Philips 32PFL7404 Review

32in LCD

Picture
Sound
Features
Usability
Value

Philips have created an exceptionally good TV that now competes on price.

Rating:

91%

Reviewed: 03 October 2009

Outstanding picture performance

Black levels slightly disappointing

Design

Philips' all singing all dancing high end 'Ambilight' TV's have regularly won reviewers plaudits for their picture performance, while their relatively high prices have confined them to the list of also rans as far as sales figures are concerned.

The Philips 32PFL7404 is the Dutch manufacturer's attempt to create a flat panel TV that sells as well as it performs. Priced at or around £600 on line, the 32PFL7404 will go head to head with the likes of Samsung's LE32B650 and Sony's KDL-32V5500.

Features

Pixel Precise HD picture processing is an indication that Philips have become a little more price conscious with the 7404. Higher end TV's in the Philips range get their latest Perfect Pixel HD picture processing.

Screen: 32in 16:9

Tuner: Digital

Sound System: Nicam

Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Contrast Ratio: 80,000:1

Other Features: Pixel Precise HD, HD Natural Motion.

Sockets: 4 HDMI (v1.3), 2 SCART (RGB), S-Video, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input, USB.

Pixel Precise HD loses Perfect Contrast and Perfect Colour and processing power is rated at 250 million pixels per second rather than 500 million. The goal remains the same however, to enhance picture sharpness, detail, colours and motion handling with both standard and high definition sources

An element of 'Pixel Precise HD', 'HD Natural Motion' technology addresses the juddering effects that are visible with film based picture content. The technology improves on 'Digital Natural Motion' by employing greater amounts of processing power to improve motion fluidity. The system actually predicts the content of extra picture 'frames' to produce the enhanced smoothness.

The 32PFL7404 features a unique invisible speaker system that has been designed to deliver powerful acoustics through a slim frame. Philips' Invisible Sound System integrates a wOOx subwoofer with two dual-excursion passive radiator drivers to improve low frequency performance while concealing the speakers behind the TV frame.

With a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, the 32PFL7404 is able to map, pixel for pixel, the highest quality input onto the screen without the need for downscaling. Also on the spec front there is 100Hz processing along with an impressive 4 HDMI(v1.3) inputs, 2 scarts and a surprisingly useful USB port through which you can display your holiday snaps (JPG's) in their full glory, play MP3 soundtracks and present .alb slideshow files.

With all these top end features, you might be left wondering how Philips have managed to shave so much of the price. Well, in addition to the slightly less well specified image processing engine, 'Pixel Precise HD', the 32PFL7404 loses the 'Ambilight' system found on higher end LCD TV's from Philips and comes without an Ethernet port. The absence of Ethernet connectivity means that there is no internet connectivity or access to a DLNA enabled PC.

Performance

To get the negative out of the way first, where we have come to expect deep lustrous black levels, the 32PFL7404 suffers (albeit only slightly), from an element of 'greyness' with Standard Definition. We are not talking about a serious issue here, but placed alongside the likes of the Samsung LE32B650 and Sony's KDL-32V5500 the 7404 falls just a little short. Placed alongside the 32PFL7404 the other two screens offer just a little bit more detail across darker scenes and reveal black areas that are just a little deeper.

The 32PFL7404 more than makes up for the black level shortcoming with Standard Definition (SD) pictures that are as sharp and detailed as anything in this price bracket. With a very small amount of on screen 'noise' from poorer quality feeds, things are not perfect, but the overall stability make other screens in this class look rather erratic in comparison.

Feed the 32PFL7074 some High Definition (HD) material however and its abilities really come to the fore. The HD performance is stunning in every respect, with a level of detail and realism that is only matched by a small number of high end flat panel TV's. The Philips really does begin to encroach on that select group of TV's that produce what we can only describe as a sublime HD performance - and for the price that is quite a remarkable achievement.

Part of what makes SD and HD material so watchable is the picture stability offered by the motion handling abilities of Pixel Precise HD. 'HD Natural Motion' produces pictures not entirely free from an element of 'blurring' but nevertheless as accomplished as anything in this price bracket.

Adding to the growing list of things we like about this TV, the 32PFL7074 impressed with its ability to deliver a gloriously vibrant colour palette that maintained its composure with tonal accuracy even with tricky areas such as facial tones. There are plenty of screens out there which display one of these two attributes, but it is much harder to find a screen which combine the both and with such a high degree of competence.

As with most flat panel TV's, the Philips 32PFL7074's acoustic ability left us a little under whelmed. To be fair to Philips, the sound is no better or worse than most TV's, suffering alongside most of its competitors with a lack of strong 'bass' (resulting from the requirement for a stylish, svelte profile at the expense of insubstantial speakers).

Conclusion

Philips, as always, have created an LCD TV's that produces the goods in terms of picture performance, but now they have introduced price competitiveness to the equation which makes for a very appealing mid range TV.

Philips 32PFL7404