Philips has now announced a new wireless home audio ecosystem for connecting Philips TVs and soundbars, based on the multi-room capabilities of DTS Play-Fi.
DTS Play-Fi is a premium multi-room audio platform, most notable for its ability to link high-end audio gear from across different brands together. Here, though, Philips is using its capabilities to ensure a seamless experience across high-end Philips AV products, through a new Philips Sound app to (hopefully) ensure easy installation and connectivity.
The announcement has naturally come alongside a number of new TV and audio products Philips no doubt hopes you'll be connecting together on its platform, such as the 2020 flagship Philips OLED+935 television, the Philips Fidelio B95 soundbar, or Philips' new W6505 / W6205 wireless speakers.
But any other 2020 Philips Android TV are already compatible – with 2019 models set to get a firmware update too – meaning you won't need to purchase a new set to take advantage of the setup if you have a Philips TV already.
"An over-the-air firmware update will bring the Philips Wireless Home System to all 2019 Philips Android TVs – from the 7304 model upwards – due in the 3rd quarter of 2020," Philips says.
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Sound and vision
The underlying DTS Play-Fi tech also means that linking up a speaker from audiophile brands such as Onkyo, Thiel, or Klipsch is also straightforward.
It's worth noting, too, that Philips speakers with LED lights will also work in tandem with Ambilight, so expanding your Philips setup could be a good idea if Ambilight is what drew you to a Philips TV in the first place.
DTS Play-Fi is a great multi-room audio platform, and it makes sense that Philips would want to utilize it for its own lineups – and it means we know we're getting support for most major music streaming services such as Spotify, Tidal, and Amazon Music.
Keep in mind that this doesn't include Apple Music, for some reason, though if your product supports AirPlay 2, you'll still be able to cast easily from an Apple source device like an iPhone or Apple HomePod.
