Philips 42PF9831D Review |
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Design
From a design point of view, the Philips 42PF9831D creates mixed reactions. The large white board dominates this panel, being a full 4in wider than the screen. For some, the whole effect is a stylistic tour de force, with the whiteboard nicely offset by the ultra glossy black panel and unparralled build quality adding to the effect. For others, the design is a little over the top, but most would agree that it is certainly impressive.
Features
The latest version of Pixel Plus (3) HD is the picture processing workhorse on the 42PF9831D. The technology has been designed primarily to enhance picture sharpness with Standard Definition (SD) sources and improve natural detail and colour performance. Previous incarnations of this technology have been criticised for introducing too much digital noise so it will be interesting to see how version 3 performs.
Screen size & shape: 42in 16:9 Tuner: Digital Sound system: Stereo Resolution: 1366 x 768 HD Ready: Yes Contrast Ratio: 4500:1 Brightness: 550cd/m2 OTHER FEATURES: Pixel Plus 3 HD picture processing, Ambilight, Clear LCD picture processing, 7-day Electronic Programming Guide. SOCKETS: 2 HDMI, 3 Scart, component video, S-vide, 2 USB, PC input.
The Philips 42PF9831D sports the companies highly rated 'Ambilight' technology in its most advanced form. Ambilight works by emitting coloured ambient light along the sides of the panel which is reflected on to the wall behind the TV, the difference with the 42PF9831D being that the whiteboard serves as the reflecting surface negating the need for the panel to be near a back wall.
ClearLCD technology has been designed to improve black levels and motion handling, by employing a process by which the response times of the liquid crytals are increased to an impressive 16ms. By increasing response times, the 42PF9831D should display much improved black levels and motion handling capabilities.
The 42PF9831D has excellent connectivity with 2 HDMI, 3 scarts, Component video, S-video, 2 USB and a multi-format card reader. In addition there is a built-in Freeview tuner with 7-day Electronic Programming Guide (EPG).
Performance
There was always a danger that the 42PF9831D's seemingly endless list of technological innovations would appear a little too gimmicky. Hook up a High Definition DVD however, and be prepared to see these innovations come together to produce truly stunning pictures.
Immediately apparent is the almost complete absence of video noise, not only with HD material but also with Standard Definition (SD) sources. Previous incarnations of Pixel Plus had been criticised for sharpening SD pictures at the expense of excessive video noise, but the latest version appears to have cleared up these problems.
Colour on the 42PF9831D is a revelation, with a range and subtlety that is almost unmatched on an LCD. Sony's 'wide colour gamut' technology does produces a greater range of colours, but cannot match the graduation from colour to colour the 42PF9731D achieves.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the 42PF9831D's performance is the quality of the black levels it manages to produce. ClearLCd technology is obviously working some magic on this panel, and while black levels don't quite match CRT, they come close and with HD they are almost faultless.
Conclusion
The Philips 42PF9831D is perhaps the best example of that old saying 'you get what you pay for'. At around £1,800 (target internet price) this is an expensive piece of kit, but the performance more than matches the lofty price tag. HD performance is unparalleled for an LCD and Standard Definition performance comes close to CRT levels.