If you’ve been lucky enough over the past year or so to pick up a next-generation console, then you’re likely looking for the best way to visually experience 4K HDR 120Hz gaming at home. While many TVs offer this feature, Philips decided to enter the game with a monitor it built in partnership with Microsoft that’s specifically designed for Xbox consoles. With HDMI 2.1, 120Hz VRR support, HDR, and built-in backlighting, this monitor offers a premium experience, but is it worth the price? Let’s take a look at the Philips Momentum Made for Xbox monitor in our hands-on review.
Philips’ Made for Xbox monitor offers a premium experience
We’ll start out with the build quality, materials, and workmanship here. As someone who’s reviewed premium TVs in the past, the Philips Momentum Made for Xbox Monitor is about as good as they come. You’ll find an all-metal stand that provides plenty of support for the large display, and the built-in Bowers & Wilkins speakers are quite good, all things considered. The overall design is sleek and pairs well with the Xbox Series X itself, and pairs well with modern decor.
When it comes to picture quality, it’s fairly good, I’d say. There’s still some blooming on dark scenes with light aspects, but that’s to be expected since it’s not an OLED or mini-LED panel. However, contrast was on point and playing games like No Man’s Sky or Forza Horizon 5 were fantastically captivating thanks to its DisplayHDR 1000 brightness. Honestly, this was what really made games immersive for me as it allowed the Xbox to shine with its powerful ability to play 4K HDR games without skipping a beat.
On the topic of 120Hz, I’d say that it’s a “nice to have” here but not a “must have.” I’m happy that the monitor supports HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz VRR, but so few games actually support 4K 120Hz that it’s not a feature you can take advantage of often. However, when you do play a title that can leverage that function, it’s quite awesome. That’s not a fault of the monitor either, that’s purely on the Xbox itself as there aren’t many titles that support full 4K 120Hz playback just yet. However, if you were to hook this up to a PC with a powerful enough graphics card and take advantage of that fast refresh rate all the time? Well then, this display would absolutely shine for your gaming needs.
On the sound side of things, we already mentioned that there’s an integrated Bowers & Wilkins sound bar. It’s fairly good for being built-into the monitor, though if you want the best experience, a headset is always recommended. However, when playing Forza Horizon 5 and No Man’s Sky, I was impressed with the depth of sound delivered by the bar. Just keep in mind that it’s not really removable, so if you add secondary audio outputs to the monitor, the primary sound bar will still visually be there.
Now, onto one of the things that sets this monitor apart from the rest of the pack: built-in RGB backlighting. While many people will add bias lighting in the form of add-on strip, that’s not needed here. Philips has built an LED light strip right into the panel itself. This helped to make the entire experience far more enjoyable, as I could either have it set to the default Xbox green, something entirely different (like rainbow), or even make it an extension of what’s on the display. Since the strip is built into the monitor itself, you’ll find that it can take whatever’s on the display and showcase that color on the wall, bringing you further into the content. This, on top of how bright the display gets, is honestly my favorite thing about the Philips Momentum Made for Xbox monitor.
You’ll also find that Philips worked directly with Microsoft to make a custom profile that delivers the “optimal Xbox Series X|S performance” for this monitor, and I can attest to that. I had to do zero tuning of the display’s colors or audio to make it sound great for the Xbox, and that’s normally one of the first things that I do. Normally, a monitor is either too dim or too bright out of the box with washed out colors, but that wasn’t the case for this display.
gadgetnewsonline’ Take
If you’re in the market for a premium Xbox monitor, then the Philips Momentum 559M1RYV is a great option. With a lofty price point of $1,600 at both Best Buy and Amazon, there are absolutely other TVs out there to consider. However, even most high-end TVs in this price range don’t include built-in backlighting or quality speaker systems, which is what makes the Momentum stand out from the pack.
I’ve enjoyed my time with the Made for Xbox monitor, and it has me excited for what’s to come in console gaming. The main limiting factor here is that the Xbox just doesn’t have a ton of games that support 4K 120Hz playback. After checking around, it seems that there are under 20 total games on the Xbox that have this capability.
So, should you buy the Philips Momentum 559M1RYV Made for Xbox Monitor? It really depends. This is a very capable display that has a lot of high-end features for a premium price. However, you’ll need to realize that not many games can take full advantage of what the panel has to offer, so it’s a little bit of investing in the future.
In the end, the Philips Momentum Made for Xbox monitor is likely the best and most feature-packed display you can buy for the console. Of course, HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz VRR support are a necessity for a premium experience, but it was the built-in bias lighting and the Bowers & Wilkins sound bar that really pushed it over the edge for me. For an all-in-one premium experience, the Philips Momentum Made for Xbox monitor absolutely delivers.
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