Review of the Philips 42PF5421 42inch LCD TV
At such a reasonable price tag, the Philips 42PF5421 42” LCD is short on features and lacks a integrated digital tuner, so we wanted to find out if it was worth getting at all. Design |
| Demure and sophistication were the key words on the designer’s note pad when he got to work on the 42PF5421, with it’s glossy black frame surrounded by modest integrated speakers at each end. The lack of logos on the front is refreshing, with just a Philips one in the centre, and two tiny others at both ends. The piano black frame isn’t overly glossy which is great for watching the TV without annoying reflections to distract you. The bezel stand is silver, and looks smart and stocky, giving the TV a nice strong base. If you want to know whether you’ll get it through your door make a note of the dimensions 1070 (w) x 757 (h) 260 (d) mm, and consider its hefty 39.5kg weight before you go picking it up on your own. |
| Setup/Installation |
| Getting the TV home and out of the box was easy, having the simple task of connecting the bezel stand to the TV. Once it was erected and upstanding we plugged it in before being bombarded with auto-tuning options. Once we’d accepted the offer of some helpful auto-tuning, the 42PF5421 went about its business in providing heaps of channels in no time at all. |
| Features |
Philips have made the 42PF5421 42” LCD TV gloriously HD-Ready and have supplied a solo HDMI port for connecting other HD hardware too. Its average progressive scan supports 480p, 576p, and 720p. The bad news is that Philips have not included a digital tuner, so you’ll just have to put up with the analogue one this time. The resolution is 1024 x 1024 and the claimed contrast ratio is 3000:1, keeping in line with the other average features. The image plus processor has been added to improve matters though. The vertical and horizontal picture shift feature should help to improve matters however. Other features include anti-screen burn, a 7-day electronic programme guide to prevent you from missing your favourites, and digital radio tuning for when you are doing your housework. The picture-in-picture feature can be good fun to use too. We must not forget to mention the 42PF5421 does not feature Pixel Plus picture processing. Connectivity Getting connected will only take you a second, as the 42PF5421 hasn’t exactly got what we would call great connectivity. Philips has given it all the basics, and that is about it. You’ll find a composite video input, S-video input, component video input, two scarts which are both RGB enabled, a solo HDMI, VGA for PC input, and a 3.5mm jack for headphones. We would have liked to have seen at least one more HDMI for us to call the 42PF5421 anywhere near futuristic. |
| Performance |
| In the absence of a digital tuner we decided to check out the standard definition source performance and see how it handled Sky HD channels. Starting with the best, the Sky HD performance was better than SD by a mile. The sharp pictures were full of clarity and texture and provided some colours which seemed to leap off the screen towards us. Contrast was smashing, with thanks to professional black levels. Te only area concerning us was where the whites looked a tad blue. We’re not saying the HD performance was perfect as it wasn’t, it struggled still with motion, and there were signs of noise present. The substandard SD performance was rather disappointing overall. The motion was again handled poorly, with noticeable and irritating smearing and juddering. Audio performances were very similar, and surprisingly good, but the HD performance was better sonically. |
| Overall Opinion |
| If you can manage without the integrated digital tuner, and you’ve got a sky box to support the picture performance you’ll be happy with this bargain, but if you’ve not got Sky you’re not going dumbstruck by the average picture quality of this Philips 42PF5421 42-inch LCD TV. |
| By Lisa Malyon |
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Pros + Attractive sophisticated design + Great HD picture performance + Good audio levels + Image Plus Processor |
Cons - Only 1 HDMI - Average SD performance - Average contrast ratio at 3000:1 |
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Sound Quality 8/10
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Picture Quality 6/10
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Connectivity 6/10
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Future Compatibility 6/10
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Ease Of Use 8/10
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Overall Rating 
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4/12/2006 at 11:05:40am
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