In addition to appearing in The Witcher season two on Netflix, actor Graham McTavish has joined the cast for the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon–or at least we’re pretty sure he has. Speaking to Stylist about the rumors that he’s in the show, McTavish basically confirmed it without saying Game of Thrones.
“I’m enjoying that, yes,” he said. “I’m really having a lot of fun. We’ve just started. It’s a very big project, so we’re getting to know each other. They’re lovely people. It’s great, but I can’t tell you too much. I can’t tell you really anything about the story! But it involves a lot dragons.”
McTavish stars on Outlander alongside Sam Heughan. They conducted the Stylist interview together, and Heughan asked, “Am I in [House of the Dragon]?” McTavish said with a laugh, “So far, no. And I have been waiting… I have to say ‘Where is Sam?’ because it’s always in my contract now.”
Heughan actually auditioned for Game of Thrones seven times, but it never worked out. “I auditioned for Renly, Loras, some of the members of the Night’s Watch. And I’d always get so close! I’d be like, ‘Guys, just give me a sword!'” he told Vulture.
McTavish also played the hobbit Dwalin in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, and, as mentioned, he will be seen in season two of The Witcher on Netflix. Outside of film and TV, McTavish is known for his roles in the video game franchises Uncharted and Call of Duty.
House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood. The story follows House Targaryen and is set 300 years before the Game of Thrones story.
The first House of the Dragon images were recently released, showing off Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Prince Daemon Targaryen and Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. House of the Dragon is scheduled for release in 2022.
The Xbox Series X restock situation has been a hectic and frustrating one for hopeful buyers since the next-gen console launched last fall, but one retailer is making a slight change in how it sells the Xbox Series X|S online starting Tuesday, May 18. According to reputable Twitter account Wario64, which tracks deals and restocks, Target has notified employees that Xbox Series X and Series S consoles can be purchased online as soon as inventory is available starting tomorrow. This means that instead of holding consoles for specific drop times, local inventory for the Xbox Series X|S will be available for purchase online as stores scan it in.
This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to walk into your local Target and ask whether they have the Xbox Series X in stock–Xbox Series X orders will still be sold online only, so you want to keep your eye on Target.com instead. However, Xbox consoles will be available for Order Pickup/Drive Up after you secure your purchase. Basically, Xbox Series X inventory will be available on Target’s website when your local store has stock, and you’ll have to go pick it up in person. So rather than following leaks about when Target is planning to drop Xbox stock, you’ll want to keep an eye on your nearest Target’s inventory instead.
Target employees have been notified that starting tomorrow (May 18th), Xbox Series S/X consoles can be purchased online for store pickup as inventory arrives (still not available to buy in-store). PS5 will continue to be sold online only on specific dates. See pic for full note pic.twitter.com/imgQoTBQq5
However, this won’t be the case for PS5 restocks, according to Wario64. The note reads, “PlayStation 5 will continue to be sold through limited-time online-only events,” meaning it won’t be available online as soon as your local store has stock. The PS5 will continue to be available at Target on select drop dates that aren’t announced ahead of time, not even to employees (presumably to avoid leaks). The note also instructs Target employees to keep Xbox Series X, Series S, and PS5 consoles off the sale floor and in the stockroom with security camera coverage.
This process change at Target comes after Microsoft’s announcement of its Console Purchase Pilot program, which allows anyone in the US who’s signed up to the free Xbox Insiders program on Xbox One to register for a chance to reserve the Series X or Series S. Similar to Sony’s invite-only program for PS5s, Microsoft will then invite a “subset” of players who register to buy the console of their choice.
For more on where to buy the next-gen consoles, tips, and the latest console stock news, see our in-depth guides on Xbox restocks and PS5 restocks.
Netflix is making a vampire movie with Transformers director Travis Knight tapped to direct. According to Deadline, Knight will direct a “vampire action thriller” called Uprising, which is adapted from the Raymond Villareal 2018 book, A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising.
Knight directed the Transformers spin-off Bumblee, which released in 2018 and made more than $467 million worldwide at the box office.
A scene from 2018’s Bumblebee, which was directed by Travis Knight
Knight isn’t the only big name attached to the movie, as Stranger Things and Night at the Museum’s Shawn Levy and producing partner Dan Cohen from their company 21 Laps are set to produce Uprising for Netflix.
Jeremy Slater, who wrote 2015’s Fantastic Four, wrote the screenplay for Uprising. JD Payne and Patrick McKay, the writing duo who are the showrunners for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV show, wrote an earlier draft, as did Jay Basu (Metal Gear Solid).
Uprising takes place after a global virus emerges and turns people into vampires. The story follows a CIA agent named Lauren Webb who is trying to get to the bottom of things.
There is no word yet on a cast or a release date for Uprising. Knight also directed Kubo and the Two Strings, for which he earned an Oscar nomination. Knight’s two other Academy Award nominations were for The Boxtrolls and Missing Link.
There is a seemingly unending list of streaming services, and each of them has its own library of TV shows–original and otherwise. Strangely, though, Hulu often seems left out of the discussion of who has the best collection of TV shows, and that’s a mistake. From its own originals to the entire FX catalog, to an exhausting amount of shows its purchased the streaming rights to, you’ll never run out of things to watch on Hulu.
How do you wade through it all, though? After all, we only have so much time and watching hundreds of TV shows doesn’t seem possible. Luckily, GameSpot has your back. We’ve gone through Hulu’s library of shows and picked out the very vest of the best for you.
So take a look at the best TV shows on Hulu below and then go watch them. They’re worth it. All of these shows are included with the basic Hulu subscription, which starts at just $6 a month. You can check out our full breakdown of Hulu plans and pricing for 2021 (including the Disney Plus bundle with Hulu) for more details if you’re considering signing up. There’s also a 30-day free trial if you just want to try it out or watch a specific movie.
There’s good reason why Cowboy Bebop is considered one of the best anime of all time. Whether you’re a longtime fan and haven’t revisited the classic music-infused sci-fi western series in a while, or this is your first foray, Bebop should be one of the first things you watch on Hulu.
This historical drama follows the legendary Viking Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons as they set out to conquer the world. With a sprawling story set across numerous continents, epic battles, and more than enough intrigue over the years, Vikings is reminiscent of Game of Thrones–except it actually happened and its ending is incredibly fulfilling.
After a breakup, a woman played by Kat Dennings reconnects with her old friend group. Oh yeah, and she begins taking life advice from a human-sized talking cat that she’s begun hallucinating. Dollface is a very funny, and truly weird series on Hulu, elevated by a fantastic cast–Dennings, Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky.
If you don’t know what Animaniacs is, something’s gone horribly wrong in your life. The animated series from Steven Spielberg introduced an entirely new group of Warner Bros. cartoon characters and managed to address current events in ways that made sense to kids. With the reboot that’s exclusive to Hulu, the series picked up where it left off without missing a beat.
Cheers is hands-down one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and its premise is incredibly simple. It’s set in a bar and tracks the lives of those who shuffle in every day to share beers together, as well as those slinging the booze. Over its 11 years, Cheers was a phenomenon that made household names of most of its cast–from Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman to Kirstie Alley and John Ratzenberger. What’s more, it led to another show on this list as the character Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer, got his own series.
No, large portions of Saved By the Bell haven’t aged well. Yes, Zack Morris is a terrible person. And yet, Saved By the Bell remains an iconic TV show for those that grew up in the ’90s. The various misadventures of the gang–from working at a beach club to, yes, getting in a drunk driving accident–made Saved By the Bell a show burned into so many of our memories. It also led to a sequel series, which is exclusive to Peacock. However, Hulu does have the one season of Good Morning, Miss Bliss–the original version of the show.
If you like a show that keeps you guessing about what exactly is going on and who the villain of the story actually is, this thriller about two teen girls embroiled in a kidnapping plot in the mid-’90s is what you’re looking for. Each episode jumps between the years 1993, 1994, and 1995, showing a cast of characters at very different points in their lives–and slowly revealing clues about what really happened.
The Sons of Anarchy spin-off follows a different motorcycle gang on the border between the United States and Mexico. Like the original series, Mayans is stuffed with the kind of violence and anarchy you expect from this biker-fueled universe. However, it also tells timely and relevant stories, exploring topics like the opiate crisis, the Latinx experience, and homophobia.
Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology is an iconic show, with each season taking on a new story and cast of characters. From Murder House and Asylum to Roanoke and 1984, AHS takes horror influences from through the genre, telling different types of scary stories, meaning there’s something for just about any type of horror fan–including whatever Freakshow was.
Who could have predicted that television’s longest-running live-action comedy would be a depraved sitcom portraying the usually-illegal hijinks of a pack of psychopathic narcissists who own a disgusting, rundown dive bar in Philadelphia? Yet here we are, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of the best and most consistent TV comedies ever, period.
Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play 14-year-old versions of themselves. Everything about this show is unbelievably awkward, including the main performances–but that’s the point. Was eighth grade not the absolute worst for you? No show has ever captured that more effectively than Pen15.
It’s now three years since the most recent episode of Donald Glover’s acclaimed Atlanta, but while we wait for Season 3 later this year, the first two seasons are available on Hulu. This story of three friends trying to make it in the Atlanta rap scene mixes surreal comedy, biting satire, and heartfelt drama, and the amazing cast also includes Brian Tyree Henry, Lakeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz.
What needs to be said about Rick and Morty? There’s a reason this adult cartoon is so unbelievably popular. Hilarious, meta writing and twisty sci-fi plots send the titular characters–both voiced by Justin Roiland–down increasingly outlandish and unbelievable rabbit holes. If you haven’t watched it, watch it.
Over the last decade, Bob’s Burgers has become one of the most beloved animated comedies of all time. The Belcher family may be more than a little off-beat, but their weird, wholesome antics will keep you coming back episode after episode.
What’s the deal with Seinfeld? Well, Seinfeld is a New York-centric comedy essentially about nothing, starring stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The ’90s sitcom has become a huge part of popular culture since its arrival in 1990–the pilot arrived in 1989. The show ran until 1998 concluding with all its characters in jail.
Fast-talking, idiomatic Canadian sitcom-meets-sketch show Letterkenny really must be seen to be understood at all. It takes some getting used to, especially when it comes to all the slang–be prepared to learn some things about hockey if you’re not already a fan–but it’s worth it, we promise.
The manga Attack on Titan is one of the biggest selling titles of all time, and the anime adaptation has rightly become one of the most acclaimed in recent years. The tale of the gigantic man-eating Titans and Eren Yeager is both horrifying and thrilling, and brings something genuinely new to the post-apocalyptic sub-genre.
Based on the works of Stephen King, Castle Rock is a unique horror anthology show that remixes familiar characters and concepts into entirely new storylines and ideas. It also had a cast full of actors you’d recognize from Stephen King movies, like Sissy Spacek, Scott Glen, and Bill Skarsgard, playing entirely new roles.
Freaks and Geeks may have been short-lived, lasting only one season, but the retro-flavored dramedy has earned a spot in the pop culture pantheon of TV sleeper hits. Featuring a star-studded cast of pre-breakout big names like James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Linda Cardellini, this is a quick watch that’s well worth your time.
Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi series the Twilight Zone has earned its place in the pop culture pantheon as one of the most instantly recognizable and iconic TV shows of all time. From fan-favorite moments like William Shatner watching a monster on the wing of an airplane to genuinely terrifying episodes about talking dolls who murder people, there’s something here for everyone.
Cult-classic horror series Hannibal reimagines the story of Red Dragon in a brand new light. Created by Bryan Fuller and starring Mads Mikkelson and Hugh Dancy, this show is a stylish, trippy, gruesome art piece that still finds new fans even now, years after its finale.
Created by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation), Devs is an unforgettable sci-fi miniseries that centers around one incredibly complex philosophical question: Is it possible to use an algorithm to compute not only the past, but the future as well?
In the crowded landscape of superhero shows and movies, Legion stood totally apart from the pack. A surrealistic, art-house adaptation of an already off-beat X-Men character, this show developed by Noah Hawley was unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and with all three seasons available to stream, it shouldn’t be missed.
It would be difficult to find a more iconic sci-fi TV show than The X-Files. All 11 seasons of Mulder and Scully’s endlessly rewatchable adventures against aliens, ghosts, cryptids, and sprawling government conspiracies are here and ready to be revisited again and again.
Spinning out of the 2014 mockumentary film of the same name, FX’s What We Do In The Shadows TV show introduces a new group of vampires and their human familiar, Guillermo, as they try (and mostly fail) to navigate life in modern New York City.
Created by Bob’s Burgers alums the Molyneux sisters, The Great North is a big-hearted animated sitcom about a family living in a tiny, isolated Alaskan town. Also, there’s a giant, spectral Alanis Morrisette.
This classic sitcom launched both Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce to stardom as they played psychiatrist brothers Niles and Frasier Crane. The series spun out of the classic show, Cheers, but don’t worry, this isn’t a multiverse situation and you don’t need to be up on your Cheers continuity to enjoy the show.
The anime series One-Punch Man tells the story of Saitama, a superpowered man who can defeat his opponents with–you guessed it–a single punch. While a change of animation studios resulted in a very disappointing second season, the inventive and funny Season 1 is highly recommended.
Noah Hawley’s anthology crime series took its initial inspiration from the classic Coen brothers movie of the same title, but has since gone its own dark and gripping direction. Each season is a twisted gem, with an incredible mix of actors that includes Ewan McGregor, Chris Rock, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemmons, Martin Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Billy Bob Thornton.
While Netflix’s Arrested Development revival wasn’t very good, the original series remains one of the best comedies of the past decade. With unforgettably odd characters, completely unpredictable storylines, and Ron Howard’s now iconic voiceover narration, the hilarious misadventures of the Bluth family remains a joy to watch.
Amazon Prime Day is on the way, but if you’re looking for a new streaming device, you can grab one of the best from Roku for a fraction of the price. The Roku Ultra 2020 features everything you might need from a top-tier streaming box, including Dolby Vision support, 4K, and a seriously smart remote. You can get all of those features for a discounted price of $69 today (down from $100). That’s the cheapest we’ve seen the Roku Ultra 2020 since Black Friday last year.
The Roku Ultra is the company’s premier streaming box from 2020. It outputs services like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and more at 4K, with additional Dolby Vision support for the many TVs that are not supporting the HDR standard. Features also include an ethernet port on the back so you can ditch the flaky WiFi connection of most streaming sticks, as well as the ability to ping and locate your remote if you’ve misplaced it.
Speaking of the remote, it’s the classic Roku design that keeps things simple and accessible with physical buttons. It also features an auxiliary port, which serves as an easier way to enjoy your favorite streaming platforms with headphones. Don’t worry about having to setup any wireless connections–just plug and play. And if you don’t have headphones, Roku includes some wired earphones in the box, too, which will also come in handy for voice command support.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has received a sizable patch across all platforms, aimed at fixing some visual bugs and one particularly tricky issue on Xbox Series X. The patch is now available across all platforms, and appears to range from 7 GB to 18 GB depending on your platform and current installs.
According to the patch notes, the May 17 update makes improvements to the iris shaders, and fixes an issue that would crash the launcher on Xbox Series X while using a wireless headset. The notes mention that this might still happen if you enable or disable a headset while inside the launcher, but that will be resolved in a future patch.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Now Playing: Mass Effect Legendary Edition Livestream
The other updates are broken down by which game(s) they apply to. A fix to the first and third games should make your Achievements and Trophies for kills track correctly, while the fixes to Mass Effect 2 are mostly focused on visual fidelity. Those include improved lighting and VFX enhancements.
The PlayStation version of the patch is roughly 9 GB. The Xbox patch is said to be 18 GB according to a Reddit user, but we’ve seen it come in at just 7 GB with only the first Mass Effect game already installed, so your mileage may vary. You can check out the full patch notes below.
The full trailer for Sweet Tooth is here. The Netflix adaptation of Jeff Lemire’s acclaimed DC comic hits Netflix on June 4.
When April’s first Sweet Tooth teaser focused more on action and atmosphere, the longer trailer sets up the show’s plot. After a pandemic sweeps the planet, part-human, part-animal children known as “hybrids” are born. Inevitably, mankind fears them, and most are hunted and killed. The series focuses on a hybrid deer-boy named Gus, who sets out on a dangerous journey to find others like him, with the help of a man named Gus. It looks like an epic mix of post-apocalyptic thrills and emotional drama, and should stand apart from all the other comic books shows currently available. Check the trailer out below:
Sweet Tooth stars Christian Convery (Pup Academy) as Gus and Nonso Anozie (Game of Thrones) as Jepperd, plus Stefania LaVie Owen (Messiah), Aliza Vellani (The Twilight Zone), and James Brolin (Traffic). It’s produced by Robert Downey Jr and his wife Susan Downey, and the showrunners are Jim Mickle (In the Shadow of the Moon, Hap and Leondard) and Beth Schwartz (Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow).
The comic book Sweet Tooth was published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo, and was written and illustrated by Lemire. It ran for 40 issues between 2009 and 2013. The TV adaptation was originally set to be made by Hulu, but moved to Netflix in 2020.
EA’s new PGA Tour game, EA Sports PGA Tour, will launch in Spring 2022. The publisher announced the release window on Monday as part of its announcement that the new game will be the only PGA Tour golf game to feature all four Majors.
These include The Masters, the PGA Championship, The US Open Championship, and The Open Championship. The PGA Championship is taking place this week at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
In its press release, EA said its new golf game will include the course at Kiawah Island, as well as the 2022 host course for the tournament, Southern Hills Country Club. The event’s Wanamaker Trophy and the champion’s ceremony event will also be replicated in the video game. Additionally, EA teased that players will be able to play as or against past PGA champions in the game, but a list of names was not provided.
The Wanamaker Trophy
PGA president Jim Richerson said it’s working with EA Sports to help grow the appeal of golf to the “next generation” of players.
Also in the press release, EA said its new PGA Tour game will feature tutorials and coaching challenges that were designed and developed in partnership with the PGA Education and Player Development departments. These cover in-game skills and also skills for the real world, EA said, though it did not share any further information.
EA said it will share more details about each of the four Majors as they unfold this year. The first was The Masters back in April. The US Open takes place in June, while The Open is scheduled for July, so that’s when you can expect more details.
Finally, EA revealed that its development team in Madrid is assisting the studio in Orlando on EA Sports PGA Tour.
Platforms for the new title remain unannounced, but during an earnings call recently, EA management said all of its sports games are being designed with next-gen consoles in mind. As such, it seems PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S releases are likely.
The hit Disney+ Marvel series WandaVision may have wrapped back in March on the streaming service, but it just picked up considerable further momentum thanks to recently winning four golden popcorn awards at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. The superhero miniseries set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe won for Best Show, Best Performance in a Show (to star Elizabeth Olsen), Best Villain (Kathryn Hahn), and Best Fight (Wanda vs. Agatha).
“This is my childhood, people. You have no idea how much this means… the golden popcorn!” said a tearful Hahn in an emotional acceptance speech. “You have no idea how touched I am.”
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Now Playing: Evan Peters’ Best Quicksilver Moments From X-Men & WandaVision
Hahn, who was recently added to the ensemble cast of the upcoming Knives Out 2, went on tell an anecdote about growing up with a great fondness for The Wizard of Oz, and over time came to realize how she identified less with Dorothy, and that “deep in [me] was also that wicked witch.”
The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at the network, and then winners are decided online by the general public. The two-night event began May 16 and will continue Monday night with comedian Nikki Glaser serving as hosting and giving awards for “the best jaw-dropping, no-rules, drama-filled moments from our favorite reality shows.”
Gaming monitors the size of TVs have been around for a while now, but there was a significant push in the market last year with the release of the HP OMEN X Emperium Big Format Gaming Monitor. The Philips 55-inch Momentum 4K HDR display doesn’t technically hold the BFGD brand, but at $1,500 it also doesn’t hold the $5,000 MSRP of the HP either. The Philips Momentum has some impressive specs – DisplayHDR1000 certification, FreeSync Premium Pro, 120Hz refresh rate, and an integrated B&W soundbar. So how do those specs hold up to everyday use?
Philips 55-inch Momentum 558M1RY – Design and Features
The Philips Momentum, based on its size, might look like a television, but its DNA is most definitely that of a monitor. This is most immediately evident by the -5 to +10 degree tilt, which can be a bit surprising when lifting it out of the box or if it ever needs to be moved. The monitor comes with its stand and soundbar attached, and it is heavy – weighing in at 58.3 pounds. It’s handy to not have to assemble anything, but be sure to have help to move it. The stand can be removed and there are 200x200mm VESA mounting points on the back for wall mounting the monitor.
Another monitor giveaway is the Momentum’s array of connections. It comes with a DisplayPort 1.4, three HDMI, a USB 3.0 hub (one upstream connection and four downstream, two of which are fast charge), and headphone out. The USB ports can be turned on even when the monitor is off in the user menu. The Philips site boasts that the Momentum “creates a new-level console gaming,” which brings to mind 4K/120Hz with the PS5 or Xbox Series X. The problem is the three HDMI are only 2.0 and therefore restrained to a 60Hz refresh rate at 4K. 120Hz over HDMI is only available in 1440p or less. If you want high refresh rate at 4K you’ll need to use the DisplayPort connection – which is only available on computers and not consoles.
Philips includes its Ambiglow technology on the Momentum, which utilizes a string of LEDs along the top and sides of the back panel. Ambiglow allows you to illuminate the wall behind the monitor with a single color or one that reacts to the images on the screen (the general term is bias lighting). It’s an interesting feature that could help with eye fatigue (especially by implementing a soft white light) while watching the bright screen in a dark room, but with colors I found it to be more of a gimmick at best. If bias lighting is your thing, the Momentum does a good job with it.
The monitor comes with a small, light, black remote with a minimal – although sufficient – amount of buttons. The buttons are slightly on the small side, but spacing allows someone with larger fingers to use it easily without accidentally pushing wrong buttons. Since there isn’t a built-in smart interface (again, it’s a monitor and not a TV), all you need is menu navigation, input select, and volume for the soundbar.
Ah yes, the soundbar. The Philips Momentum comes with a soundbar by Bowers & Wilkins. For the unaware, B&W is one of the more trusted and respected names in premium audio (their Diamond line of speakers are some of the best I’ve heard) and in addition to Philips, they have partnerships with BMW, Maserati, and McLaren. As mentioned above, the 2.1-channel soundbar is already attached to the monitor in the box so it’s a bit unwieldy to move the Momentum around (make sure you have help). It has two tweeters, two drivers for mids, and a 20-watt woofer, and delivers sound far better than any other monitor.
Multiple audio modes with names like “RPG and Adventure” and “Shooting and Action” allow you to choose the frequency response for specific use cases (there’s also a Personal option for adjusting EQ bands). I found “Movie Watching” to be most pleasing to my ear and used that setting for everything. Dialogue came through easily with anything I watched or played. Bass response was decent, but lacking in the low rumble frequencies that let you feel explosions and car engines. It sounded as though the decibels rolled off starting around 80-100Hz, which is where you would generally have a home theater system cross over those low-end frequencies to a dedicated subwoofer. Still, great response for a soundbar.
The Momentum’s menus are just like any other Philips monitor. Menu categories for things like Ambiglow, Game Settings, and Picture are listed along the left side and selecting one opens up subcategory trees to the right. Navigation (especially with the remote) is easy. The Game Settings menu includes options for crosshairs (I never use them, but they’re there if you do), Low Input Lag (this can be left on without any visual repercussions), and Philips’ pixel response overdrive setting, SmartResponse. I left this in the fastest position and didn’t experience any ghosting.
Philips 55-inch Momentum 558M1RY – Performance
There are multiple picture modes listed under SmartImage in the picture menu that are designed for specific gaming situations like FPS, Racing, and RTS. The Momentum supports the DCI-P3 color gamut. Using Calman color calibration software from Portrait Displays, an X-Rite i1Display Pro colorimeter profiled with an X-Rite i1Pro3 spectrophotometer, and a Murideo Six-G signal generator I determined that the Gamer 2 picture mode had the most accurate grayscale and color measurements with average DeltaE values of 3.4 and 2.3, respectively. (DeltaE values are used to indicate how close to perfect an image is, with 3.0 or under being very good.) sRGB was virtually identical to Gamer 2 in measurements. The other picture modes aren’t nearly as good (mostly adding a blue tint to everything) and one that is meant to improve screen uniformity – cleverly called SmartUniformity – negatively affecting contrast. Performance is almost as good with the SmartImage picture modes switched to off and color temperature set to 6500K or Native. There’s a slightly red tint to light gray and white images, but it was only discernible with test patterns and never when playing games. Either choice is acceptable.
The Momentum is an DisplayHDR 1000-certified monitor and is able to surpass the required brightness to achieve that certification. In DisplayHDR 1000 picture mode it measures 1,118 cd/m2 (or nits), which means highlights in that mode really pop off the screen. DCI-P3 gamut coverage also matched the 95% claim that Philips makes, with green being slightly undersaturated but not enough to cause any visual aberration.
Since the Philips Momentum doesn’t have any built-in TV features, I used my Roku Streaming Stick+ plugged into one of the monitor’s HDMI to watch TV and movies and unfortunately the Momentum showed some of its flaws. The monitor is edge lit and doesn’t have any local dimming feature, which causes blooming around bright images in a dark space. The Millennium Falcon cruising through the Maw before running into the summa verminoth in Solo is a perfect example of this, and it can also be seen during credits. But more of an issue is a strange banding along the sides of the screen, as seen in the above photo, that was apparent on some streaming content. I will note that this was only when watching content via HDMI and wasn’t there with content from my computer over DisplayPort.
Philips 55-inch Momentum 558M1RY – Gaming
Gaming is where the Philips Momentum really shines. Sea of Thieves, still one of my HDR go-to test games, looked gorgeous both over DisplayPort from my computer and HDMI from my Xbox One X. The accurate colors were on display, especially the shades of blue and green in the ocean waves (the colors looked nice and vibrant on Outer Worlds as well). Bright highlights, like the burning sun during the day, practically popped off the screen and when my room’s lights were off, bordered on being too bright. Luckily switching to HDR Movie or Personal was able to cut that brightness a bit without anything else suffering. With SmartContrast turned on, there was also nice depth to the shadows while exploring some island’s caves for treasure chests.
On games like Call of Duty, where motion blur and accuracy are of utmost importance, the Momentum continued to perform well. With the SmartResponse set to Fastest, motion blur was reduced well without any ghosting being added (I left it in this setting for all of my gaming and never noticed an issue). Input lag was imperceptible for me as well. I had no issue getting the FreeSync adaptive sync to work with my Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti, and Final Fantasy XV was smooth with no evidence of tearing.
The biggest shame when it comes to gaming on the Philips Momentum is what’s missing. The company says the monitor will “take console gaming to the next level” but that next level for most, if not all of us is with the new consoles. The Momentum only has HDMI 2.0 though, and since the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S don’t have DisplayPort, there’s no possibility of 4K/120Hz gaming with either of them. That isn’t to say gaming on a console is a bust – as I said earlier both Sea of Thieves and Outer Worlds looked amazing – it just isn’t anything I would consider to be “next level.”
