Philips 7404 First Test??
- Thread starter Nick_Shepherd
- Start date
nick , what will you do if the review of the 7404 is very good , the price is right , and you are ready to take the plunge , and then you hear about the (all fictional ) new 8404 due soon ??? or maybe a sony w6500 in the pipeline ?? or a samsung c950 etc etc , my point being , seeing as you are seeking the best possible tv ( rightly so ) for your money , and have researched so thoroughly , would now be the right time to buy ?? next year the kuro is expected to be surpassed , how much its successor will cost nobody knows , but tvs are getting cheaper ( one benefit of the recession ) , i was thinking about upgrading but i think next summer , just before the world cup , is the best time to get a tv that might ( like the kuro ) be top of the tree for a few years ?? just my thoughts ...
Hi Maxflinn
I would buy it if it was good enough. When I started looking (all that time ago!) it was the start of the 2009 range launches. Ifi dont buy one in the next few weeks I can garantee being shot by the other half.
However, I think I am nearly there!
I am on the vrge of buying the Sony KDL-40WE5 in white. I have read every review possible on all the Sony sets and only What Hi Fi feel that the backlight is a major problem while other reviews either dont mention it or say it is neglegable after calibration.
I think I have decided that I cant justify £1,500 on the 9664 as I need a tv stand, BD player and new amp as well. I am happy to send the set back if i do get a bad one (bad enough that I actually notice it of course).
Cant bring myself to buy an LG, the Samsung sets have this clear plastic edge which I simply dont like and the Panasonic Plasmas nearly made it but the design is bland and I have decided not to get a plasma as they get hotter and i will get reflection on the screen through the window.
So, if the 7404 is an anverage set, I will play the backlight lottery, go for the white set (a few quid more than the W5500 but will go spot on with the white furniture and it does look a good set. A compromise i feel) and save £500.
Your thoughts?
I would buy it if it was good enough. When I started looking (all that time ago!) it was the start of the 2009 range launches. Ifi dont buy one in the next few weeks I can garantee being shot by the other half.
However, I think I am nearly there!
I am on the vrge of buying the Sony KDL-40WE5 in white. I have read every review possible on all the Sony sets and only What Hi Fi feel that the backlight is a major problem while other reviews either dont mention it or say it is neglegable after calibration.
I think I have decided that I cant justify £1,500 on the 9664 as I need a tv stand, BD player and new amp as well. I am happy to send the set back if i do get a bad one (bad enough that I actually notice it of course).
Cant bring myself to buy an LG, the Samsung sets have this clear plastic edge which I simply dont like and the Panasonic Plasmas nearly made it but the design is bland and I have decided not to get a plasma as they get hotter and i will get reflection on the screen through the window.
So, if the 7404 is an anverage set, I will play the backlight lottery, go for the white set (a few quid more than the W5500 but will go spot on with the white furniture and it does look a good set. A compromise i feel) and save £500.
Your thoughts?
Nick_Shepherd:Any chance of this test going up here before the mag is out next week?
Not just yet I'm afraid Nick. Issue's out on Wednesday, so all will be revealed then.
Not just yet I'm afraid Nick. Issue's out on Wednesday, so all will be revealed then.
hi nick , i think the sonys are very good value , and whfi would have given all of this years models 5 stars if it wasnt for the backlight problems , so if you can get one that you are happy with in that regard , and you say you like the styling , colour , then at the price it sounds like a good bet , then if something groundbreaking does come along in the next couple of years you can always put the sony in a bedroom and upgrade , i do think the differences in picture quality amongst the non led lcds do not equate to £500 , unless money is no object , in which case it would be easy to just buy the absolute best tv out there anyway ...
Nick, I've had a 42" 7404 since the day it came out, the picture can and is very good - it is not 9 series quality. However, be warned mine is being swapped over this week as it developed a shadow two fifths into the left hand side of the screen, a slight north to south line. It is very slight but noticeable, it has also developed backlight bleed in the bottom right hand corner of the set... most odd.
I have seen it on another 7404, only not as far into the screen. The engineer that visited called it 'friction' and went to some lengths to alter the settings to 'hide' the problem of pillaring, only I don't like looking at a picture over processed and as bright as the sun. So it has been agreed to swap it for a good one...
From someone who has lived with the set for over three months I can't wait to read the review.
I have seen it on another 7404, only not as far into the screen. The engineer that visited called it 'friction' and went to some lengths to alter the settings to 'hide' the problem of pillaring, only I don't like looking at a picture over processed and as bright as the sun. So it has been agreed to swap it for a good one...
From someone who has lived with the set for over three months I can't wait to read the review.
Its interesing reading a review on a product you have.
Andy- I can buy the mag on Wednesday so no panic as its so close.
May be a new thread but did you find the white frame on the 46WE5 a problem when wathing films with black borders??
Andy- I can buy the mag on Wednesday so no panic as its so close.
May be a new thread but did you find the white frame on the 46WE5 a problem when wathing films with black borders??
Interesting review. I have had my set swapped over now and can report that the picture is even better than the last set. The shadow has gone and the colours and contrast seem to have improved, there is generally less noise to the picture and the menus work quicker. It also accepts HDMI connected kit without question.
I must have had a Friday afternoon set before.
So I am now very pleased with the quality and can report that I would recommend the 7 series to anyone who doesn't want to part with 9 series money.
I must have had a Friday afternoon set before.
So I am now very pleased with the quality and can report that I would recommend the 7 series to anyone who doesn't want to part with 9 series money.
Glad to read that this model kicked Sony into second spot in the Supertest . So the 8 and 9 series are probably giving you only marginal improvements
I can still find very littel to dislike about this set - sometimes depending upon the tv programme you get " unatural " skin tones
I can still find very littel to dislike about this set - sometimes depending upon the tv programme you get " unatural " skin tones
I also have a famed Pana Plasma and yes there's a difference with the blacks
But I guess I knew that when I bought an LCD. Yet having tested the 7404 against equivalent LCD's it's very good indeed in the black department .
Am genuinely torn between the room with the Plasma and the room with the LCD !
But I guess I knew that when I bought an LCD. Yet having tested the 7404 against equivalent LCD's it's very good indeed in the black department .
Am genuinely torn between the room with the Plasma and the room with the LCD !
I have seen the 7404 and the 8404 several times at stores but didnt pay vattention to blacks shadow detail. however on the last days I've noticed LG's black level detail was almost unexistent.as I think they share the same panels Im going to take my conclusions next time I go out there
Having not had a chance to grab the latest issue, am I to assume that they only reviewed the 32" and not the 42"??
Is there anything to distinguish them other than physical screen size?
Is there anything to distinguish them other than physical screen size?
I would also love to know. I should have put in my posts that its the 42' that I wanted to know about......
It's the 42" that I've been watching.
The black levels are very very good - they do look black, provided that what you are looking at in the first place is black, not blue or a shade of something else. They are the best blacks of any LCD I have owned over the years. There are other sets out there that could be said to have better blacks but the overall look (colour, contrast, movement, sharpness [ I would disagree with the sharpness being set at 3, as noted elsewhere, the THX calibration on some blu-rays I have would suggest 2-0, I'd be interested to hear feedback from other users of 42" sets]) of this set (now that I have a good one) is spot on but not 9 series. There isn't much in it, it is very close.
You really do need to play with the settings to get the best out of it, turning a lot of stuff off really does help and keep HDMI material switched to unscaled.
If you want to know anything else just let me know and I'll try to help.
The black levels are very very good - they do look black, provided that what you are looking at in the first place is black, not blue or a shade of something else. They are the best blacks of any LCD I have owned over the years. There are other sets out there that could be said to have better blacks but the overall look (colour, contrast, movement, sharpness [ I would disagree with the sharpness being set at 3, as noted elsewhere, the THX calibration on some blu-rays I have would suggest 2-0, I'd be interested to hear feedback from other users of 42" sets]) of this set (now that I have a good one) is spot on but not 9 series. There isn't much in it, it is very close.
You really do need to play with the settings to get the best out of it, turning a lot of stuff off really does help and keep HDMI material switched to unscaled.
If you want to know anything else just let me know and I'll try to help.
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