Review: Philips 42PF9831D/10 : HDTV UK

The propaganda

The 42PF9831D/10 is currently biggest, baddest LCD HDTV that Philips has to offer. LCDs use to play second fiddle to plasma technology when trying to produce decent black levels. LCDs used struggle with fast moving images. Not any more.

The 42PF9831D/10 was the first set to offer Philips' ClearLCD system which, in fact, incorporates two further technologies: Overdrive Control and DSB (Dimmable Scanning Backlight). Overdrive accelerates the reaction of the liquid crystals by increasing the voltage, thereby reducing the effective response time down to 3 milliseconds (measured in perceived Blur-Edge-Width). Meanwhile, DSB uses new Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (HCFLs) that simulate the scanning effect in CRT TVs. A ClearLCD set therefore allows for the progressive lighting of pixels for a shorter duration by allowing pixels to receive different amounts of light at the same time.

That not enough for you? Well that's okay; this set also uses the new Ambilight 4 full surround system and the new Pixel Plus processing engine (PP3HD). The latter improves on previous versions of the Pixel Plus engine with better artefact processing, which should see a big improvement on standard definition images. The Ambilight full surround now sports coloured lighting from all four sides of the set for even greater immersive properties.

The good

So far I've really only spouted a lot of Philips' jargon (and believe me, Philips has plenty more where that came from) so let's get back to the real question: how does it look? Jaw-dropping, is the answer. Maybe it's has something to do those Ambilight surrounds - I swear there's some kind of hypnotic hoodoo going on in there - but the Philips 42PF9831D/10 has an almost spooky ability to make high definition sources look truly three-dimensional. The effect is so detailed and realistic that you'll occasionally be tempted to have a quick peak behind the telly just in case there actually is a pride of diminutive lions frolicking away back there instead of on the screen.

This effect is undoubtedly helped along by the excellent PP3HD engine, which has done a stunning job of all-but completely eliminating any trace of screen artefacts. And the same holds true for standard definition sources as well. In addition, pictures are blissfully for free from digital noise, motion blur, flicker and smearing.

The black level is similarly impressive, which is what you would expect given that the contrast ratio, quoted as 7000:1 (dynamic), is almost as high that found in some of the biggest name plasmas. Even the colours are stunning and achieve rich, vibrant saturation alongside beautifully natural skin tones and a colour range that, again, challenges that of most plasmas.

The bad

You can probably tell that I couldn't find much fault in this set. And I haven't even mentioned things like the Active Control system that continually analyses and controls picture quality, the integrated digital tuner or the Lamda/4 sound system, which itself is good enough to put most rival TVs to shame, picture quality aside.

Oh right, the bad bits, I remember now. Well, it turns out that the DSB only works for standard definition sources, but it wasn't as though there was any lack of HD picture quality in the first place. We also found Philip's Digital Natural Motion processing could cause problems when viewing fast moving images. But, sadly there's a setting that allows to you switch this off, so I can't really fault it on that count.

Of course the real downside is the cost. Prices vary between £2,300 and £2,800 - a heck of a lot less than it retailed for when it first launched back in 2006, but it's still a good deal more expensive than almost any other similarly sized LCD panels and more than a lot of larger plasma screens too. Even the merits of Ambilight make it hard justify that kind of outlay and it is clear that this will limit the appeal of the set down to a very niche market.

Geek Sheet

Resolution: 1366 x 768p

Brightness : 550 cd/m²

Dynamic screen contrast: 7000:1

Ambilight Full Surround

Pixel Plus 3 HD engine

ClearLCD with Overdrive and DSB

Sound Output: 2x12W + 1x24 W

Connections: 2 x HDMI, Component, 2 x SCART,VGA PC input and S-Video

Multi-slot memory card reader and 2 x USB

Dimensions: 1279 x 872 x 114mm, weight 38kg

Overview

If you simply have to have the ultimate in high definition LCD technology, congratulations - you've just found it. Almost uniquely to an HDTV, the Philips 42PF9831D/10 handles both HD and SD sources perfectly and is truly a beauty to behold. But in the end, the sheer cost of it all is something that makes it hard to justify. Especially not when you can pick a much larger plasma offering similar performance for less money.