Philips has kept a constant attendance of the IFA trade show. In IFA 2014, the electronics manufacturer showcased its TV backlighting innovation, the Ambilight - short for ambient light, by equipping a TV with it.
This year, during the IFA 2015 in Berlin, Germany, Philips came out with the Ambilux, a refined commercial version of TV that was equipped with the Ambilight technology. Although the whole setup is not supposed to be available commercially until after a few more years, public reactions and affirmations have pushed Philips to release it on a sooner date.
The Ambilight came as a surprise to most people last year. The effect that the projections created made it seem as if the content spilled out of the display and extended to the walls on its rear. The trick, however, is the light that was beamed out from behind the TV, which replicated what was on screen into different zones. The replicated display was blurred out so that the projections appear to be extensions and not a repetition of the action that was on the TV's display.
The 65PUS8901, a 65-inch Android TV that is capable of 4K UHD display - can upscale 1080p videos and display them in 4K resolutions, was Philips' TV of choosing for the event. It also comes fitted with a quad-core processor, which as anyone would expect, made the entire Android experience snappy with no observable delay. Furthermore, the snappiness does not only apply to the operating system. The high-end specs of the device allows for no observable delay between the TV's displayed content and the projections.
The featured package also came with a remote, which had a QWERTY keyboard, mic and swipe pad integrated into it. All the added elements make it an exceptional match for the Android OS that runs the TV. For display connections, it comes equipped with HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2.
The immersive lighting effects, however, does not only apply to video content. The projections will match the dynamics of whatever music is being played. It will also make changes to the projections based on the music source - whether the music being played through a cable channel or being streamed online. The lighting system can be further customized using a phone that's connected to the same Wi-Fi network. This feature is courtesy of Philips' Hue Smart Lighting System.
The Ambilux will be available to European consumers near the end of 2015. Philips is yet to release an official price tag for it.
