4K 120Hz with VRR is coming to some 2021 Philips TVs

OLED TV: Philips 65OLED806
(Image credit: Philips/Star Trek Lower Decks, Amazon Prime)

After revealing its 2022 OLED line-up, which includes models with updated support for next-gen HDMI 2.1 features, Philips has announced that it will also be bringing a software upgrade to some of its 2021 range.

Owners of last year’s OLED706, OLED806 and OLED856 models will receive a forthcoming firmware update to allow the TVs to display 4k@120Hz VRR content in full resolution. At present, these OLEDs, which share the same Mediatek HDMI 2.1 single chipset architecture, can display 4K@120Hz in full. However, with VRR in the mix, the content is downscaled to half the resolution. 

VRR stands for Variable Refresh Rate, and it allows a TV to adjust its refresh rate in real-time to match the frame rate output by a games console or PC for smoother, more consistent gameplay.

In a statement explaining the choice to only upgrade certain models, Philips said, "Our most critical decision was whether our most premium sets should be twin chip without 4K 120Hz VRR full resolution or single chip with 4K 120Hz VRR and we believe – given the extremely limited availability of genuine 4k 120Hz VRR content – that the PQ benefits of the twin chip surpass the ability to display 4K 120Hz in full resolution.” 

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Mary is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? and has over a decade of experience working as a sound engineer mixing live events, music and theatre. Her mixing credits include productions at The National Theatre and in the West End, as well as original musicals composed by Mark Knopfler, Tori Amos, Guy Chambers, Howard Goodall and Dan Gillespie Sells.