PHILIPS 30PF9975 30in LCD

[suffolktoon]

Anyone got one of these and if so, how does it look when you're watching football or action films on Sky.

I was thinking of getting it from one of these internet sites rather than a dealer. One of the things I'm concerned about though is dead pixels and the inability to easily send the thing back if it's faulty. Any experience in that area?

I'm also looking at a couple of alternatives as last TV is(very nearly was) a Phillips cool green 32" w/s. It's mortally wounded after just under 4 years service.

One option is a Toshiba w/s TV, model 32ZT29. This is on offer at Makro from Wed for £600 + vat. It got a good review in "What Video" and the price is a lot more reasonable that the LCD screen. A cheaper 100Hz 32" without Dolby Digital and freeview would be better as I've already got that gear.

The other option would be an LCD projector for sport and films, with some sort of cheap 28" jobby for Corrie etc. The projector option appeals as I'd like to see games on a big screen but I don't know what one is worth buying or how long I'd get out of a lamp.

Someone help me make my mind up, please. I've a budget of up to £2000,although she will hit the roof when she finds out.

 

[tuberider]

suffolktoon,
there's a few of us here with the Philips30" LCD and we all feel the same way I think.....a great panel with no dead pixels (does this happen on LCD's these days? don't think so), no ghosting and generally excellent picture quality. DVD viewing is the berry's and PC gaming is right up there with the best. The panel did receive an EISA award last year, so I guess that means something. At first the options to set PQ and choosing connection types may be a bit confusing, but after getting to know the panel, its dead simple and the result is stunning !

 

[esieens]

I'm thinking of buying this lcd as well - how does it compare to crt picture quality? Do you see a trail for bright objects for example when wathching snooker?

Also it's either the Philips or the new Sharp IDTV LCD LC30AD1E.

As anybody seen this one and compared its picture quality to the Philips?

 

[Cheenis]

Dear Tuberider,

As you clearly know your way around the Philips, I was wondering if you could help me with regard to tuning it. Is it possible to manually fine tune both the dot clock and phase for the panel? I'm running a Home cinema PC into the screen and have noticed some slight dot/phase noise - I want to know if I can eliminate this before I go ahead an buy the panel.

Many thanks,

Chris.

 

[Stackers]

I've got the Philips 30" LCD and i'm very happy with it.

Picture quality varies from channel to channel depending on the signal but is always of a very high standard.
Usually i have it setup to display using Pixel Plus but, going back to the signal strength, sometimes the picture can look slightly over processed! If this happens i just change it to progressive scan and the problem is solved. Watching say "24" on Sky 1 i would use PP but perhaps watching the news or even football i'd tend to use PS, it really depends on the channel. I haven't noticed any "Comet Tails" or lag watching the footy which is great as i tend to watch lots of it!!!
Contrast i find is very good but its the whites i like best, very clear and very crisp! And the LCD (and plasma's i think) do display great 3d like pictures! I can't imagine going back to a CRT now!
Good tip tho', invest in a quality scart! It really makes a difference!
I also chose the Philips because personally i think when it's on its arch stand it looks better than the other LCD's! But thats just my personal opinion!

 

[tuberider]

Cheenis,
Wot Stackers says about PQ and source signal strength is right...if the signal is no good, even the most expensive panel won't look good. So if you watch a lot of TV then it would be worthwhile checking your signal strength. Good quality connectors can make a difference but ultimately it boils down to wot is acceptable to your eye. There are plenty of variables to adjust and Philips's Pixel Plus and I believe coming soon, Pixel Plus 2, go a long way to improving PQ. If you are hooking a PC into the VGA port, you should be getting at least 1028x768 resolution which understandably is lower than normal 1440 you can get on most laptops today, is still a great res for such a large screen. I am not sure whether you can manually adjust any of the resolution settings. IMO, visually the Philips is a more sophisticated elegant panel and fits right into my home giving good PQ and lots of connection possibilities.

 

[richard plumb]

cheenis - I haven't seen any dot clock/phase adjustment menus when hooked up to a PC - maybe there is a hidden service menu, but haven't found it.

I've also had problems trying to feed 'HD' VGA resolutions to it, but 1024x768 is fine.

Simplest option is probably to adjust dot clock/phase on your PC by using powerstrip.

 

[jerkyboy]

Any of you guys hooked up and Xbox or PS2 to your Philips, how does it perform ?.

Do you get any problems with fast moving objects during gameplay ?.

What is the picture quality like compared to a decent CRT TV ?.

 

[suffolktoon]

I decided in the end that the £2K was too much and bought the Toshiba set instead.

Phillips might have more money out of me had they been a bit more sympathetic over the £1400 TV that failed after only three and a half years. My repair bloke suggested that I write to them to see if they could supply a replacement tube at reasonable cost, but the bassas didn't want to know.

Anyway this TV should see me ok until they introduce HDTV in Europe at which point I think I'll use the money I didn't spend towards a new satellite box and a LCD projector.

It's just a shame that I can't use the integrated digital tuner because the signal is crap here, and the dolby digital is of no use as I bought a Sony DVD player/amplifier for just that purpose less than six months ago.

 

[jerkyboy]

Maybe you should have bought your TV from John Lewis, with a free 5 year warranty.

Why anyone would shop anywhere else is a mystery to me.

 

[suffolktoon]

No such thing as a free warranty. If there is then John Lewis is £700 more expensive than one internet reataler selling the same LCD without an extended warranty. They offer one of their own for an additional £200!

 

[.Griff.]

So the LCd costs the same as anywhere else (JL price match) and you get a 5 year warranty. Whats "not free" about that???

 

[jerkyboy]

John Lewis will price match any shop in the country (but not internet only !). And you get a FREE 5 YEAR WARRANTY.

 

[fishyuk]

The 30PF9975 seems to be coming down in price somewhat, I assume because Philips have announced their new 32" model.

Has anyone got any more detailed info on the new 32" (more than is on the press release)? I would have been tempted by the 30PF9975 if it had DVI for my HPC. The new 32" looks promising but it depends what the real world price will be.

Cheers

Alex

 

[richard plumb]

slightly quicker response, higher contrast, bigger screen. Thats about it.

Hopefully it'll also handle interlaced component, and 480p.

I'd be interested to see the prices though. At the moment the current Philips is pretty well priced IMO.

 

[fishyuk]

and DVI (on the higher end version). Hope it supports WXGA via DVI like the Samsung, fantastic for HD TV.

 

[Cheenis]

Firstly, Cheers for the info guys!

Decided to hold off on my purchase following the announcement of the 32” principally due to the DVI and pixel plus 2. Hoping that the real world price will be £2500 or less, but hey, I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.

Irrespective of the real world cost, the one thing that you can guarantee is that the current 30” price point will come down, so for the sake of a month, I reckon it’s worth the wait.

 

[phoTToniq]

Glad I caught this thread! I am going to wait to make my purchase now Thanks for the info guys.