Philips Ambilight PUS8108: 43 inches Philips - Review 🏆

The Philips 43PUS8108 is an impressive mid-range 4K LED TV that offers a good balance of features and performance. Part of Philips' 8000 series, it has a 43-inch screen size making it well-suited for smaller rooms or as a secondary TV.

Some of the key features of this TV include 4K UHD resolution with HDR10+ support for enhanced picture quality, Philips' P5 Perfect Picture engine for optimized imaging, and Ambilight mood lighting which casts an immersive glow from the back of the TV. It runs on Philips' Saphi smart platform giving access to popular streaming apps and services. The TV also has 20W speakers and is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for hands-free voice control.

Overall, the Philips 43PUS8108 combines sleek design and vivid 4K visuals with smart connectivity and ambient lighting effects to create an engaging viewing experience. Its blend of meaningful features at an affordable price point make it a strong option to consider in the competitive mid-size 4K TV market.

Design & Build Quality

The Philips Ambilight PUS8108 has an appealing modern design with slim bezels and a sturdy metal stand. At 43 inches, the screen is a good size for most living rooms without being overbearing.

The TV has very slim bezels around the top and sides, measuring just 6mm. This creates a sleek, contemporary look and allows more screen real estate. The bottom bezel is slightly thicker at 19mm.

The stand has a minimalist Y-shaped metal design in silver finish. It provides sturdy support while having a small footprint. Rubber pads on the feet help keep the TV stable and prevent sliding.

Weighing just 13.3 kg without the stand, the PUS8108 is relatively lightweight for its screen size. With the stand attached, the total weight is 13.6 kg.

The TV measures 971 x 573 x 67 mm including the stand. The screen depth is slim at 67mm. The stand adds 268mm to the depth. There are standard VESA 200x200mm mounting holes for attaching to a wall bracket.

Overall, the PUS8108 has an appealing modern design with slim bezels, sturdy stand, and lightweight build. The minimalist styling will fit nicely in most living spaces.

If you are looking for a larger display option, the Philips Ambilight PUS8108 also comes in a 65-inch variant. This larger model retains the sleek design and build quality, providing an immersive viewing experience ideal for expansive living rooms or dedicated entertainment spaces. For more information, visit the Philips Ambilight PUS8108: 65 inches.

Display & Picture Quality

The Philips 43PUS8108/12 comes with a 43-inch 4K UHD LED display panel. It has a 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution, which is 4 times the resolution of Full HD 1080p. This allows the TV to show finer details and textures for a more lifelike viewing experience.

The TV has a standard 60Hz refresh rate, which is decent for most content. Motion handling is also quite good thanks to Philips' P5 Perfect Picture engine. The panel can get bright enough for well-lit rooms with a peak brightness of around 400 nits. It has a good contrast ratio of 4000:1 for deep blacks.

For high dynamic range, the Philips 43PUS8108 supports HDR10 and HLG formats. It can't display wide color gamut but the standard DCI-P3 coverage is satisfactory. Overall color reproduction is quite accurate once calibrated properly. The P5 processor does a good job with upscaling lower resolution content to 4K.

In summary, the picture quality is very good for the price considering you get a 4K panel with HDR support. It performs well in terms of brightness, contrast, color reproduction and motion handling.

If you're looking for a larger screen, consider the Philips Ambilight PUS8108: 55 inches. This model also offers 4K UHD resolution and incorporates Philips' Ambilight technology, creating an immersive viewing experience by projecting light from the sides of the TV onto the surrounding walls. It also supports HDR formats and has excellent color accuracy, making it a great choice for those who want a larger display with enhanced picture quality.

Smart TV Features

The Philips PUS8108 runs on Android TV, providing a smooth and intuitive smart TV experience. It comes with Google Assistant and Alexa built-in, allowing hands-free voice control. You can simply speak into the remote to launch apps, search for content, get answers, and more.

The interface is clean and easy to navigate. It has a customizable home screen where you can pin your favorite apps and inputs. The Philips TV Collection app offers curated content recommendations. There's also quick access to Google Play Movies & TV and YouTube.

Android TV provides access to a wide selection of apps via the Google Play store, including popular streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max and more. It's easy to download new apps and games directly to your TV.

Overall, the smart platform is robust yet simple to use. Voice control with Google Assistant and Alexa makes navigating content quick and hands-free. Android TV offers an excellent selection of apps tailored for the big screen.

Audio Quality

The Philips PUS8108 is equipped with a 20W speaker system featuring 2 tweeters and 2 woofers. The speakers support Dolby Atmos, providing an immersive audio experience with clear dialogue, detailed highs and dynamic bass.

The speakers deliver impressive volume levels without sounding harsh or distorted even at maximum volume. The sound has good stereo separation with audible left and right channel distinction.

Dialogue in movies and TV shows sounds clear and focused. The speakers handle high frequencies well, reproducing details like glass shattering or screeching car tires with clarity.

Explosions and action sequences have a decent thump and rumble thanks to the dual woofers. The bass isn't overpowering but has enough punch to convey impacts and give music some low end oomph.

Overall, the built-in speakers produce room-filling, well-balanced sound that complements the excellent 4K visuals. For a slim LED TV, the audio performance is very good and will satisfy most users without needing an external soundbar.

Connectivity

The Philips Ambilight PUS8108 offers a good selection of connectivity options. It has:

• 3 HDMI ports for connecting devices like Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, etc. The HDMI ports support HDCP 2.2 and HDMI ARC on HDMI 1.

• 2 USB ports for playing media files from USB drives or recording live TV to USB. The USB ports are USB 2.0.

• An Ethernet port for wired internet connectivity.

• Built-in WiFi 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.2 for wireless connectivity. The TV can connect to the internet via WiFi or through the Ethernet port.

• Digital audio out (optical) to connect the TV to an external audio system like a soundbar or home theater system.

With multiple HDMI ports, USB, and both wired and wireless connectivity options, the Philips Ambilight PUS8108 is well equipped for connecting external devices and accessing online content and apps. The inclusion of Bluetooth allows you to connect wireless headphones or speakers too.

Remote Control

Philips includes an intuitive and functional remote control with the PUS8108 TV. The remote has a sleek and minimalist design that fits nicely in your hand. It's made of plastic but has a premium feel.

The remote layout is straightforward with large, easy to press rubber buttons. All the essential controls like power, volume, channel change, and shortcuts to apps like Netflix and YouTube are available. There's also a dedicated button for Google Assistant voice control.

One of the best aspects is the smart remote capabilities. The remote has Bluetooth connectivity and can be paired with the TV. This allows you to control the TV even if it's not in your line of sight. No need to point the remote directly at the TV.

Some handy extras on the remote include quick access buttons for settings and inputs. There's also an Ambilight toggle for turning the ambient lighting effect on/off. Overall the remote is well designed and makes navigating the TV interface a breeze.

Ambilight

One of the standout features of the Philips PUS8108 is Ambilight, the company's proprietary ambient lighting technology that extends the viewing experience beyond the borders of the TV. It uses LEDs on the back of the TV to project colored light onto the wall behind, immersing you in the content on the screen.

The effect is subtle yet impactful. Ambilight analyzes the colors and brightness levels of the picture in real time, then projects matching ambient lighting around the edges of the TV. This creates an extra layer of immersion that makes you feel like you're inside the action. It's especially effective when watching movies or playing games, as explosions and other high-contrast events cause the Ambilight to dynamically react with pops of color.

A key advantage of Ambilight is that it reduces eye strain. By illuminating the surrounding environment, it creates an ambient glow that provides a more relaxing viewing experience compared to staring at a brightly lit screen in an otherwise dark room.

You have extensive options to customize Ambilight to your preferences. There are several ambient light styles to choose from, like following video content or showing a static color. You can also set Ambilight to match your Philips Hue smart bulbs for a coordinated effect throughout the room. An accompanying app lets you fine-tune the brightness, saturation, and more.

Overall, Ambilight gives the Philips PUS8108 an extra dimension that makes watching TV more immersive and eye-friendly. It's an innovative feature that helps justify the premium price of Philips TVs.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Beautiful Ambilight feature adds immersion and enhances the viewing experience
• Sharp 4K resolution and vibrant colors produce an excellent picture
• Good motion handling with 60Hz refresh rate
• Dolby Atmos sound provides an immersive audio experience
• Integrates Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa
• Easy to use and intuitive Saphi smart TV interface
• Sleek and modern design

Cons

• Only 2 HDMI ports limits connectivity
• Mediocre viewing angles compared to higher-end LED TVs
• Only 20W speakers lack power for larger rooms
• No support for advanced gaming features like VRR
• Lacks next-gen HDMI 2.1 ports
• No support for HDR10+ Adaptive for dynamic HDR

Conclusion

The Philips Ambilight PUS8108 is an impressive mid-range 4K TV that offers a lot of great features for the price. The Ambilight technology with LED lights on the back of the TV that project colors onto the wall is truly unique and immerses you in whatever you're watching.

The picture quality is excellent thanks to Philips' P5 Perfect Picture engine and support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Motion handling is also very good with low input lag, making this TV great for gaming. The smart TV platform is easy to use and has all the main apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ etc.

Audio quality is decent but could be better - adding a soundbar can help significantly improve the audio experience. Connectivity options like 4 HDMI ports and 2 USB ports are sufficient for most needs.

Overall, the Philips Ambilight PUS8108 provides an amazing viewing experience with great picture quality and smart features at an affordable price point. The unique Ambilight technology alone makes this TV stand out from other options in this price range.

If you're looking for an immersive 4K TV that won't break the bank, the Philips Ambilight PUS8108 is easy to recommend. It delivers premium features and excellent performance that exceeds expectations for the price.