The first thing to say about the Philips 32PFL9632D is that, really, all the new technology it offers deserves to debut on something rather bigger. But the second thing to say about it is that even at 32in, the technology delivers. In spades.
The main tech we’re banging on about is Perfect Pixel HD Engine: Philips’ new image processing system. In reality this is the latest advance on the brand’s Pixel Plus system – but presumably Philips thought calling it Pixel Plus 4 would be a sequel too far.
Key among the improvements for the new processing system is HD Natural Motion, whereby the traditional judder seen during camera pans is smoothed away using processing power five times as high as that used for Philips’ old – and flawed – Digital Natural Motion system. HD Natural Motion also includes a 48Hz mode for playing back 24fps Blu-ray/HD DVD footage using a simple, and therefore cleaner, 2:2 progressive scan system.
Another key new element for Perfect Pixel HD is 100Hz. By doubling the usual PAL scanning rate, 100Hz has been proven to reduce LCD’s problems with resolution loss over moving objects. And intriguingly it’s supported here by the second generation of Philips’ ClearLCD technology, where a scanning backlight system using Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamps – rather than the usual single backlight – producesa CRT-like scanning effect and even cleaner motion. Not to mention deeper black levels.
Add in a new 14-bit colour system that vastly ups the potential colour range, plus a new LED-lit version of Philips’ Ambilight system, and it seems almost no stone has been left unturned.
Extensive connections include three HDMIs and a USB port for playing MP3, JPEG, MPEG1/2 video and slideshow files. But rather than dwell on these, we really need to tell you how awesome the 32PFL9632D’s pictures are.
World in motion
For our money, the 100Hz/Clear LCD combination delivers the clearest, most natural movement yet seen on an LCD TV.
As the massed forces charge at each other during the battle scenes of Kingdom of Heaven (recorded in HD from Sky), the characters move with impressive fluidity while camera pans avoid practically all judder. What’s more, this takes place without throwing up nasty side effects, and crucially without looking at all unnatural. The 32PFL9632D gets dangerously close to solving LCD’s response time problem once and for all. Superb.
This achievement is delivered without compromising the detailing of HD images. In fact, the 32PFL9632D’s pictures are outstandingly crisp and detailed – making the prospect of what Perfect Pixel HD might do on a larger screen truly mouthwatering.
Adding to this already heady brew are scintillating colours that breathe stunning life into the stark scenery, plus some impressively deep black levels.
Best in show
In an ideal world the set’s black levels and colours would hold up better when viewed from a wide angle, and black levels could generally be even deeper. Plus very occasionally, small fast-moving objectscan leave a trace of ghosting.
But while these issues might stop the 32PFL9632 from being perfect, they certainly don’t prevent it from being probably the finest 32in LCD TV yet.Â
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dougal
February 26th 2010
1. I have had this TV for a bit more than 2 years. The picture is excellent when it is not complex. I totally disagree with the experts that this is the best thing for LCD since sliced bread. I do like my TV, don't get me wrong but, there are serious flaws.
The first is the high pitched whine that obviously comes from one of the capacitors in the standyby power supply. I rejected the first set because of this. The set I have now is 10x better for that but, still not silent.
The second flaw is that the delta volume does not always stay at the setting and for dvds I have to always reset the delta volume (actually I don't know why I bother - ah yes, if I don't then the TV is blaring when I switch it back to broadcast TV).
There is definite ghosting of a sort of aura around people or objects when moving through a complex scene. This has been so distracting that I have turned off Pixel Plus, HD Natural Motion and 100Hz. The picture is not nearly so sharp but, it is much more watchable for everyday use. About the only timeI put the settings back to 'ON' is for movies that I know I can tolerate the effect artefacts on.
Dynamic contrast gets a bit of getting used to and because my wife finds this and the Ambilight very distracting we leave these off too.
I know what you are thinking - it all sounds like a big waste of money and for us, because we actually got the TV from Germany through Amazon, we won't be buying another Philips. The hassle of swapping the TV when we weren't happy with the first was was a serious pain. It will almost certainly be Panasonic or perhaps even Samsung or LG. I have seen a couple of the new LG TVs and the picture sharpness and vibrance of colours is very nice. Along side Panasonic and Samsung TVs in the same store I would buy the LG.
Any way I detract - we like our Philips but, not enough to buy another. The picture quality is not good enough with complex scenes (even though they are very 3D like) and the annoying loss of delta volume setting are serious drawbacks - and the initial cost for something that was getting high praise from the 'Experts' is too high.
The annoying thing is I watched the TV in John Lewis shop quite a few times and saw a really good picture without the flaws I and my wife experienced. It makes me wander about how closely these sets are being calibrated.
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