Called Philips UK and very much had to force the point that this television is not performing as the specification and product sheet claim. I was immediately told to take this up with the retailer. This would be the retailer that sold the set entirely honestly with a specification gleaned from the manufacturer i.e. them. Not being willing to take nothing to the retailer (internet based), I attempted to allow Philips to fill the silences that they are trained to leave. I am very aware of this technique - one more usually reserved for situations of real conflict - whereby, in the face of no response, I am supposed to feel obligated to wind up the conversation. Resisting that natural urge, I quoted the specification, paying particular attention to the processing rather than the output.
After the statements such as "displays a 1080p picture", by calmly pointing out that this was not the contention, in the end I got the (unexpected) admission I was looking for: "(this set) downscales to 1080i then upscales to 1080p". I was then told I could not have this in writing, but this was what "we have been told to say". Let's be clear that this is a contradiction to the above claim that there is no downscaling.
The next suggestion I was not ready for - being told to write in with my evidence. The Admin dept do not work to email I was told, which is as good a fob-off as you can get in this day and age, particularly when the spec of the chipset is a pdf file that could be attached to a message which would take me only 10mins to compose. To be told to print it off and then send it to an obscure address that will then forward it to Head Office, is plain and simply being given the run-around. Philips do not need evidence, they know their own products (we can assume this) and know exactly the issue I am speaking of. The chap on the phone also said he was not given information such as what the processing chip was. On a technical helpline I refuse to believe this to be the truth.
that all aside, the product brochure claims "1080p dot by dot". the admission of the interlacing is a contradictory statement to this claim and makes Philips liable to legal claim under the Trade Descriptions Act.
I hope neutral readers take note of the customer service experienced so far. If you want help with the majority of Philips' products you call an 0207 prefix, but for this, we get the penalising 0870. Your problem, you pay, is the message there. After denying the specification is not misleading, then admitting that 1080i is involved in the processing and not mentioned in any literature, there is a case to answer, yet in their wisdom Philips then refuse to deal with that issue face to face. Writing to a general address, with the onus of proof placed on the consumer, is customer avoidance, and an insult to my careful approach and my intelligence.
With this evidence unearthed I would be interested in hearing some support from What HiFi who were duped into reviewing the set as a 1080p throughput, presenting the product in the same way as the retailer, then given a dishonest answer to the question posed.
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