Firstly, I just typed a long reply and Explorer crashed on me, so I'm a bit miffed now.....
Our 9664 was delivered on Wednesday direct from Richer Sounds. We nearly got one from Lewis, but they DO NOT recognise a single stuck or dead pixel as a returns matter, so my Girlfriend went to Richer. She told them Lewis (& Tec7 in House Of Fraser) do the TV with a 5 year warranty and deliver. Richer beat their price by some margin, gave us the 5 year warranty (and their's is better) and said they would deliver free. Good enough for us. They also said the pixel issue WAS covered.
The box dimensions are 121 x 74 x 26cm (just measured it).
As to the telly itself: The WHF review is spot on. This is not a set that will be correct out of the box (and you can adjust everything for each input). The build and finish is wonderful (including the fine remote). The sound quality is quite a surprise. We had a Loewe Aconda CRT which had great sound and I know other flat TVs we have heard are tinny or thin sounding by comparison. The sound on the Philips is great. The scaler is not the best and poor normal def digital channels (like DAVE) are done no favours, so if that is you priority this might not be the set for you. With a better signal and of course moving on to high def sources, the colour depth and insight into detail is stunning. The only other LCDs I have seen that match this depth of colour and depth of field are the Loewe's (£2500).
Out of the box, it's ability to show normal def Sky is terrible and there is noise/ghosting and a mushy feel that would impress nobody. After a few adjustments (try the settings recommended by Andy in
Clare / Andy / Team / Beuller / Anyone as a start), things improve, but the scaler is not the best and you should upscale externally if you can. If you up the sharpness on normal def though, things do improve. Jonathan Meades on BBC4 in Aberdeen was very rewarding indeed. Friends in 4:3 is fine to watch (if anybody still does).
I watched the England game the other night - normal def ITV. Now anybody who has watched a football game on ITV (digital) knows it is very poor quality. There is a constant blanket of artefacts and MPEG noise around every player and the ball (on any TV - it is there is the transmission). All this horror was fully on show, but not once did I see the ball ghost or judder (the 200MHz Sonys can sometimes do 'interesting' things when the ball passes in front of the crowd at speed) and there were never more players on the pitch than there should be. The changing adverts at the edge of the pitch do defocus somewhat when the ball is kicked a long way and there is a sudden pan, but I did not try different settings to try to compensate. I have never seen a flat TV that does not do something similar. You do not see it if you are watching the ball (- the game!). I am trying to be super-critical.
The only ghosting I have seen was a single incident on a repeat of Coast where the guy's long hair was blowing in front of a metal fence (vertical beams) and the two seemed to momentarily be interacting like his hair was taking the fence with him a bit. Not seen anything else like that.
High def is another story. The best thing I can say is that you need to see this set (adjusted), because I can only repeat the sentiment of the WHF comments about the amount of detail this panel digs up and throws in your face in vibrant convincing colour.
Do I sound unhappy with this TV? The motion is not perfect - though I have not finished trying different settings. There is sometimes a strange quality to rapid hand movements or head turns, but I have only seen this on normal def the TV is scaling. I think the 200Hz Sonys are better in this department, but I would rather have the insight this set gives. Fast pans can cause some blur (no ghosting though). I did notice the black & yellow chevrons on the corners of Racer Driver Grid (San Francisco) do blur when you turn, but again - I have not delved into every adjustment (and I've seen that the Sony Z does this too). Banjo Kazzoie Nuts & Bolts Nutty Acres looks so detailed that I think I am watching a Pixar movie.
To finish (yes I know you are getting bored), I have to say something more about the look of this TV. The finish is honestly 1000% better than any black shiny plastic LCD or Plasma I have ever seen. Aesthetics are important to us. Not even the Loewes look as good as this TV (they are too plasticky). I have not seen a Bang & Olufsen, but I would imagine they have a finish better than anything, but who pays that amount for a TV?
When the room is light, the brushed dark aluminium with the clear trim looks exceptional. The light catching the Philips logo and the matching trim above the speakers is very satisfying for the eye. When the room is darker the chassis looks a lot blacker and takes on what I can only describe as Military Chic. If they made a special edition of the B2 Stealth Bomber (with special helmets and watches to match) then you can imagine that the screens in the cockpit would have this look. That is far too ellaborate a description, but it danced onto the keyboard from my fingers!
We call it Ponceware here!
Finally - does anybody know why I always get a double line return between paragraphs?
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