Philips 42PFL5603D Reviews

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Philips 42" 42PFL5603D LCD HDTV
A review by strappystrider on Philips 42PFL5603D
January 24th, 2009

Author's product rating:

How is the Picture Quality? Excellent
How is the Sound Quality? Good
Ease of Installation Simple
Range of Features Above Average
Value for Money Excellent

Advantages: Excellent picture, good sound, impressive screen
Disadvantages: Speakers at the back

Recommend to potential buyers: yes

Full review
We bought this Philips 42 inch TV in the January sales for £680 because we were told it was around £150 less than the smaller model. Luckily we had it delivered and set up for us so it looked really easy, and took no time at all. We have cable and everything was just switched over from our old TV. We didn't get a new DVD player but it does have the new HD ready cables

It looks very big but is slim enough to put against the wall so doesn't actually take up much room. We considered wall mounting it, especially because we were told that the screen is better viewed from below than from above, but we are puzzling over what we would do with the wires that would hang down.The black and clear frame is very smart and the stand is solid and sleek. The tiny light at the bottom right hand corner doesn't bother us at all.

The picture quality is excellent for an LCD - and on the HD channels it is simply astounding. The screen is big enough for the football lover in the house to be able to block out absolutely everthing else for a total sporting experience.The sound is also good, but the speakers are at the back of the TV - is that normal nowadays? I'm a bit worried when it's turned up in case it's bothering the adjoining neighbours. I would prefer the sound to be coming out the front.

We have also watched some band we filmed live ourselves with a camera and put onto DVD and the quality is really very good.When we first got the TV we didn't know about the Dynamic Contrast and thought there was something wrong as the light levels seem to adjust ever time the picture moves to a new scene and this can be rather irritating once you start to notice it - and you will.

Early days, only having had the TV for a few weeks, but so far there are 2 very happy customers for this one.

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