Heya... before I cash out the money for one of these i really want to do some research. Which of these TV's is best? what are the ups and downs?

Until recently ive been really in love with the image quality of the fx66 but now there the 8807 is roughly the same price here, in a special offer. So now im not too sure...

I use it for XBOX and DVD (and regular tv obviously)

[kevster]

I looked at both myself and went with the 8807 a few weeks back. Still playing with the setup but generally I am pleased.

DVD and games quality is pretty good via the s-video input.
Will soon be purchasing a dedicated DVD player so will go RGB at that point for DVD's which should be even better.

I noticed on the Sony that red images such as the red bar on Sky news was a bit extreme but this TV does have an additional RGB enabled scart over the 8807.

For some cable programs there is a grainyness that I take to be 100hz issue, am experiment with settings (e.g. swiching to double line mode and switching active control off) to optimise image quality. The virtual dolby sound is far better than I thought it would be.

The concensus seems to be to take a careful look at both sets side by side in the shop. Plus there seems to be some people who don't like the quality of the philips picture on delivery and a buzzing noise issue with the sony.

Both sets are about to be replaced by new models but I was happy to go with the 8807 know this as I got a reasonable deal and who knows, the new models will probably both have teething problems of some sort!

K, thanks for the reply... how you like the Digital Natural Motion? Im told either you like it or you hate it

[kevster]

I'm still flicking around and changing settings too much to have a definite opinion - you know how it is with a new toy! Just moved into a new house the day before the TV arrived so lots of other things to do.

There is a slight fuzzyness to fast moving images with DNM on but I will be leaving it on for the short term and seeing if I can 'live' with it. For football on cable I'd probably switch off but will see how the DVD's handle it. With lots of the modes you will struggle to see a real difference. But when you pay for something you like to try and use it.

Switching off all digital enhancments (even if you shell out the extra £ for a Pixelplus set like the 9617) seems to be the fallback if you don't like the digital effects and the picture is still very good with these items off...at least there are plenty of settings which should ensure you can get a picture approaching your tastes.

Let me know how you get on. I'm hoping to invest in a Philips DVD recorder next to go with my new set......the Sony is probably a fine set also, depends on which brand you want ultimately.

If you go for the Philips perhaps we can swap notes on the optimum settings for various types of input.

yeah.. we sure can. But i doubt ill come to an agreement with myself anytime soon.. will atleast pay very close attention to what people say.. Ive only seen the fx66 in action, and not the 8807... and as I said i really love the image of the fx66

sony fs66 discontinued - so easy choice there.
But you can get the sony 32ls60 for £800approx
It rocks!

well.. who cares its discontinued? whats the downside of that? also, is the LS better than the fx? and it what way

[ryanos]

I have not seen the Philips 8807 but I had the p+9527 and i disliked it so much that i got it swapped for the Sony 32fx66.......what a contrast the fx66 is 100 times more lifelike and stable than pixel + or dnm I tried every setting on the Philips as i really liked the on board sound and the looks of the set but i could not live with the inconsistent nature of the pictures .......Sony 32fx66 =

"well.. who cares its discontinued? whats the downside of that? also, is the LS better than the fx? and it what way"

It matters you twit Patriarch, because you wont be able to buy it any more! because its discontinued, Sony dont make any more,
so apart from a few still floating about, you wont be able to get it.
Try looking on the Sony site for tv features info.
Good grief!

It matters not becuase its available in EVERY hardware store here... whats wrong with you?

[Bonesy]

Chill guys - its Friday

Yeah.. name calling just pisses me off..

oh.. any of these suport progressive scan, or is that a whole other price range?

[Bonesy]

Prog scan is well worth it, really improves picture, on a big enough screen.

Choices are Tosh or Panny I believe.

You need component in, and a capable DVD player, and invariably they will only support NTSC.

So, if you have lots of NTSC discs, then consider a Tosh TV, Tosh DVD player, and a set of component cables.

Apparently the Panny capble TVs accept a Pal Prog signal. But you'll need a DVD capable of Pal Prog scan.

[Bonesy]

It matters you twit

and 'twit' upsets you

I suggest staying clear of subwoofer threads then !

hehe.. well.. the tone then "good grief" etc...

anyway, I am a pal user. the reason I ask about PS is becuase some XBOX games support it, so I was wondering what kind of TV etc would hav PS capabilities.. I have a feeling its in another price range=?

[Bonesy]

Does UK Xbox support it?
I bought a US Xbox to get Prog Scan - and it looks great on my projector.

I understand you can use a region decoder disc on a PAL box, and they do enable you to play NTSC games in prog scan, worth doing a search on the Consoles Forum to get the right answer.

I expect the lowest priced NTSC Prog Scan tellies are the soon to be updated Tosh TVs, check the Tosh web site for those that are prog scan capable.

I believe the Panny prog scan TVs, which might be able to take a Pal signal, are a lot more in price.

Sorry, out of my depth here, will shut up...

ok... so Progressive Scan is in many ways a NTSC thing?

[Bonesy]

worth checking the Prog scan forum, but basically, (I think...)

The content owners that publish DVDs (film companies) were happy to allow Progressive Scan kit for NTSC material, hence there are several DVD machines around that do it.

As PAL has a higher line count, the worry was that a good progressive scan feed of a PAL software would allow good quality pirating, so macrovision etc had not approved it.

So NTSC prog scan was approved by the DVD association, but Pal prog was not.

Until recently.

You will now start to see players emerge that do both PAL and NTSC PS 'officially', and TVs will also be developed with the internals that accept a PAL PS feed.

ok... here is what ive been thinking recently. Some people dont like DNM and would go for the sony... i'm thinking, cant DNM be turned off in case I dont like it? If so, then I have all to win and nothing to loose by getting the Philips over the Sony?

Make sense?

[PaulBrum]

The fx66 has been replaced by the fq70 - and I've just ordered a fq70 from the sony centre in Birmingham for £950 - I will let you know what its like when its delivered later this week.

Paul