Philips TV model number by year 2012-2024 decode

One of the world’s leading electronics manufacturers, Philips has an extensive portfolio of tens of thousands of patents. However, it is noteworthy that Philips has not produced televisions for 12 years. Instead, the company decided to license the production of televisions under its brand to other organizations, which is a common strategy for the television sector. Philips was one of the first companies to stop making televisions and license its brand to other companies.

Note that the year designation is different for TVs sold in North America. This change occurred in 2022, so the development year for these TV models now corresponds to the last digit of the year.

Who makes Philips TVs

North America: The rights to the Philips brand for television sets were acquired by Japan’s Funai Corporation. Funai, which primarily assembles various electronic devices, including televisions, is not involved in the technical development of televisions. Instead, it manufactures finished televisions using components from other OEMs or orders the production of Philips-branded televisions.The market performance of Philips TVs in North America under Funai’s leadership was far from expected. In 2017, Philips TV production was stopped. The company tried to return to the market with new models in 2019-2021, but this attempt was unsuccessful. In 2022, a new attempt was made to enter the North American market; this time, it chose to order TVs from large OEMs. The Chinese Hisense has become such a TV supplier. 2022 TVs with Google TV OS were introduced to the market, and in 2023, TVs with Roku TV were introduced. Also, in 2022, a slightly different standard for designating the year of development of a TV model, different from the European one, was adopted.

Europe: The Chinese company TP Vision acquired the rights to the Philips TV brand in Europe along with TV assembly plants. Since 2012, all Philips TVs in Europe have been manufactured by Chinese companies. TP Vision, a major player in the TV assembly market, leverages Philips’ reputation to maintain its presence in the European market by regularly updating its TV range.

The assignment system for Philips TV model numbers has been in place since 2012. It is important to note the difference in the life cycle of Philips TVs: models before 2012 are original TVs manufactured by Philips, and models after 2012 are licensed products.

TV Philips model number  2012-2024 decode

Let’s look at the example of the Philips 50PUS7657/12 TV, what the model number means, and what information can be obtained from it. 

The Philips TV model number consists of several information blocks, namely four blocks.

1. Specifications block: contains information about the screen size and some technical specifications. (50PUS).
2. TV model number: contains information about the series of the TV in the line, the higher the number, the more functions the TV has, model, and design (765).
3. Year: Information about the release year of the TV model (7).
4. Sales Region: Region in which the TV will be sold (12). 

The model number of a Philips 50PUS7657/12 TV is a structured identifier that reveals some technical information about the TV. Here is a detailed explanation of the model number. 

Screen Diagonal Size: The initial part of the model number, “50” represents the diagonal size of the TV screen, measured in inches. This standardized measurement is used in all TV models and clearly indicates the TV’s physical dimensions.

• Product Category and Screen Resolution: The subsequent sequence, “PUS,” stands for multiple characteristics:
• “P” stands for the product category in the overall structure, and P means it is a TV. 
• The letter “U” means that the TV belongs to the Ultra High Definition (UHD) category, having a 4K resolution screen. This letter varies depending on the resolution or type of screen:
  • “H” – HD resolution
  • “F” is Full HD resolution.
  • “U” for UHD.
  • “O” OLED screen.
  • “M” Mini LED screen.
• The fifth symbol, “S,” is the type of digital tuner built into the TV. It depends on the broadcasting standards in different regions:
  • “H” for DVB-T/C tuner.
  • “K” for DVB-T/C/S/S2.
  • “T” for DVB-T/T2/C.
  • “S” for DVB-T/T2/C/S/S2 tuner.
  • “L” for ATSC tuner (used in USA and Canada).
  • “D” for DTMB tuner for Chinese

Series, Model, and Design: The digits “765” in the model number provide further classification:

• “7” indicates a series number.
• “6” indicates a specific model in that series.
• “5” indicates a design iteration of that model.

Year of development and sales region: The last part of the model number, “7/12”, offers additional context: “7” indicates the year of development, as Philips uses a ten-year cycle for its TV models. This number can mean either 2012 or 2022, with further differences depending on the TV’s additional features, in more detail below.

• “12” indicates the geographical region for which the TV is intended. For example:
  • “12” indicates Europe.
  • “F7” indicates North America (USA and Canada)
  • “F8” – Mexico
  • “78” – for Brazil
  • “77” for Argentina

Each component of the Philips 50PUS7657/12 model number precisely indicates the size, technological category, series, design, year of manufacture, and intended market for the TV, allowing you to get a complete picture of its characteristics and regional affiliation.

How to find out the year of your Philips TV

Understanding the year of development of a Philips TV model is a critical aspect of deciphering its model number, especially for models manufactured by TP Vision, the company responsible for manufacturing Philips TVs outside of North America. The year of development can be determined by the specific digit in the model number, a system that Philips initially followed and that TP Vision still uses today.

In model number 50PUS7657/12, the digit that indicates the year of development is the seventh character, “7”. Philips and TP Vision use a ten-year cycle for this. Here’s how that cycle works:

• “7” corresponds to 2012 or 2022.
• “8” corresponds to 2013 or 2023
• “9” corresponds to 2014 or 2024
• “0” corresponds to 2015 or 2025
• “1” corresponds to 2016 or 2026
• “2” corresponds to 2017 or 2027
• “3” corresponds to 2018 or 2028
• “4” corresponds to 2019 or 2029
• “5” corresponds to 2020 or 2030
• “6” corresponds to the year 2021 or 2031.

It’s important to note that a particular model may not be available for more than three years, and additional TV features such as screen resolution or other specifications can help determine the exact year in that ten-year range.

In 2022, for TVs manufactured in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, the year of manufacture designation in the model number was changed so that the last digit corresponds to the actual year. For example:

• “2” now directly corresponds to the year 2022.
• “3” corresponds to 2023
• “4” corresponds to 2024
• “5” corresponds to 2025
• “6” corresponds to 2026

This change in year designation for North American models may be due to a new manufacturing policy or strategy to improve the clarity of model numbers for consumers in those regions.

Philips TV model number lookup

How to find the model number of your TV. If you want to buy a TV and are researching available TVs, you can find the model number on the retailer’s website or the Philips website. If you already own a TV and you need to find the model number and a serial number of the TV, look for this information in places like this:

• You can find the model of your TV by looking at the label on the back of the TV. This will have basic information about the TV, including the serial number.
• If you cannot see the sticker or it is missing, which is very unlikely, but it happens that the TV is mounted on the wall and the mount covers the sticker, you can find the model number from the TV menu. Since there are many variants of TVs with different operating systems (Android, Roku, etc.)

• Find the model number and serial number of Philips OS Android TV only (2015-2017):
  • Press the Home button on the remote control. Select the [Help] option on the bottom line of the screen, then press “OK.”
    Select the [Contact info] option and press “OK.”
    A screen showing the model and the TV serial number appears.

• Searching for model numbers on other years’ Philips TVs:
  • While watching a TV channel, press “1 2 3 6 5 4” on the TV remote control as quickly as you would if you wanted to change the channel; this is just a code that activates a particular subroutine of the operating system.
  • A menu will appear with the model number on the first line.
  • Exit the menu with the home button.

• Finding the model number of your Philips TV with OS Google TV for US, Canada, Mexico: Although this operating system is standardized, developers may make some changes to the TV menu by giving menu items their own names. Therefore, to find the model number, you need to follow the steps below.
  • Press a (HOME) and select Settings, then press OK.
  • select System, then press OK.
  • select About, then press OK.
  • The TV information page opens, where you will find the model of your TV.

• Search for the model number of your Philips TV in Roku TV:
  • go to Settings
  • select System
  • select About. You will see information about your TV.

• Find the model number of your Philips TV on Google TV for Europe: Follow the steps in the TV menu to get information about your TV:
  • press Quick Menu
  • press MENU
  • press Help

• Find the model number of your Philips TV in Android TV after 2017: Use the remote control: Press the Home or Menu button on the remote control.
  • Go to “Settings”: From the TV’s main menu, locate and select “Settings” or the gear icon.
  • Select About TV: From the Settings menu, navigate to an item that may be called “About,” “System Information,” “Device Settings,” or similar.
  • View model information: This section should have information about your TV, including the model number. It is usually listed under “Model” or “Model Number“.

You can use the advanced help features to diagnose and get more information about your TV. TV Information – View the model name, serial number, and software version of the TV. number and software version of the TV.