Philips 50PF9966

Leander

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Anyone seen a review of this screen or even better seen it in action, if so where?

On paper it has contrast (3000:1) brightness (900 cd/cm2) and resolution (1366x768) to match Panasonic with the advantage of pixel plus 2 and appears to be gettable at a similar price to the Viera 50". I also prefer its looks

It also has dvi (HDCP compliant I believe) which is not on the Viera but is on the Panny panels.

Cheers,

Leander
 
Leander said:
Anyone seen a review of this screen or even better seen it in action, if so where?

On paper it has contrast (3000:1) brightness (900 cd/cm2) and resolution (1366x768) to match Panasonic with the advantage of pixel plus 2 and appears to be gettable at a similar price to the Viera 50". I also prefer its looks

It also has dvi (HDCP compliant I believe) which is not on the Viera but is on the Panny panels.

Cheers,

Leander

The 32PF9986 got very good reviews (Pixel Plus 2 etc.)
The 37PF9965 got good review in Home Cinema Magazine this month, but not as good as the smaller 32", as picture artifacts starting to become an issue with larger screen size.
As such, I'd be very careful; with a 50" version.

Personally, I'd caution anyone to be really careful before spending on Philips Pixel Plus (either version 1 or 2). I speak from experience. It really is an acquired taste, and what looks good in the shop, can slowly become bloody annoying over a period of weeks and month. Make sure you demo it on Sky and DVD sources first. Pixel Plus is good (at times), but is very dependant on quality source and high bit rate. I gave up in the end and now use the panel only with external prog scan converter. Massive improvement - totally natural picture.
 
HeweyBoy101 said:
The 32PF9986 got very good reviews (Pixel Plus 2 etc.)
The 37PF9965 got good review in Home Cinema Magazine this month, but not as good as the smaller 32", as picture artifacts starting to become an issue with larger screen size.
QUOTE]

Sorry - that should read 37PF9986 !
 
Thanks Hewyboy but the problem is that the two sets you've mentioned are LCD rather than plasma.

I know what you mean though about Pixel plus as I've lived with it for over two years now on my Philips 32"crt. Have to say though that except for the well known 'halo' effect on version 1, supposedly fixed in version 2, I like what it brings.

Cheers,

Leander
 
I have the 42pf9966. Very nice and good PQ even for analog TV.

Pixel plus 2 is OK, but you can choose progressive for better quality ... if the source support progressive of course.

Greetz
 
Lemke,

thanks for your opinion. Am I right though in thinking that the 42" is an ALIS screen whereas the 50" is not.

On paper, the closest matches are the Pannys and I was curious as to how the Philips compared to either the panel or the Viera.

At this cost I want to keep whatever I get for some time which really rules out the Vieras because of their lack of a digital input and incompatibility (as I understand from other posts here) with 720p. This could be important for HDTV.

My viewing distance is about 17 feet hence the desire to go for a 50". A panel is still a possibilty but I still like the idea of Pixel plus.

Problem with the Philips is the lack of a separate component connection although this is said (by Philips) to be possible through the DVI. There are also many posts saying it isn't in practice.

Thanks once again for your feedback.

Cheers,

Leander
 
The 50" is not ALIS. And 17" distance for a 50" Plasma, is more or less just enough ... I think. I sit 12-13" from my 42"

Haven't heard that one, the DVI for Component. Could be interesting ... I think. If you wanna use DVI, go to HDMI. BUt the players are more expensive with those interfaces.

And 720p is not supported on the 42", only 1080i ... and some other forms HD. You can find that in the manual.

Still Pixel plus 2 gives very nice PQ for Analog TV signal. BUt for DVD, I always choose progressive.

Greetz
 
Thanks Lemke,

it looks as if the 50" is still quite new and, being so relatively expensive, has not made it to any retail displays, although it's on Currys website for.....£6999!!!

Guess I'll just have to keep looking but the specs do look very tempting.

I do like Pixel plus even with its flaws, but I can understand those who don't, and this in combination with excellent contrast and brightness appealed to me.

Cheers,

Leander
 
Hi there, I have that model.

About the ALIS, I have been talking privately with Lemke on this, but we've not arrived to great conclusions. Most people think 42 is ALIS, and 50 is not, but I believe both are.

As for components via DVI it works allright (just use the 3xRCA<=>vga then vga<=>dvi included on the package, or, if not, buy equivalent cables), but there are some limitations:

1. it accepts only these resolutions: 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i. So outputing regular PAL via components will not work (it is 576i). You must use progressive component signals for typical emissions.

2. when using the DVI port, you are limited to the "panoramic" and "4:3" viewing formats. All others are unavaible, including my super-favourite: the auto format.

Further more, on my tests, I didn't note great differences in PQ between components (via DVI) versus rgb (via scart), so I've sticked to RGB, which gets me all formats.

As for other informations on the model: very nice PQ, DVI is nice, but not nicer as could be, very (very) nice autoformat mode, lots and lots of features, superb ease of instalation (hint: auto setup first, then channel repositioning via point and click), ambilight is really cool, active control. The bad: noisy on operation, very noisy if ambilight is on, sound is not very good, LACK OF PIP/PAP FOR EUROPEAN ONLY MODELS (the bastards!)

Some pictures (sorry about the flash):
http://cgd.sdf-eu.org/ht/wm1.jpg
http://cgd.sdf-eu.org/ht/wm2.jpg
http://cgd.sdf-eu.org/ht/wm3.jpg
http://cgd.sdf-eu.org/ht/wm4.jpg
 
DORSETAV said:
TV & Video direct are now quoting this at £3,400 ish
Thats because philips have announced the successor of this model to mid of this year. Basically it will have more digital inputs (2 hdmi I think), better internal processing and ambilight was reviewed. I tink that and the new pannys make the 50pf9966 price tag go down.
 
The 50PF9966 in the UK is definitely an ALiS screen.

You'd be crackers to buy it now...new Panasonic, new Sony and new Philips on the way (which I expect/hope to be based on the brand spanking new 50" progressive panel claiming 10000:1 contrast and 1500:1 brightness, and may well better the big boys in picture quality you never know).

the settled prices of the new models should be a lot cheaper too.
 

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