[GAmbrose]

Someone I know is considering a 42" and has been offered a 'Philips 42PF9945' for £2700.

This is what he sent me: "The number was 42PF9945 - which isn't listed on the Philips website. They do have a 42PF9955, with similar specs, but I don't know if the -45 exists or not. I emailed Philips directly to ask, but I haven't heard back yet."

Anyway, I myself own a Panasonic PWD6 and rate it very highly, though to be honest I didn't really look at many alternatives other than the Pioneer.

How does the one he is looking at stack up against other 42" plasma's in this price range? I'd hate for him to spend over 2.5k and be dissapointed.

Gary A

I did some extensive research during the last couple of month and IMHO the new Philips Pixel Plus offers the best picture of all plasmas I saw. The only serious contender is the Panasonic PA20, which offers better blacks, but lacks brigthtness on the other hand. Also the Panasonic picture feels a bit synthetic as it emphasizes blacks and whites to achieve this 4000:1 constrast ratio. I personally find both the PW6 and the new Pioneers are inferior to the PA20 in terms of PQ.
But what really impressed me on the Philips is the level of detail through Pixel Plus resolution enhancements and the rock solid picture without the slightest flickering (unlike the Panas sometimes). Plus the new Philips offers one of the best motion detection (called Movie Plus) which provides very smooth camera pans. Thats definitly a noticeable advantage to the PA20 at least with non progressive scan.
To sum it up, your friend should stick to the new 9965 rather than the old 9954, because it has better effective resolution through internal upsampling (Pixel Plus) and generally better contrast and brightness values. Its however more expensive (around 1000€ more), but its definitly worth it. If your friend can't afford the 9965, he should go with PA20.

Regards,
MH

[hornydragon]

continuity, the PA20 is a PW6 with tuner!!! and properly set-up a PW6 should look better, phillips will be someone elses panel with pixel+, possibly hitachi but pixel+ technology is no substitute for a good panel with a good feed.

From what I saw, thw PW6 has definitly a different "feeling" than the PA20. Its not as sharp as the PA20, hat different (IMHO worse) colors and flickers more. Either the PA20 utilizes a different panel or the electronics (scaler,deinterlacer) is different.

BTW back to my favourite Philips 9965. Are u sure it accepts progressive signals through component or scart inputs?

Regards
MH

I heard that the Philips with P+ gives a sharper image than the PW 6 but the Panny is the more natural of the two (real life). (Philips to sharp?)

[fuzzybee]

Before i purchased my plasma i had extensive demonstrations of various panels including the philips 9955 and 9965, IMO both offer a very average image, the 9965 is superior to the 9955 which if i remember doesn't have pixel plus??. The pixel plus on the 9965 just looked to digitised and false to me(does that make any sence???)
Although it has loads of connection options(four scarts etc)comes with both tabletop and wall mounts i didn't want to buy a panel which in my opinion was inferior to both the panny 6 and the Hitachi PD3000(the two shortlisted by myself) I certainly didn't like the looks of the built in speakers on the 9965 which are fixed and ruined the overall look of the panel, but i could have lived with it if it's performance was up with the two i had shortlisted, it wasn't and in the end i purchased a PD3000. Which is more pleasing on the eye(speakers removed) and offers a better image than that of a 9965. This is only my opinion and what i found with my own demonstrations, not everyone will agree but that's life.
All i can suggest is go with your own findings and what your eyes tell you, advice and opinion is good to get but the last decison must remain with what you find yourself.

[RUNRIG]

I too am interested in the 42PF9965 as a TV replacement but have only managed to view the 37" version and that only in Currys and Dixons. It struck me that the picture was very detailed but not overprocessed and probably the best I have seen on these admittedly crappy signal sources. Toggling the P+ button reveals the amount of extra detail put on show. With it's PIP and other features it offers a good deal, though it is still quite pricey at £3.7 with table-top stand ( cheapest I can find for a "shop" for JL to match ). Must look more closely at the 42PD3000 - though I've been put off that by mention of fan noise.

PS I want the media box "TV" plasma as I couldn't live without TT. Have seen the Pio 434 ( footy on SKY ) in Seven. HiFi and it was bright, much more so than a Fujitsu screen with the same source. I love the design - - the 9965 is rather ugly IMHO but I'll overlook that if I can get one at £3K ( just missed an offer at Robert Whyte at that price + 6mon int free and the Philips 2 yr guarantee ).

RUNRIG

[Costas]

I suppose it must be a matter of taste.... but in IMHO I find it weird that we are trying to compare the likes of Hitachi, Panasonic and Pioneer against the mediocre attempts of Philips..

[fuzzybee]

Originally posted by Costas
I suppose it must be a matter of taste.... but in IMHO I find it weird that we are trying to compare the likes of Hitachi, Panasonic and Pioneer against the mediocre attempts of Philips..

Indeed with my own findings mediocre just about sums up the 9965 and RUNRIG the PD3000 doesn't have a fan

[hotrod]

Originally posted by GAmbrose
Someone I know is considering a 42" and has been offered a 'Philips 42PF9945' for £2700.

This is what he sent me: "The number was 42PF9945 - which isn't listed on the Philips website. They do have a 42PF9955, with similar specs, but I don't know if the -45 exists or not. I emailed Philips directly to ask, but I haven't heard back yet."

Anyway, I myself own a Panasonic PWD6 and rate it very highly, though to be honest I didn't really look at many alternatives other than the Pioneer.

How does the one he is looking at stack up against other 42" plasma's in this price range? I'd hate for him to spend over 2.5k and be dissapointed.

Gary A

I own the philips 42pf9954 and if i was to buy again i would steer clear of this. my main reason for buying it over the likes of the superior pw6 or pioneer was the convenience of it coming with a tuner box and both a table stand and a wall bracket (saw it running sw ep2 aotc and was very impressed). it cost me £3000 a couple of months back from dixons when the panny and pioneer were more expensive for just the display. Once setting it up properly you can achieve this sort of image

great for cgi films not so good for other films. The main problems i can see is the contrast (mine is up to 100%!!)and also the number of colours it can display which is noticable when you watch dvds with dark images ala the hulk from a distance there isn't a problem - up close there is. Another problem is that with fast moving bright images there is a sort of horizontal line that follows it slightly cheeses me off but only because i watch it from about 2 metres. For 2.5k there are better displays you can buy such as the hitachi or maybe the pw6 and then buy a wall bracket

[RUNRIG]

Originally posted by fuzzybee
RUNRIG the PD3000 doesn't have a fan

Right, buzzing then.

RUNRIG

[Miron]

Hi,
here in Vienna these Philips plasmas are seen on every corner. Some of them are made here too. On the first sight they look very sharp and clear but after few minutes it is easy to get a headache from them. The picture is overprocessed and very noisy.
If you get a real chance to compare them to Pioneer, NEC, Sony or Panasonic it is more than obvious how strongly the picture is overprocessed. All the others are much less noisy and far more natural. If you are not far enough from the screen you will see millions of artefacts.
So stay away from Philips Plasmas (IMHO)

[MAW]

Just been forced to install one for a customer. Spent hours trying to improve it, he wasn't happy. You can have his 2nd hand it's going on ebay.