Philips Momentum 559M1RYV 4K 120Hz Monitor Review

Performance

Unsurprisingly, this was still an absolute workout to get set up. For starters, I had to clean the kid’s bedroom yesterday, just so I can put my current TV up on top of a unit in there so that I can put this monitor on my living room TV stand. At 55″, it’s far too big and heavy for my humble IKEA desk to handle. Alas, the prospect of having this as my main TV for a few days… I can cope with that. It looks stunning. Alas, I knew it would, as I said before, I had the old model in for review just a year ago.

The TV uses a central stand, and while it’s quite wide, the design will mean this TV will fit on stands that may not be as wide as the panel its self. Just ensure you’ve got a stand that can handle the weight, as it is quite a bulky unit.

The soundbar has a slight angle to the front, matching the angles of the stand, and while it separates them from the design of the TV, it doesn’t distract either. It certainly looks more interesting than just having it all sitting flat with each other. It’s a surprisingly large and chunky soundbar too, and that’s certainly reflected in the performance. It’s basically the same as last years model, which I found a little lacking in bass, but that’s to be expected with no external subwoofer. However, it’s still a lot more direct and punchier than typical TV speakers. For starters, it’s forward-facing, most TVs are rear or downward-firing.

I couldn’t get the volume level past 50 out of 100, this thing is painfully powerful. Not that that’s a bad thing, if you have a large room to fill and a quiet audio source, the extra grunt will come in handy. Albeit, you may want to tinker with the EQ a bit also.

For testing this monitor, I’m sticking purely with the Xbox Series X. Which, of course, I have set to the full-fat all singing and dancing 4K 120Hz more, which also means I have VRR enabled, HDR, etc. Basically, this monitor is designed to tick all the right boxes. Albeit, I’ll be switching from the soundbar to my own 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup for the audio at this point. Put a non HDMI 2.1 object on the chain, however, and you’ll likely see this sort of problem.

For 4K HDR content, this monitor stuns. While it lacks the depth of OLED, it’s easily up there with the best VA LCD has to offer thanks to its LED backlight, which as far as I can see, doesn’t have any bleed or torching issues at all. Of course, that HDR 1000 Certification is not an easy thing to get and requires a pretty slick backlight to strike that brightness while still maintaining the required black levels.

The pixel density is 80 PPI, and at 55″ that’s more than enough, allowing you to sit painfully close if you so desire, and have no drop in image quality. However, the recommended viewing distance for 55″ is up to 7ft for general usage at 30-degree field of vision, but if you’re a movie fan, you can get away with as close as 4-5ft for around 40-degree field of vision.

I’m a big movie fan, and Lock Down 3.0 or whatever you want to call it has really pushed that. I’ve watched 220 movies since February 1st this year. That’s more than one a day, every day. Alas, that means that when I say this monitor has been amazing for watching movies, it’s because I’ve tested the bloody crap out of it in a fairly short time. The bright panel has made watching movies with the kids a breeze on these sunny days.

However, the powerful HDR has made late-night modern 4K movies a joy. However, the great colour reproduction and consistent black levels made older black and white films like To Kill a Mockingbird (Blu-Ray re-release) look stunningly detailed.

Furthermore, 24Hz movie content plays back natively and smoothly even if the panel doesn’t auto-switch to a 24hz mode, as 24 x 5 = 120, so there are no dropped frames regardless!

For gaming… well, oh my. This is the first monitor I’ve used that can do 4K 120 HZ, well at least while I’m at home. I’ve tested some pretty wild gaming monitors that do some incredible things. However, a screen this big, with colours this accurate, with HDR this powerful, with this resolution, VRR enabled, and kicking out 120Hz…. well, that’s something that has to be seen to be believed.

It’s the main selling point of this monitor, and quite frankly, it’s an impressive one. The monitor is already brilliant, I stand by my review of last years model and would quite happily still buy that in a heartbeat. However, if you’re rocking the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5… well, this new one will ensure you can max it out.

Of course, some games only support 4K 60, some support 120Hz but not at true 4K and some support both. There are regular updates still dropping for new and old titles alike to maximise this though.

Gears of War 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Minecraft Dungeons, Ori and the Will of the Wisp, The Touryst and Star Wars: Squadrons have all been my go-to. However, even games that are either not 4K or not 120Hz still benefit from the big panel, no doubt about that!