPN TV+ Box. It seemed like a good choice because of the energy-efficient mini-LED screen while watching radio, good sound, a headphone output that can be used simultaneously with the internal speakers, and the hope of good support for HDMI CEC as with other Philips devices. But the latter is especially disappointing.

The KPN TV+ Box does not support infrared for an additional remote control, but can still be operated via HDMI CEC with the television remote control, for those who want it. For example, HDMI CEC works very poorly with webOS on an LG OLED48C24LA (where not even the number keys are passed on via HDMI CEC), but works fine with, for example, a Philips 48OLED807 Android TV. But unfortunately the brand is no guarantee for success: the support for this Philips The . An on-screen menu can be displayed when pressing the Options button, with which a different channel can be selected. But that's way too difficult. I have been working with Philips/TP Vision support since November 17, 2023, who have made me create log files and have already sent incorrect firmware twice (so not for beginners). And if you ask if anything is known, they simply threaten to put you at the bottom of the pile. I wouldn't count on the incomplete HDMI CEC ever being resolved. So:

In my opinion, the remote control of the Philips 55PML9008 is unusable to operate a decoder/set-top box.

Most users of the TV+ Box (or another decoder) need the KPN remote control, so the above hassle with HDMI CEC is only important if you (also) want to use the Philips remote control with a KPN TV+ Box or other decoder that only has a supports bluetooth remote control. (But you can also call that a negative of the KPN TV+ Box.)

The sound is fine, without a separate soundbar.

The headphone output has its own volume control, even when used simultaneously with the internal speakers. So not very useful with an external amplifier, but many televisions no longer have this output at all. Although you do have to adjust the volume separately, with a simple amplifier (in this case a Coolblue Kenwood CR-ST80DAB-B, which has an external input and its own remote control) it is easy to connect an extra speaker in, for example, a large kitchen/diner. With broadcasts that provide more than just stereo sound, you will hear echo between the headphone output and the internal speakers. But the KPN TV+ Box is set to normal stereo by default, and that worked fine in this setup.

The screen is also fine, but I'm no expert.

The design is not striking: just a metal frame, seen from the side not as thin as some other modern televisions. Seen from beforehand, the edges in the first photo on the Coolblue website are cut very thinly; the other photos give a better idea. But they are thin edges just the same.

The feet are not really noticeable, which is nice. (On the Philips 48OLED807, the base shines so much that you see the television image mirrored in that base.) The feet are quite low, which may be difficult if you want a soundbar. I thought I read somewhere that the feet are height adjustable, but no. For those who want to hang it on the wall and want Ambilight: keep in mind that Philips advises to hang it a few centimeters from the wall. And I wonder how good the sound is, because a bracket might cover the speaker on the back?

If you want to install your own apps, you should not choose this Philips. For example, NPO Start is no longer supported on the Philips platform (that may be more due to the NPO than to Philips), and there is also no built-in Chromecast.

This television would have been almost perfect for us in combination with Android/Google TV, but not now. And for those who don't need a headphone output, other choices are better, I think.