Promoted Can a consumer TV ever match a professional colour grading monitor? You are invited to an event to find out!

How to make the: ‘best-sounding 4K OLED TV on the market’
Bowers & Wilkins reveals the audio engineering behind the Philips OLED+984


Unveiled at IFA in September, Philip’ flagship OLED+984 was voted ‘Best of Show’ TV in Berlin, partly due to its superb picture quality and outstanding European design but also thanks to its bespoke Bowers & Wilkins sound system featuring many of the proprietary technologies found in the company’s iconic home speaker range.

event2.jpg
The most visually obvious development for the new set was – unlike with the partnership’s first TV, the OLED+903 - the sound system no longer needed to be integrated into the existing cabinet of the set.

The latest project effectively gave the Bowers & Wilkins’ engineers a clean slate and they responded by creating a much larger external mounted system but one that was still integrated into the electronics of the set – a similar approach was taken with OLED+934 sister set.

A larger external speaker enclosure allowed for both more and larger drivers as well as isolating any vibration from the set’s screen and electronics – allowing the system to be driven much harder.

Engineering principals

event4.jpg
Bowers & Wilkins follows the same thorough engineering principles for all the products it designs. The company’s engineering philosophy is most readily apparent in the iconic 800 D3 model – often described as the World’s best loudspeaker.

Engineering principles include developing all technologies in-house and applying a continual ‘trickle’ down of core solutions from flagship products to more affordable ranges over time

For example, all drivers are designed and manufactured in-house, often featuring unique processes and materials - such as diamond and continuum - and are usually tailored or bespoke for each application in which they are used.

The drivers are mounted in dedicated, stiff and inert enclosures, with both the enclosure and the driver often being decoupled from the main cabinet of the product. The acoustically undesirable impact of any vibration is therefore minimised, and all generated energy is correctly and efficiently directed into making accurate sound.

Exactly the same proven acoustic principles have been applied to the audiophile-quality sound system in the OLED+984.

The OLED+984 features a 3.0 system divided into three separate enclosures comprising dedicated left, centre and right-channels plus a classic Bowers & Wilkins ‘tweeter-on-top’ enclosure.

Each mid-bass enclosure is constructed from thick-wall-section glass-fibre-reinforced ABS, critically braced with internal rib sections to control unwanted resonance. The 100mm (4in) mid/bass drive units in each enclosure are derived from the Bowers & Wilkins M1 loudspeaker, with anti-resonance plugs fitted to ensure a cleaner output.

event6.jpg

The left-hand and right-hand enclosures have baffle-mounted 19mm titanium dome tweeters positioned to the extreme ends of each assembly to minimise cabinet diffraction as far as is possible and also deliver a wide, immersive soundstage. The tweeters are also decoupled inside the housing to further improve that behaviour.

event5.jpg
The centre enclosure is different in that it has no internal tweeter: instead, this assembly is mounted to the main upright of the TV in its ‘tweeter-on-top’ housing.

Tweeter-on-top is a proven Bowers & Wilkins technology that delivers more resolution by reducing the unwanted acoustic impact of a loudspeaker cabinet.

The 19mm titanium dome tweeter is mounted in a solid metal housing for superior stiffness and utilises a variation of the Bowers & Wilkins protective grille design originally introduced for the 800 Series Diamond.

The complete HF assembly is mechanically decoupled from its housing to ensure cleaner sound and the crossover has been optimised with a high-quality 600 Series-level capacitor to ensure the cleanest possible signal path while neodymium magnets offer a more linear behaviour.

The overall aim was to create a large, spacious soundstage that tracks dialogue accurately to the centre of the screen while providing a low-distortion, room-filling sound.

In our opinion, there has never been a TV like the OLED+ 984.We believe it is the first TV to offer genuine audiophile quality sound.

Some of you will be able to decide for yourselves at the Philips TV/AVForums event.
 
How to make the: ‘best-sounding 4K OLED TV on the market’
Bowers & Wilkins reveals the audio engineering behind the Philips OLED+984
Thanks for this - I am really looking forward to seeing and hearing this TV.

More details of this TV can be forund here:

It is also worth mentioning that the 984 also has a sub-woofer output - so can directly support 3.1 sound.

One question - is it possible to add a pair of speakers to the OLED+984 to use as rears for a 5.1 system?
 
I'm sure it will be a great event, but these never seen to happen up North 😠
Apologies for the delay in responding. This year is indeed based at Dolby so needs to be in London.
Getting access to the presenters is tricky because they tend to be continually travelling throughout the world, so we can only really do one event a year in the UK. But we recognise the need to do something outside London and will see if we can in 2020.
 
Thanks for this - I am really looking forward to seeing and hearing this TV.

More details of this TV can be forund here:

It is also worth mentioning that the 984 also has a sub-woofer output - so can directly support 3.1 sound.

One question - is it possible to add a pair of speakers to the OLED+984 to use as rears for a 5.1 system?
No, only a subwoofer
 
I see the 984 is the one you'll use.

I know the all the 2019 Philips OLEDs have the same processor. But picture wise is say the 804 really the same as the 984 picture wise?
The main differences with the 984 is four sided Ambilight and the Bowers Sound System - plus the build and design. PQ for all 2019 Philips OLEDs is the same.
 
Could you not have done the event in the midlands at least that's equal for everyone to travel.
Not if you live in the midlands. They will have the shortest travel.
 
Offering a TV as a prize to one lucky attendee is a very nice touch.

As an attendee of two previous Philips demos where they gave a set away, I can say that I really enjoy watching someone else win a TV. :censored:
 
Unfortunately there are no taxi ranks I can park on that are close. Although having said that there is one nearby serving a hotel in a side turning just off the south end of Tottenham Court road near the tube station which is round the corner from Soho Square. But as it's serving a hotel it could cause problems for other taxi drivers wishing to rank up there, therefore.... :censored: 🤬 :mad: and b*gg*er. 😠
 
Offering a TV as a prize to one lucky attendee is a very nice touch.

As an attendee of two previous Philips demos where they gave a set away, I can say that I really enjoy watching someone else win a TV. :censored:
You felt like a losing Bullseye contestant.

'Look at what YOU coulda won' hahaha
 
Problem is, physical location isn't relevant. It may be geographically central but it's absolutely not transport or population central at least as far as public transport or the major road network is concerned. The way the train system works is that all mainlines go to London so very often unless you happen to be on the mainline to the midlands it means going into London first to come back out. Same with the roads to a lesser extent. Of course you can go cross country and avoid the motorways but it's still usually quicker to hop on a motorway and get to London than it is to go to some other places.

Also from a numbers perspective London and the SE are very close to 1/3 of the UK's population whereas the midlands only about 1/5-1/4. So while, of course, it means some (NE and NW of England) have to travel further to get into London it will still work out that fewer people are travelling and those journeys will be easier and probably shorter.

G


Yes we don't want those people having to leave their bubble in London and realise there is all this space they never knew existed :D

Don't know how they would get along with all us lot still living in caves though :(
 
It’s a question often asked: ‘That’s a great review of a top TV but how does it compare to a professional studio colour grading monitor?’

Well, to answer, Philips TV has partnered with Dolby Laboratories and Bowers & Wilkins to give 30 lucky AV Forums readers the chance to discover for themselves, first-hand.

The exclusive event will be a celebration of the best in picture and sound quality and will be held on the evening of Tuesday 19th November at the Dolby Europe HQ in Soho Square London W1D.

AV Forum’s readers will be invited to witness the work of the Dolby professional colour grading team live, within the colour grading suite and including a direct comparison between the bespoke Dolby reference monitor and a 2019 Philips OLED consumer TV.

Philips TV’s Global PQ guru Danny Tack will be on hand once again and will demonstrate the power of the new 3rd Gen P5 processor via the excellent new 65” OLED+984. Danny’s session will include a back-to-back comparison between the best 2019 4K and 8K TVs

The Dolby experts will also be on hand to discuss HDR and how to achieve the best results in content creation with Dolby Vision technology. While experts from legendary audio specialists Bowers & Wilkins will also be demonstrating the OLED+984’s unique sound system and will give an insight in to the pioneering engineering development behind the system’s creation.

We've got a maximum 30 places set aside for AV Forums readers on a first-come-first-served basis. Attendees will need to be able to get to Dolby, Soho Square for 18:15 on the night of Tuesday 19th November.

Food and refreshments will be provided.

To be in with a chance of attending the event and witnessing the new state-of-the-art Philips TV, please send an email to: [email protected], with the title Philips & Dolby, giving your full name plus detail of your current TV size and model and your favourite Dolby Vision encoded movie.

One lucky visitor to the forthcoming Philips and Dolby event will win a new 65”OLED 854 TV worth £2299
The 854 features the latest Philips 3rd Gen P5 processing engine to give excellent picture quality for both HDR & SDR sources. The OLED854 is also rare in offering both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compatibility while three sided Ambilight technology creates a more immersive viewing experience.

We have one set to give away and one lucky reader from the 30 attendees at the Philips and Dolby event will be able to claim their prize on the night.


T&C’s
Places are limited to 30 and will be offered on a ‘first come, first served basis’ to applicants emailing to: [email protected] before 17:00 hrs on Thursday November 15th.
Attendees, will be invited to attend the event at Soho Square on Tuesday 19th November. No alternative dates or venues will be available.
Attendance at the event is offered FOC by TP Vision & Dolby Europe and has no financial value. A cash alternative will not be offered to people who are offered a place but who are unavailable to attend on the 19th.

TP Vision and Dolby Laboratories retain the right to cancel the event or refuse entry without offering compensation.
We have had an amazing response to the Dolby evening and places for the event are now closed - the evening will be videoed by the AV Forums teams so keep a look out for an update on the site.
 
Just emailed. Hoping they are few free slots left.
 
Got a slot! Feel very lucky, rarely get chance to go to these things.

Looking forward to meeting other AVF'ers, always a friendly bunch..
 
Some late slots given then.

What matters if some of you guys have to sit on each others laps as long as you get to see some great visuals. :laugh:
 
Thank you to Philips Dolby avforum and b&w for a superb evening....
Too drunk to comment now. All I can tell you is that Philips improved seriously, I will never go to a normal cinema again (that Dolby private ciné is to die for), the b&w sound is superb and the grading process is a joy to Watch and learn...

Perhaps the biggest realisation was how lucky we are to have oled...like I said to a friend, can’t compare a golf gti to a Ferrari turbo but not same price either. Really amazing how close to a pulsar we can get...
This comment is valid for Philips and the other top Oled players too...

Was also nice to meet a largely male av addict population. I felt like in therapy 🤣🤣🤣
 
Last edited:
Thank you to Philips Dolby avforum and b&w for a superb evening....
Too drunk to comment now. All I can tell you is that Philips improved seriously, I will never go to a normal cinema again (that Dolby private ciné is to die for), the b&w sound is superb and the grading process is a joy to Watch and learn...
Was also nice to meet a largely male av addict population. I felt like in therapy 🤣🤣🤣

great evening. On the tube home and absolutely in awe of their cinema 🤣
 
C9CB25F2-11E9-437D-9F67-3D99EBDD9CDC.jpeg
 
Really enjoyed the event as well

The sound in the Dolby cinema was something else.
Also very impressed with the sound from the 984.

Makes the decision for a new 65 OLED even harder than I thought.
 
EA0A58DE-ABA0-4318-B57A-B065A53AF937.jpeg
18C012A9-C315-4D89-A1EE-91B9AD11273B.jpeg
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom