Philips Cineos 42PFL9703

Hello, I'm here today with the Philips 42PFL9703, a 1080p, 24-inch TV with three sided Ambilight and multitude of other features. The first thing that struck us when we saw this TV was how nice it is to look at, it's certainly a massive improvement over other Philips TVs, which have been a little boring and traditional in the past. Other points of interest are the shiny screen bezel and glass stand, you'll also notice this rim that surrounds the TV, which makes it look good but also serves a practical purpose, to direct high-frequency sound out to the viewer, which keeps speech nice and clear. The remote control is a little unconventionally styled too, featuring this rotating wheel, that is designed to help you select things from menus. If I'm honest, as good as it is for most applications, it can be a little frustrating sometimes when you fly by the option you wanted to select, even if you only nudge the wheel gently. That said, when it works, it works well, and not having to press a regular button does make everything feel a little more snappy. The menu systems are straightforward enough to use, we're a particular fan of the setup procedure which shows you a number of different scenes and asks you to select the one you prefer and in so doing you calibrate the TV without even realising. Cunning. Of course, one of the main selling points of this TV is the Ambilight, if you don't know what one of those is, let me show you. On this TV, there are three strips that each contain a number of LEDs. The idea is whatever is on-screen, is mirrored by these LEDs. I'll demonstrate: Notice how, as I pass this orange cup in front of the camera the LEDs light up, well during regular TV viewing this helps you to feel more involved in what you're watching. It also helps reduce eye strain and improve the on-screen contrast too. So, does Ambilight work? Well, yes actually it does. It's not the sort of thing you’re going to want to have turned on all the time, but for movies it really does make sitting in a totally dark room a much more immersive experience. The addition of the third strip along the top also adds and extra level of definition to the whole experience, and we have to say, we rather like it. Of course, you can employ all the tricks in the world, but if the picture is rubbish it's no good to anyone. Fortunately, the picture on this set is very good indeed, and the TV holds its own with the other premium LCD brands out there. Sound too is very impressive, we've already mentioned the high frequencies being directed forward but at the back there are a couple of woofers that add a rich low frequency to the TV and make movies sound very well balanced. In the past I've criticised Philips TVs for being a little overzealous with their picture processing, I'm happy to say that this TV manages to strike a nice balance. Although we did turn off many of the processing options.