Care is needed with its settings, but
there’s much to admire about the first LED screen in over a year from Philips
Last year Taiwan-based TP Vision took over
Philips’ TV division, a massive undertaking which took months to complete.
Hence, Philips’ 2012 range is so late to the flat screen party that we’re in to
2013 before we’re able to take a good look at one.
Philips
46PFL7007
The edge-lit 46PFL7007 has all the
hallmarks of a classic Philips screen including Ambilight Spectra 2, which
consists of two narrow strips of LEDs on the rear of the panel. These produce a
glow that matches the predominant color and brightness of the image on the
screen, and in so doing help reduce strain. It works best with the TV placed in
front of an all-white wall but a palette is provided to cater for different
colored wall surfaces.
Styling and features
The 46PFL7007 is slim and elegant with a
nice black non-reflective screen and a neat rectangular base. Uniquely, the
stand is tapered towards the rear in order to house the speaker drivers, which
is a brilliantly simply idea that should result in notably superior sonics.
When it comes to connections, Philips is
hoping that five is the magic number, providing a ground-breaking five HDMI
inputs – three of them facing down and two facing to the side.
The
46PFL7007 is slim and elegant with a nice black non-reflective screen and a
neat rectangular base.
Motion resolution is aided by a native
200Hz panel backlight scanned to yield an effective 800Hz, while Pixel Precise
HD image processing is on hand to reduce judder and extract the maximum amount
of definition, especially with HD sources. Fans of 3D can enjoy active 3D
processing and two gamers can use the specs (although only one pair is
supplied) for simultaneously viewing separate full screens (so long as the
games console is HDMI-equipped).
Another unusual touch is the provision of a
QWERTY keyboard on the back of the remote control. This makes inputting text so
much easier than onscreen keypads when using the built-in web browser and the
remote even has a sensor that automatically de-activates whichever side is
facing down. This dual-sided functionality does mean that the remote is a bit
hefty and the uniform weighting is not ideal except when using the keyboard.
Nor is the regular side of the remote the best laid out, with several key
features assigned to small keys with unclear icons.
Motion
resolution is aided by a native 200Hz panel backlight scanned to yield an
effective 800Hz
Set up and operation
Setting up and operating the 46PFL7007 is
mostly pleasant, but annoying at times. The set users an attractive blend of
contemporary fonts, descriptive icons (including all channel logos in the EPG)
and presents information unambiguously in large panes. The channel list is an
unorthodox grid of 14 channel icons (rather than a list) which half fills the
screen.
The Freeview EPG is a weal point: there is
no live audio or picture continuity; the busy background pattern makes it hard
to read; there’s no suggestion of an HD alternative when selecting standard Def
shows and you can only scroll one channel at a time, which is a lot of
scrolling to get to the HD channels now found down in the 100s.
The worst aspect of the operating system
however is that all picture tools are located under the settings submenu, which
is located on the extreme right of the home page. Every time you want to access
them you have to press the remote at least 10 times to get past the likes of
Help, Smart TV, Skype, etc, and the gamma setting for example, takes 20 clicks
on the remote to reach.
More helpfully, the 46PFL7007 retains the
picture settings for each input, so you might choose Movie mode with no Pixel
Precise HD processing engaged for watching Blu-ray on HDMI 2 and Personal mode
with minimal image processing for watching sport on Sky HD via HDMI 1.
The
use of channel logos is a nice touch in the EPG but there’s no room for a live
video feed of the broadcast channel and no audio continuity
Picture quality
Contrast drops off notably when you sit
more than 45o off axis, otherwise the TV delivers exceptionally good standard
definition Freeview pics, with shows such as Britain’s Best Bakery on ITV and
Real Housewives of DC on Channel 5 wanting only for a touch of pin-sharp HD
clarity. The Personal mode seems best suited to non-dramas but is too contrasty
and sharp for movies. The Sopranos on Sky Atlantic has authentic colors,
especially skin tones, which combine with strong detail, assured contrast and
plenty of brightness to deliver engagingly strong pictures. A recording of Mad
Men however exhibited much higher levels of noise than we’d expect to see, with
more fix than a glass of Alka Seltzer. Engaging noise reduction did not make
any difference.
The 46PFL7007 is highly adept at sport with
excellent motion clarity, especially if you give Pixel Precise HD a miss. Aside
from so-so shadow detail Blu-rays are superb, with immense black levels and
wonderful detail in the prairie grasses of No Country For Old Men. Generally,
it pays to disengage all forms of processing, as artifacts are likely and
filmic material can look like it was shot on studio cameras.
The
46PFL7007 is highly adept at sport with excellent motion clarity, especially if
you give Pixel Precise HD a miss
Sound and Smart TV
Embedding the speakers in the stand means
sound quality is extremely good for a slim screen with enough power and dynamic
range to make a supplementary sound system unnecessary for the vast majority of
TV viewing.
As for Smart TV, text input may be easier
but without mouse-style control the web is still a pain to navigate. The Smart
TV home page looks decent but video on demand is more of a taster menu than the
satisfying slap up meals offered by Samsung and LG, with too many big hitters
absent such as LOVEFiLM and Netflix.
As
for Smart TV, text input may be easier but without mouse-style control the web
is still a pain to navigate
Verdict
With stylish looks, excellent connectivity
and superior sound the 46PFL7007 has plenty going for it. the screen is a mixed
bag in terms of user-friendliness, but it gets it right where it matters most –
serving up terrific pictures from all manner of sources.
The opposition
Sony KDL 46HX853
The confusing operating system is worth putting
up with for the awesomely good images, especially with fast action
Sony
KDL-46HX853
LG 47M670
An impressive all-rounder with
class-leading Smart TV, but like this Philips, it suffers from crushed blacks
LG
47M670
Features
§ Screen
size: 46in
§ Display
type: LCD
§ Backlighting:
Edge-lit LED
§ Resolution:
1920 x 1080p
§ Refresh
rate: 800Hz (200Hz + backlight scanning)
§ Tuners:
DVB-T; DVB-T2
§ EPG:
Freeview HD 7-day
§ CI
slot: Yes
§ Teletext:
Yes
§ 3D:
Yes (active)
§ Speakers:
2 x 20W
§ Video
formats: AVI, DivX, M2TS, MP4, MPG, WMV, MPG, XviD, MKV, MOV, AVCHD
§ Audio
formats: M4A, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC
§ Still
image formats: JPEG
§ Standby
power: <0.1W
§ In
use power: 75W
§ Apps:
Yes, including Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, iConcerts, TomTom, Funsport,
TED
§ Video
on demand: BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Acetrax, ANBC, BlinkBox, Viewster, Aupeo,
Euronews, CineTrailer, Film Stars, Screen Dreams, Hustler, Private Forno,
Brazzers
§ Web
browser: Yes
§ Wi-Fi
networking: Yes
§ Ethernet
networking: Yes
§ SD:
1 x Scart (RGB/ composite), PC RGB
§ HD:
5 x HDMI v1.4 (ARC out), component video
§ Audio
in: PC audio, stereo phono audio
§ Audio
out: Digital optical audio, headphones jack
§ Data
ports: 3 x USB 2.0, Ethernet
Ratings
Plus
§ Elegant
design with speakers built-in to stand
§ Impressive
Freeview standard def pics
§ Takes
HD sources in its stride
Minus
§ Unhelpful
operating system layout
§ Acute
viewing angles
§ Overzealous
image processing
§ Build:
10/10
§ Setup:
8/10
§ Searching:
7/10
§ Navigation:
7/10
§ Picture:
8/10
§ Sound:
8/10
§ Features:
8/10
§ Value:
8/10
§ Overall:
8/10
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