If you’re looking for a new 4K UHD TV as the centerpiece for your home theater setup that doesn’t totally break the bank, you may want to check out Philips’ new 5000 series of UHD Smart TVs with Chromecast integration. The new line was previously shown off by Philips at CES 2017, and just became available.
The Philips 5000 series includes models in four different screen sizes, including 43, 50, 55 and 65 inches, starting at just over $500. Each model comes standard with features you’d expect from a UHD smart TV such as HDR support and 4K upscaling for HD content, as well as the ability to cast 4K content directly to the TV from your phone or tablet through the built-in Chromecast system.
While casting to TVs without an external device has been done by other brands, including Vizio’s SmartCast models, Chromecast is now more enticing than ever with new Google updates, allowing these TVs to integrate into the Google Home ecosystem. Users can now control their TV with voice commands via Google Assistant, and even pause and play YouTube videos. The system is also poised to get an update in early 2018 that will expand functionality to allow Chromecast to display information on the TV screen like news alerts and weather.
In terms of inputs and connection support, all 5000 series TVs include a USB port, Optical audio out, Ethernet port, support for 802.11ac WiFi, and three HDMI 2.0a ports with HDCP 2.2 compliance, meaning the TVs will support all your 4K content, from a UHD Blu-ray, to video games on 4K HDR enabled consoles like the Xbox One S or PS4 Pro. However, it’s worth noting that, while the 5000 series TVs support HDR10, they do not support the other popular HDR format, Dolby Vision.
When it comes to audio, the 5000 series features Philips’ Sonic Emotion Premium and Sonic Emotion Absolute 3D, which Philips claims “produces immersive 3D sound experiences with a precise soundstage and clear dialog.”
The entire Philips 5000 series is available from retailers now, with pricing listed below:
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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