PHILIPS 46PFL9705

[George Pearce]

I have been following blogs/forums/videos/reviews etc on this and other sites where everyone seemed to be saying that the picture including SD is fantastic and just about the best available: well worth waiting for release of this set and paying the high price.

I have no interest in 3D and my viewing initially will be largely SD broadcasts and some DVD upscaling. I am attracted by the internet capabilities and alleged superior sound.

Now we have the What Hi-Fi review (December issue page 45) as part of their 3D group test. The Philips' SD performance is described as "coarse, lurid, noisy and edgy and rough" with a warning to "steer clear of DVD". It "isn't much of a television". "Verdict: When it's good it's very very good, but when it's bad it's horrid".

And there's the warning that all reviewers seem to note about the complexities of set-up - tweaks, settings, sub-menus etc.

How can the rave reviews be reconciled with What Hi-Fi's experience? Did they have a less than perfect set, were there some unfortunate settings, or what?

I am bound to wonder whether to heed the warning and look at other models!?

 

[Miker]

I waited for nearly a year for the 40" 9705 but was seduced by the Samsung cashback offer which ended on 31st October. Perhaps I made the right decision.

 

[jcshutts]

i had the 46 9705 but sent it back. The SD was good through Sky but I wouldn't put it ahead of the competition (compared to Sony 52 HX903 I prefer the latter). The DVD upscalling I found to be problematic. I was using an older Sony DVD player though. I found overall the TV was very temperamental in securing a good picture on all mediums. I could be watching one DVD and the picture was fine and then another DVD would suddenly have bad backlighting preventing me from seeing the detail. I spent much of my time trying to find the perfect settings and never really getting there. I enjoyed Ambilight but the rest was a let down in my view.

This was just my experience of the 46 PFL9705

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I saw the freeview tuner on the 40 inch one in john lewis and there was alot of picture noise on it. The build and frame did not look like a premium product in my opinion either.

I went for the sony 46hx803 recently and don't regret it.