On visits to my friends’ homes, I noticed something.
Samsung, Sony, LG…
I’ve seen almost every brand of TV.
But I rarely see one:
Philips TV.
Now, it’s their time to shine.
Keep reading to discover:
- What value does Ambilight have on Philips TVs’ marketability.
- Why Philips’ lack of active community is a valid reason not to buy their TV.
- 3 reasons why you should buy a Philips TV and 3 reasons why you shouldn’t.
- And so much more…
Is Phillips a good TV brand?
Philips is a good choice for a TV if you’re looking at its value. For its price point, you can get a TV with a nice screen, that runs on Android TV, and has Ambilight. In my opinion, Philips is a good brand if you’re willing to overlook issues with how they’re manufactured.
3 reasons why Phillips is a good TV brand
#1: Great value
If you were to ask anyone what they think of Philips TV, one answer will stand out:
“It’s cheap.”
To give you an idea of how much of a bargain Philips is…
You can just look at this table of Philips 43-inch TV 4K compared to its competitors.
| Brand | Model | Type | Resolution | 4K | Price in USD |
| Philips | 43PUT7791 | LED | 3840×2160 | Yes | 755.59 |
| Samsung | 43LS003 | LED | 3840×2160 | Yes | 1,290.22 |
| Sony | X70F | LED | 3840×2160 | Yes | 941.51 |
| LG | 43UJ652T | LED | 3840×2160 | No | 814.30 |
Pretty noticeable difference in price points, right?
#2: Ambilight
When I was looking to buy a new TV, something about Philips piqued my interest.
No, it’s not the price tag.
But the Ambilight feature.
What is Ambilight
Let me explain…
There are a series of LED lights at the back of almost all new models of Philips TV.
These lights can then project colors to your wall.
And that’s where the magic begins.
Ambilight has 4 modes which you can choose from. These are:
- Follow flag: Emits the color of your chosen flag.
- Follow color: Emits the color from your chosen setting.
- Follow audio: Emits color based on the audio playing on your TV.
- Follow video: Emits color based on the video playing on your screen.
Why Ambilight is important
Say, for example, you’re watching Finding Nemo.
The Ambilight will illuminate your wall with blue and orange colors.
This helps set the mood and ambiance. Allowing you to be more immersed with what you’re watching.
Now, you might say that it’s just a gimmick. Or that it’s not worth buying a TV for its lighting.
That’s where you’re wrong.
And because of the fact that Philips is implementing something like this…
Just means that they’re willing to go beyond what is expected of them.
How to turn on Ambilight
Turning on Ambilight is easy, all you need to do is:
- Press the home button on your remote.
- Go to ‘Features’.
- Select ‘Ambilight’.
- Toggle it on.
To see what the Ambilight looks like in action, you can watch this video:
Just a little warning, it’s cool as hell.
#3: Android TV
Your Philips TV runs on either Saphi OS or Android TV.
But, it’s important to know that Saphi OS itself is built upon Android TV.
So, why is this a good thing?
Android TVs can provide better customizability and more apps.
This is because they have full access to the Google Play Store.
It means that you can do pretty much anything with a Philips TV…
As long as there’s a Play Store app for it.
4 common Phillips problems
#1: Lack of a community
One thing that I personally don’t like about Philips TVs is the lack of community.
On sales, Philips lags behind competitors like:
- LG.
- TCL.
- Vizio.
- Sony.
- Hisense.
- Samsung.
This makes the community behind Philips significantly smaller.
Because of that, it’s more difficult to find answers to common problems.
Whereas, in other brands, I can just put my TV model on Google…
And I’ll see a lot of people trying to troubleshoot the same problems I have.
Therefore giving me more possible solutions to test.
#2: Poor support from Philips
If you value good customer service…
Then Philips might not be the brand for you.
Users from Consumer Affairs and Reddit have reported several incidents regarding Philips.
And, in particular, their help center.
Incidents that range from:
- Inattention.
- No follow-through.
- Rude support staff.
#3: Slow UI
As previously mentioned, Philips runs on Saphi or Android OS.
Android TVs generally don’t have the best reputation when it comes to the smoothness of UI.
That problem extends to Philips TVs as well.
Note: If you have a slow UI, you may be able to fix this. Just follow these simple steps:
- Go to your settings.
- Look for the ‘About’ section.
- Search for ‘Build Number’ or ‘Build’.
- Once you find it, press the ‘OK’ button on your remote twice to activate developer mode.
- Go back to your settings menu.
- Scroll down to ‘Developer Settings’.
- Select all animation settings.
- Turn them from ‘1.0’ to ‘0.0’ or from ‘On’ to ‘Off’.
#4: Questionable ethics behind the company
This last one is, to put it lightly, a bit of a doozy.
And this doesn’t even concern the TV products…
But the company behind them.
If you don’t know, Philips’ China division is responsible for 20% of all of their global production.
Have you been watching the news lately?
If so, you’ve probably heard of the working conditions of some factories in China.
Workers are being taken advantage of in China. To the point that some have thrown the word “slavery” around when talking about labor in that country.
This happens because of China’s:
- High population.
- Relaxed labor laws.
- Low minimum wage.
Now, you might say:
“So what? It’s not like this happens in every company. Maybe Philips is different.”
And normally, I’d say yes. But let me point you to two separate incidents that say otherwise.
Shenzhen incident
The first one takes us back to September 2009.
Workers under the healthcare division of Philips in Shenzhen, China goes on strike.
Why?
Because of a new policy that would cut their overtime pay in half.
Not only that, but they were also protesting the poor food and accommodation by Philips.
And what’s the response to their strike?
Management fired 3 supervisors.
The next day? Armed police came to help with the conflict, and two female workers were injured.
2012 U.S. Congress hearing
This next one isn’t an incident, but a report presented to the United States Congress.
A report titled:
“Working Conditions and Worker Rights in China”
Unfortunately, we don’t have a copy of the exact report.
But we do have the transcript of the session in the US Congress.
And, on it, we can see that Philips is mentioned 8 times.
It says that a non-profit organization sent two auditors to some companies in China. Including Philips.
And what did they find?
- Overwork.
- Humiliation.
- Intimidation.
- Little to no pay.
- Dangerous working environments.
Present-day
What’s worrisome is that Philips officially sold their appliances division to Hillhouse.
Which is a private equity firm based in–you guessed it–mainland China.
In conclusion, we’re not telling you not to buy Philips TVs.
But we are telling you this information so that you can decide for yourself.
Frequently asked questions:
Is Philips TV better than Sony?
Philips isn’t a better TV than Sony.
There are several criteria that I look for when buying a TV:
- Speed.
- Display.
- Reliability.
- Aesthetics.
- Price point.
- Community.
- Customer support.
And, among those 7, Philips beats Sony only in 2 of them.
Namely, aesthetics and price point.
Sony has a more active community and better help support, which makes them more reliable.
The speed of the TVs is about the same because they’re both Android TVs.
And Sony Bravia’s display is also starting to catch up with Samsung and LG. Both of which are the industry best for display.
Are Philips and LG the same?
Philips and LG aren’t the same.
Philips is a brand based in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, LG is run by the same Korean family for generations.
Further reading: Where Are LG TVs Made? 9 Things You Need To Know
Their only similarities are the products they produce.
But that only makes them competitors, not the same entity.