Compare Philips 42PFL9664 to 40PFL7605H and other brands

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Hi
I am wondering if anyone has compared 42PFL9664 and 40PFL7605H?  42PFL9664 is the older model but has Perfect Pixel HD processing engine, whereas 40PFL7605H is running Pixel Precise HD. 
Reading the review, 42PFL9664 is really good. But how does it compare to other brands in their 2010 lineup?
Thanks

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I have seen both and would seriously recommend that you demo these tvs on all sources and in the UK if you live here.

There is a rather long thread on the philips 42pfl9664 you should look at that too.

 

[Anonymous]

The 7605 and most other 2010 Philips models uses the new UV2A panel, which fundamentally and nativly has much better specs than the "old" technology. A UV2A panel is recoginized by its 176 deg viewing angle. A native contrast ratio above 5.000:1 and a black level of 0.04 without local dimming speaks for its self.

I would prefer a 7605 from a 9664 any time ( I had a 9604 ), mainly due to the much better native grayscale, much lower native blacklevel, much higher native contrast, and the faster responce time of the LCD crystals.

So far Philips, Sony and Sharp are using the UV2A, there are roumers that Samsung is working on a similar technology.

Personally - I wouldnt even consider a non-UV2A LCD TV.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Peter.
The reason I was looking at the these 2 Philips models (apart from budget) was that different reviews seemed to have suggested that Philips shows the best Standard Definition. Did you find that with your 9604? What do you have now?

 

[Anonymous]

whichone:Thanks Peter.
The reason I was looking at the these 2 Philips models (apart from budget) was that different reviews seemed to have suggested that Philips shows the best Standard Definition. Did you find that with your 9604? What do you have now?

The 9604 had a very good PQ, including on SD, with very acurate and natual colors, equal to or perhaps even better than the Panasonic 50PX600 plasma which I also have. Sereral levels better than the 32PFL5405 I also have. Only weak point was the grayscale - picture was either too bright or too dimm. Sold it to save money for the new 21:9. But unfortunately the new 21:9 will have reflective screen - so Im thinking of getting a 7605 to fill the gab till the right 21:9 becomes available. Personally, I dont think the heavy price difference for a 7000 to a 9000 justifies the relativly small difference in PQ.

 

[Anonymous]

I think I have now narrow down to Philipsÿ40PFL7605, Sony NX703 and Sharp 40LE821E. Do you know much about the other 2? I know I will watch a lot more SD. I still have my old big fat TV, and planning to take the step to move to the digital world! I have been put off by the quality of SD all these years, but I think it is better now.ÿ
Is it true what they say about Philips' SD being probably the best at the moment?

 

[Anonymous]

whichone:I think I have now narrow down to Philips 40PFL7605, Sony NX703 and Sharp 40LE821E. Do you know much about the other 2? I know I will watch a lot more SD. I still have my old big fat TV, and planning to take the step to move to the digital world! I have been put off by the quality of SD all these years, but I think it is better now.

Is it true what they say about Philips' SD being probably the best at the moment?

I have the 47 inch Philips 9664 and the SD is excellent. I watch a lot of Sky HD and even when switching back to an SD channel it still looks fine. What made you add a Sharp TV to what are no doubt cracking Sony and Philips screens? I'm not saying the Sharp isn't a good TV but I rarely hear anything at all about them.

 

[Anonymous]

Apparently this Sharp model is pretty good, new technology, using 4 colours. I'll need to check it out.
What are the major issues you find with your 9664? Are you generally happy with it?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

whichone:Apparently this Sharp model is pretty good, new technology, using 4 colours. I'll need to check it out.

What are the major issues you find with your 9664? Are you generally happy with it?

I'm very happy with it, I almost bought one of the 55 inch Samsung LED screens until I seen the Philips. There are 3 very good quality speakers built into the back of my TV and the sound is the best I've heard on a flat screen. I only use my home cinema for Blu-Ray and PS3. You will need a lot of tweaking with the settings with any Philips TV but once it's done it's worth it. If you are having a demo of those TV's and there isn't much in it don't forget the Philips has Ambilight which would edge it for me. There was a thread about Ambilight the other day here it is.

 

[Anonymous]

Do you find the ambilight distracting?

 

[Anonymous]

The Sharp LE821 also uses the UV2A panel ( from Sharp itself ). The 7605 has matte screen and Ambilight - the Sharp a quite reflective screen. Both have got very good reviews.

 

[Anonymous]

whichone:Do you find the ambilight distracting?

No, quite the opposite, if the room is dark it really relaxes the atmosphere. It can be switched off or a custom colour can be created to display constantly. I prefer to leave it on the normal setting where the ambilight duplicates the on screen colour. I forgot to mention the Philips is great for gaming with a dedicated game mode and a response time of only 1ms

Check out all of your choices and see which you prefer.

 

[Anonymous]

Hoping to go to Selfridges tomorrow to see if I can see all 3 of them. I have never seen any Sharp TVs before...

 

[Anonymous]

Forgot to ask:

Is the 7605 model for the year 2009/10 or 2010/11?

When do new models come out in general?

 

[Anonymous]

whichone:
Forgot to ask:

Is the 7605 model for the year 2009/10 or 2010/11?

When do new models come out in general?

Philips 2010/2011 models ends at 5, the 2009/2010 models ends at 4.

 

[Anonymous]

Another question - I watch TV through satelite and I understand that the receiver will upscale the quality. What I would like to know is that would the TV also upscale or changes it to its own format?

 

[Anonymous]

whichone:Another question - I watch TV through satelite and I understand that the receiver will upscale the quality. What I would like to know is that would the TV also upscale or changes it to its own format?

The philips 9664 has the option to view the input as unscaled, auto(fit) and a couple of other options so the choice is yours....

 

[Anonymous]

Went to Selfridges and John Lewis, neither had Sharp. They both show in HD so it was rather difficult to see the differences. I was not really sure about the Sony, but I did like the look of Samsung and Philips. To be honest, I am now totally confused, not sure how to see the differences. Especially I know I will watch more SD. Any advise how to proceed!

ÿWhat do you think of the Samsung 6 series (eg UE40C6510)?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Which philips are you looking at the 7605? the 9664 is pretty amazing with sd i dont know about the 7605 tho. It will be hard on a shop floor to get a good quality sd picture because of the tvs connected etc. can you not take something in like one of your favourite dvds and ask to see it played on each tv? at the end of the day we all have opinions on the best tv but if you like what you see..............

 

[Anonymous]

Especially I know I will watch more SD

Please note that HD on a midrange TV set has a much better PQ than SD on the best flagship TV ever build.You noted that there is very little difference on HD among the TV sets - thats also my conclusion.

Today most channels are available in both SD and HD, counting, still you need to pay extra for some HD channels, but soon, they will be a free part of the sat package one by one as HD replaces SD.

I recommend that you investigate what it takes to change all you see into HD - replace the DVDïs with Blu Ray, change sat package / cable package etc - sat channels are usually the best - it may be a sat HD package does not have the programs you are used to - but similar, HD channels usually shows better quality programs and newer programs - THEN look for the TV matching the need - a bundle with a Blu Ray player etc - you may even go for a lower priced TV and use the saved funds on the HD channel upgrade. The 7605 does not have a free view HD tuner, if the solution you concluded is using mainly free view HD channels, then the 7605 is not the one, Else I recommend the 7605 as it has matte screen, Ambilight, the new UV2A, at a good price.

 

[Anonymous]

I was looking at the 7605. I was also comparing Sony LCD with LED, it was the only brand that had them side by side. I could not even tell the differences. I do understand that they may have been on different settings. How do you compare (I know it does sound a stupid question)? Are there certain things you look for? I actually ended up comparing the design, rather than the quality of the pictures. I liked Philips ambilight and Samsung stand.ÿI don't use Freeview so 7605 is not a problem for me. I have 2 LnB which are pointing at Astra and Hotbird.

 

[Anonymous]

Is it worth considering LCD? also how about Samsung UE40C7000?

 

[Anonymous]

The way I usually judge is to turn all picture improvement functions off. Find a SD channel with poor source, or an old DVD movie with poor source quality - compare/look - the noise in the source should look like noise, just as it would on a CRT or plasma - not pixels moving in slow motion or clustering together into squares. Then of cause if the picture look natual.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes. very good idea. I'll find a really old DVD. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

The 9604 I had looked just like the plasma in terms of noise - no slow motion pixels, no clustering together - noise looked like noise.

In my opinion, if a TV set cant perform in the basic mode ( all PQ improvements off ), the TV set is not worth considering - there are lots of TV sets which pass this test today. The TV sets which dont, is either because the hardware is too slow, or/and the internal callibration is adding too much PQ "improvement".