LCD Television, 37 inch Display, HDTV-Ready Television, Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels, 550 cd/m² Brightness, 6,000:1 Contrast Ra...

Reviews

Philips Ambilight 37PF9731D HD TV review

Design

There’s no denying the Philips Ambilight 37PF9731D is an attractive LCD TV. They’ve kept to the simple, symmetrical, piano black exterior, which frames the 37 inch screen. And it comes with three sided Ambilight which gives off a lovely glow. The whole feel of the Philips HD TV is solid and well built. As usual there’s very little at the front of the screen other than the Philips logo and the whole TV sits on a glass desktop stand which you’re able to rotate manually. The inputs are divided up around the sides and at the back.     So at the back you’ll find two HDMI inputs, which at this price is the minimum amount you’d want, one component video input, a VGA PC input, an Ethernet connection, two RGB capable Scarts, analogue stereo in and outputs, coaxial digital audio in and outputs and centre channel speaker inputs. On the left of the flat panel TV you’ll find the S-Video, composite video, analogue stereo inputs and two USB ports as well as a 2-in-1 memory card reader. The only drawback with the design is the majority of these connections are found under the screen which makes connecting things up a bit tricky when on a desk stand. The remote control which feels nice to hold comes in a shiny white which is a bit of a let down, we like our equipment to match, but other than the colour it is easy to use and everything is where you’d expect it to be.

Setup/Installation

The Phlips 37PF9731D TV is really easy to set up. The menus are very simple to follow and once you switch the TV on everything intelligently sets itself up thanks to the intuitive setup function.

Features

It’s Philips so there’s a whole host of features on tow. First up is the fact it’s a full HD screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution. However, it doesn’t accept 1080p signal which is what HD DVD players and Blu-ray will be using as well as the new Xbox 360 and the PS3 when it finally comes out over here. And considering the price you would have thought that Philips might have thought about this on their high-end TV. Anyway despite that the 37PF9731D comes with 16:9 Brightness, 550 cd/m² Dynamic screen contrast and a 6000:1 response time. And it has the Philip special range which includes Pixel Plus 3 HD, 3D combfilter, Active Control & Light sensor, Clear LCD, Digital Natural Motion, Dynamic contrast enhancement, Jagged line suppression, Progressive scan, and Pulse Killer Chip, as well as an anti reflection coating on the screen. Obviously what makes this is the Ambilight strips around the three edges which reflect on to the walls and change depending on what is showing on your screen to give you that atmospheric feel while you’re watching TV and to reduce eye strain. Oh and there’s also a built-in tuner in the Philips 37PF9731D. The Digital Media Reader with PC ling allows you access to full multimedia content.

Performance

The picture quality of the Philips 37PF9731D flat-panel TV is stunning. There’s no denying you’re paying big bucks but you’re getting a superior quality product. The blacks are truly black and the colours really sharp and accurate. The menu system is really easy to use and you can adjust all the colours, contrasts etc quickly, easily and to your specification. Thanks to the Digital Natural Motion even high speed chases don’t have any blur which unfortunately is a shame when you don’t want to see the villains face.

Overall Opinion

It’s a great looking TV that works really well. There’s just something lovely about the Ambilight feature from Philips. The only downside is the steep price, but unless you’re willing to attach some coloured strip lights to your TV we don’t think the high price is much to ask for the quality of image and experience you get from the Philips 37 inch flat-panel TV.

Pros	Cons
Looks great Easy to use Two HDMI inputs Pixel Plus 3 HD Digital Natural Motion	Doesn't support 1080p Not great for media streaming

Reviewed by on 1:43pm Mon 16th Oct 2006

Factor	Rating
Ease of Use	3/5
Durability	3/5
Style	3/5
Service & Support	3/5
Value for Money	3/5
Recommend	1/5
Overall	4/5

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