Clare / Andy / Team / Beuller / Anyone

[Nick_Shepherd]

Question from another thread:

Is the picture of the Philips 9664 £600 better than a Sony W5500 with little or no backlight bleed?? (Picture ONLY)

Answers and opinion eagerly awaited...

There is now a £600 price difference. To me, this is worth any possible hassle of returning a faulty Sony set, provding the picture on the Sony is as good, or nearly as good as the 9664. If the picture is not, the quetion is redundant.

Please bear in mind I am not trying to do a comparison, say, between the LG 5 star set at £750 and the Philips test winner. The W5500 was originally £1,200.

Many Thanks!

 

[Andy Clough]

Yes, IMHO the picture on the Philips is better than the Sony, with or without backlight bleed. Whether it's worth an extra £600 is up to you, as I realise it's a lot of money. Personally, I wouldn't want to run the risk of getting a Sony with backlight bleed.

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for this, however, you have answered just half the question.

So for you the Philips has a better picture (and thank you for giving this opinion) but, is it worth £600 to you, in your opinion?

I am looking for your and the teams opinion, in order to help find my own (as our opinions are clearly more qualified than mine.......in my opinion!)

Many Thanks!

 

[John Duncan]

I'm more interested in who Beuller is...

 

[ear]

Ferris beuler.if the 9 series is better then tne 7 and 8 series of philips should be equal to the w5500.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd take the Philips - especially since the price cut. Yes, the Sony is a touch better with motion - but only a touch, and the Philips is superior in other areas: notably detail, colour and all-round impact. Really reminds me of why I enjoyed a Philips CRT TV for so many years...

 

[ear]

any 9 model philips impresses! even the older models.

 

[Anonymous]

get the sony with a guarantee of a no quibble refund , replacement , £600 more is not worth it , it just couldnt be , the sonys are very good (problem free ones) , if your a premier league player send the wag out for the phillips , if your on a normal wage then how can £600 more be justified ???? come on folks , think about it ...

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know if anybody can actually justify or quantify for the benefit of a third party.

I have been looking at several Sony 40-46s (W, Z, WE5) and none of them convey much in the sense of joy or pride of ownership (I'm just talking about the chassis - the look of the item). They have great pictures, but for me the cloudy backlight problem is a total killer. Are there perfect ones or are they just varied in the extent of the problem - I just don't know. It seems too risky and Sony just don't seem to care that people can hand over well over a grand for a telly and regard it as faulty - they see it as a normal feature of the technology. It was several years ago, but others have moved past this.

If you bought a Sony Hi-Fi and it sometimes buzzed and crackled on certain music would you accept that? Why should we accept blatant clouding or bleeding when we are talking about a supposed premium TV? In every other way these sets are great. It is such a shame. There are some shocking photos of clouding on lots of sets (even the 37W5500 What Hi*Fi? recommend at 5 stars) on the web.

Our CRT was a Loewe Aconda, so we do like the better looking things in life (beyond my ugly fizzog).

Tomorrow we are going to look at a 9664 (£1500 with a 5 year Guarantee). We did want to see an Essence, but can't find one anyway to actually have a look at. These Philips sets look so nice, but we will judge it's picture tomorrow and let you know if we think it is worth the money (to us).

At the weekend we looked at Loewes at the new Sevenoaks, Sheffield. £2500 for a 42inch. That puts £1500 in perspective.

It is a good question, but it ultimately has no other answer than the one you can give to yourself.

I don't work for any TV manufacturer, my opinions are my own. I just want a nice new telly. Our Aconda went bang.....

 

[Anonymous]

Let us know what you think of the philps 9664 Badamz when you see it. I aint seen one myself up close, as they are quite hard to find but always welcome another opinion

 

[Anonymous]

I plan to do all I can to see one this week. I will report back with my findings, though I can't guarantee they will be objective. If it looks as nice in the flesh as it does in pictures (and performs as suggested) I may come home a little glazed over.....

 

[Clare Newsome]

When you have a look at the Philips, don't be afraid to wield the remote in a settings-tweaking fashion: this is far from a plug-and-play set (to enjoy its full potential)

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

I understand what badamz would say there is no other opinion than your own, but I disagree. Well, in as much as that ones final opinion is of course thier own, but this opinion is reached by taking into account the views of others. Particularly those in the know. Hence the thread.

Clare - re the set up of the Philips. Will most people be needing to re caibrate foe each different source??

Maxflin - I want to agree and buy a Sony. I can spend a grand on a set, and will then need a BD player and new amp so spending £1,500 on a TV will really have to be well worth it. BUT, if the Sony, ignoroing backlight bleed, is not as good a picture as the Philips (£500 as good), then I will spend more. The only people I can ask who have seen / tested both sets are the What hifi team, who thus far are willing to say the Philips is better, but not if it is £500 - 600 better (in thier opinion, with thier money. Well Clare has, so I guess thats one! lol)

Clare would buy a Philips, what would Andy and the others do??

 

[Andy Clough]

Simple. I would definitely buy the Philips. Worth the extra £600? To me, yes, no question. And if you do go and demo the set, here are the settings we used in our Supertest:

Contrast: 90

Brightness: 48

Colour: 50

Sharpness: 3

Noise Reduction: Off

Tint: Normal

Perfect Pixel: Minimum

200Hz: On

Advanced sharpness: Off

Dynamic contrast: Off

Dynamic backlight: Best pic

MPEG Noise: Off

Colour Advancement: Off

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Thanks Andy.

Is there much re calibibration needed when you switch between SD / HD / BD??

 

[Andy Clough]

Not really. I'm using the above settings for all sources, and it works a treat for me. But as we say in the review, the onboard scaler is a little soft, so if your source will upscale, that's the best place to do it.

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

So a BD player that upscales well is a must? (Can you recomend one? circa £300).

Does a Sky HD box upscale? I will watch alot of Sky SD and HD, DVD and of curse BD.....

I dont want to break the bank and get caught out with SD......

 

[Anonymous]

hmmm , them phillips seem really popular with clare and andy , i havent seen one in action , ive kind of dismissed them as a possible future buy because of their silly prices , they must be very good , however i think that most people would be pleased with any of the top tvs once they had them at home , tuned to their liking , i still feel £600 is too big of a difference , who is going to be watching a blu ray on a w5500 and be thinking , oh , i wonder would the phillips have been better , i think ive made a mistake ?... not many id say , you can buy a bmw m3 for £50k , or , a porsche 911 turbo for £90k , yea the porsche is fantastic , but the beemer is not exactly a mondeo , if your loaded , fine , buy the best , but for me phillips are too dear .....

 

[Andy Clough]

Nick, if you're looking for a BD player that will upscale really well, look no further than the Sony BDP-S360:

http://whathifi.com/Review/Sony-BDP-S360/

And yes, AFAIK the Sky HD box will upscale too, so you'll have no problem there.ÿ

 

[matthewpiano]

maxflinn:hmmm , them phillips seem really popular with clare and andy , i havent seen one in action , ive kind of dismissed them as a possible future buy because of their silly prices , they must be very good , however i think that most people would be pleased with any of the top tvs once they had them at home , tuned to their liking , i still feel £600 is too big of a difference , who is going to be watching a blu ray on a w5500 and be thinking , oh , i wonder would the phillips have been better , i think ive made a mistake ?... not many id say , you can buy a bmw m3 for £50k , or , a porsche 911 turbo for £90k , yea the porsche is fantastic , but the beemer is not exactly a mondeo , if your loaded , fine , buy the best , but for me phillips are too dear .....

Actually I'd have the Mondeo every time. Cheaper to buy, well built with strong engines, reliable, cheap to run, and with affordable and easily sourced parts post-warranty. The BMW advantages aren't enough to justify the price difference IMO.

I agree with your principle though.

I've still not seen any statistics and data to provide some proper information to back up all these claims about backlight bleed. I'm not denying that some sets might have displayed the issue because I haven't seen the review sets, and I completely support the fact that WHFS&V have to report what they see (it would be wrong to do anything else), but the wider aspersions that get cast are completely meaningless without proper stats. In the mean time we, and several other dealers I've had contact with, have still not had one single complaint from a paying customer about this issue.

You pay your money and you make your choice. Whatever you buy, buy it from a good supportive dealer who cares about customer satisfaction and you will be fine.

 

[Anonymous]

there are some real good bargains out there at the moment , panny 42g10 , sony 40w5500 , under £800 , if someone was getting their first hd tv i think either of those are well good enough , samsung 40b650 included , ive seen them all and was impressed , i dont think anyone knows what to make of this backlight bleed thing , a lot of heresay maybe, but also some definative proof , (whfi reviews ), i agree that theres no reason to be put off sonys , id be buying with conditions though , i feel the backlight issues may have forced the price down , last years whfi award winner was the40w4500 , costing £1150ish this time last year , £350 more than its succesor ?? , add another £250 and your at the phillips price , as i said if money doesnt enter the equation then fine , but for most , it surely will ... em , er , having just read the review of the 9664 i think there may be more people somehow finding the extra money

 

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone (these threads are popular).

I didn't want to give the impression that I thought everyone else's view was not valid - of course you can take on board other's views and you should. What I meant is that paying a premium for a TV like this is really down to the priorities of the buyer. If it is worth it to me it may not be worth it to you. I can't justify it to someone who wants to pay £1000 or less for a TV and he/she cannot convince me I should keep the £500 in my pocket if I want one. To him it is a new amp or savings for a holiday, but to me it is an object on my living room wall that will brighten my days for at least 5 years. Maybe I'm shallow (the set has to be top notch as well), but I do like nice things.

We went to House Of Fraser Meadowhall Sheffield today, but we did not see the 9664. They have them at their warehouse, but not on display yet. They had a 37PFL9604 which shares the same chassis and appearance. It is a wonderful looking set and our trip into the Sony Centre left their TVs looking aesthetically impoverished by comparison. I fear those clouds too. The Sony sets are very good though, I have never denied that (backlight issues aside). Not sure I want one on my wall though. They lack something I crave.

We are returning next Monday and have been promised an extended play with a 42inch 9664. I WILL report. Today was a bit dissapointing, but we confirmed the look of these Philips is top drawer (as nice as our poor Loewe). No offence to What Hi*Fi?, but the photo in the supertest did not do it justice (zoom the piccies on the Philips site for a better look).

Thanks for the calibration suggestions - noted! If only we could see an Essence as well.....

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Its tough, and I bet next year Sony sort it out (whatever IT is) and release a top tv, no bleed, undr a grand, and we'll all have thr right hump!

Problem I have is that I need and amp and BD player. The extra money money over the Sony would buy these. It is harder particulary when onother review discribes the blee as nominal when calibrated.

Having said that, Andy and Clare have kindly both said that they would go for the Philips and that its is worth the extra dosh. Maybe if I get John Lewis to garentee an exchange if I went for say a Sony WE5, I could go for the Philips if I found too much bleed...one review elsewhere gave the WE5 top marks and said no bleed, but some on here have found bleed.

God dam it! Why do I car so much!!! (life must be good if this is all I have to worry about! Happy days!)

I will make a discision, I can do it, surley I can! Be the ball!

 

[Anonymous]

I've come at your thread from the wrong angle. I thought you were just wanting someone to justify the price of the Philips, but you really are (like ourselves) in the midst of the over complicated TV buyers decision making process.

As my last contribution (you must hope), all I can say is that we do think we want to buy a 9664, we know where they should have them and we are going to audition one as soon as we can (which should be next Monday). If the audition goes well (and a certain magazine we all read thinks it will) we will probably buy one and I will be happy to share anything I can based on this visit and likely purchase.

There are no signs of them at our local Lewis dept' store (Sheffield). It appeared then vanished on their website at the higher original price of £1699 I read. It would make my life a lot easier if they did have it (maybe next to an Essence!). I may go in this week and 'encourage' them to get one in.

A guy in Holland has bought one (and seen the Essence) and replied to my Philips Essence 42PES0001 & 42PFL9664. Does anybody own one? thread. Have a look.

 

[Anonymous]

having read the review of the 9664 i hate to admit ( cos its expensive ) , but it does have some great selling points , the unlimited web browser would be very nice , the sound is also very good , and obviously the picture is said to be brilliant , if it was just a little bit cheaper id say they would fly off the shelves , the trouble is if you wait for the price to drop it will prob become extinct , the essence was only around for about a week , and when it was available you would need to hire a private eye to find one , so come on phillips , we all know you read whfi forums , get the workers on overtime , make loads of 9664s , sell em in shops that can be found , and take another £200 off the price , and we,ll all buy em .....