Philips PUS8517 Review: Return of The One

The Philips electronics group continues to release its new models. The PUS8517 series, called “The One”, is trying to make a name for itself in the mid-priced UHD TV range. In other words, the TV “does not suffer” from extreme parameters such as brightness and refresh rate.

Philips PUS8517

At the same time, it has everything you need to ensure good image quality, plus a complete set of various services and technologies. In the Philips 65PUS8517 / 12 4K HDR review, using a 65-inch TV as an example, let’s try to figure out whether the PUS8517 series meets these requirements. The One PUS85 series consists of four models with diagonals from 43 to 65 inches.

Philips PUS8517 Review

Design

Even if the Philips 65PUS8517 / 12 TV is “only” a mid-range model, it looks extremely attractive and of high quality. Since a TV of this size is quite bulky, it will take two people to assemble and install it.

The thin bezel and double V-leg stand are anthracite grey. Wall mounting requires a suitable VESA 300 x 300 (65″ diagonal) bracket, which is not included. The connection panel, as well as the three-sided Ambilight, are located at the rear of the TV.

In addition to the TV itself and the stand, the device comes with a quick start guide, a power cord, a remote control with two AAA batteries, and a safety and legal guide.

Equipment

In addition to many options for connecting external devices, the TV comes with Android TV 11.0 operating system and an extensive SmartTV interface. The most used streaming services and apps such as Netflix , Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, BBC iPlayer and Youtube are factory installed and ready to go.

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are available as voice assistants. However, to enter text in the browser, it is recommended to purchase a wireless Bluetooth keyboard with a touchpad, which will greatly simplify the search in the SmartTV interface.

The built-in tuner accepts all signal sources and quickly responds to commands. Channel switching occurs in 1-2 seconds. USB sticks and USB hard drives can be used to record TV shows.

Sound quality

The sound of the Philips PUS8517 / 12 TV is well balanced in terms of dialogue and high frequencies. However, not everything is so good when it comes to low frequencies. This does not mean that the sound on the TV is completely bad. However, it is not good enough to watch music and movies in surround sound .

Audio power is limited to two channels of 10W each. If you raise the volume almost to the limit, the sound starts to sound distorted. Those who want to experience true surround sound quality should get the right soundbar. Since the TV has support for Dolby Atmos , we can advise you to buy a Philips Fidelio FB1 soundbar with a 7.1.2 CH sound scheme and 200W output power.

Image quality

The Philips PUS8517 TV shows very good results in terms of picture quality. The 65-inch model features a 3840 x 2160 UHD anti-glare IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. It’s worth noting right off the bat that other manufacturers offer twice the refresh rate in this price range.

However, only advanced gamers can appreciate such a frequency so far. The PUS8517 / 12 TV impresses with clear and sharp images as well as smooth motion sequences. The Philips 8517 displays colors accurately. The screen can display more than 90% of the DCI-P3 color space used in the film industry.

This is especially noticeable in the current blockbusters in HDR mode. Despite the fact that the peak brightness of the Philips PUS8517 TV does not exceed 500 nits, the picture in general looks better in HDR compared to the SDR version. In addition to the static HDR10 standard, the Philips TV also supports dynamic HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

The Direct LED backlight used in the TV provides an evenly lit image and minimal blooming. However, when viewed in a dark room, blacks may look dirty gray. On the other hand, the IPS matrix has wide viewing angles.

Connections

The 65PUS8517 / 12 TV patch panel is equipped with all the necessary connectors. The device has 4 HDMI 2.0 ports. Port number 2 has an eARC connection . The rest of the ports have only an ARC channel. All HDMIs have VRR and ALLM support.

There are also 2 USB 2.0 ports, antenna inputs, an optical digital audio output, a service connector, a CI + 1.4 slot for connecting paid services, an RJ-45 Ethernet-LAN ​​port and an audio line-out for connecting headphones. The wireless system is implemented using Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac.

Conclusion

To conclude the Philips PUS8517 review, the new model from the Performance series with a 65-inch display and an attractive body provides a good image with a very high resolution. 4K HDR movies are shown in cinematic quality.

Specifications