HDTV Choice

Samsung UN55C6500 1080p 55” LED HDTV. The TV features a 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and Auto Motion Plus 120Hz blur reduction. It is Internet-ready and more.

The TV has an MSRP of $2,299.99

 

Firmly in the Smart VIERA LED stable, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Japanese manufacturer’s marrying of VIERA Connect, 3D and DLNA home networking make this a classic Panasonic LCD TV.

It might shock you to know that the king of plasma TVs has run off to LG to source this Edge LED panel, and in doing so has embraced the “passive” Easy 3D system that the Korean firm backs. This is a surprise, because it’s technically the least-detailed form of 3D, but it’s also cheapest. It’s also a format that Panasonic hasn’t been much in favour of so far.

This 37-inch LCD TV – the only one of its type in Panasonic’s 3D arsenal that doesn’t employ the pricier, pixel-ier “active shutter” 3D system – does represent a move away from its ideal position. It also represents a loosening of grip on picture quality, and it shows. But probably not enough to dissuade us from ranking the TX-L37ET5B as a worthy candidate for a family room after a hassle-free dose of 3D.

There are four pairs of super lightweight 3D glasses in the box, which can be replaced or added to for just a few quid each. The glasses are also completely passive, requiring no batteries, and don’t produce any flicker or glare. Which means no matter how many kids you throw at them, buying replacements will never bankrupt you.

Ins and outs

Here we’re strictly Panasonic, with its usual strapping of four HDMI inputs to the TX-L37ET5B’s chassis. Now that’s handy, as is the provision of three USB inputs. One can be used to record from its integrated Freeview HD tuner, while the other two are powered – probably a leftover from Panasonic’s active shutter 3DTVs, which need to recharge their 3D specs – though either can also accept USB sticks or a Skype webcam.

Component video and composite video ins are also present, albeit via adaptors, as well as optical digital audio, headphones, a PC slot and some RCA audio jacks. Best of all there’s a SD card slot, which can be used to display photos, music and video.

VIERA Connect

Whether the re-badging of an LG panel under the Panasonic brand is meaningful depends largely on the operating system, processing and smart TV shenanigans.

VIERA Connect has so far been a smart TV platform looking for some love, but it’s set to come from under the shade of Samsung and Sony’s efforts in 2012. New for 2012 is Netflix and the engaging iConcerts, and though Lovefilm is still absent, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook remain.

Skype video calling is on board, too, if you’re prepared to shell-out for a camera, while a web browser makes its debut in the app-filled Marketplace. Don’t bother with browsing – it’s far too clunky to overtake even a smartphone – though the Marketplace is worth investigating.

Apps aside, we still love the way each VIERA Connect screen plays a live TV channel or DVD/Blu-ray disc in a central window, not forgetting the sheer speed of the GUI as a whole. Some hate the fact that multiple screens need to be navigated between because of their seven-app limit, but customisation is simple to the extent that creating a page containing your most oft-used apps is hardly time-consuming.

Networking

Like most Panasonic TVs the TX-L37ET5B makes a gallant effort at being a de facto media streamer. Besides the ability to play FLAC as well as MP3 music files, the inconsistencies of digital video file support leave us thinking that pure plug ‘n’ play will probably always be a pipe-dream in the world of TVs. It’s possible to play AVC HD, AVI and MKV files from USB, while over a network that changes to MOV, MP4, AVC HD and AVI.

2D & 3D Picture quality

The TX-L37ET5′s Easy 3D system makes it a soft touch. It’s not that we’re massively bothered about Sky 3D broadcasts looking soft, nor the kiddies’ films that seem to make-up 90 per cent of 3D fare, but an innate softness rules over everything, both 2D and 3D. Particularly noticeable are horizontal lines across the entire panel.

At least the panel itself holds-up well elsewhere, with no trace of leakage from those LEDs clustered at the edges, though contrast throughout is rather poor. So is the viewing angle; watch from the wings and there’s a noticeable drain in both colour and contrast, though from dead-on black levels are just about believable.

There’s little blur and not much in the way of judder, but jagged edges abound thanks again to those horizontal lines, part of the polarising filter across the screen. Standard definition programmes suffer from picture noise, while 3D contains traces of crosstalk that get more pronounced if the TV is viewed from the flanks. 3D is easy to watch – much easier than on an active shutter variant – but it comes at a cost.

Verdict

There are sharper TVs and there are TVs that better treat dodgy sources, but this 37-incher’s aces are hard to ignore; a genuinely engaging Wi-Fi fueled Smart TV dimension and relaxed, good value 3D chops see it through.

When is a 3DTV not a 3DTV? Panasonic’s biggest-ever attempt at an Edge LED television here includes the pricier, sharper Active Shutter flavour of the technology, but the box is bereft of any glasses.

If Panasonic’s choice of LED over plasma is unusual at this 47-inch size, so is its inclusion of the more expensive (glasses cost at least £50 each) 3D system over the cheaper “passive” workaround used by the likes of LG and Toshiba.

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that passive 3D is best suited to living rooms, while active shutter belongs in home cinemas, partly because of the reflections of ambient light that can appear in active shutter glasses. All of which makes the L47ET50B’s use of active shutter 3D tech a little confusing, since it firmly belongs in a living room setting.

It’s Freeview HD tuner, online goodies and – most of all – it’s distinct lack of convincing black levels make us sure of that. Has Panasonic got it wrong? Possibly; we wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last year that active shutter 3D tech is used on anything other than 50-inch+ plasmas designed for home cinemas, of which Panasonic is the undoubted king.

Ins and outs

Fitted with Panasonic’s slinky new “Crystal Frame” design, the L47ET50B is heaped with ins and outs, two of which – Scart and component video – use proprietary adaptors to maintain its 36mm-deep chassis.

As well as four HDMI inputs, there are three USB slots high up on the TV’s side, which is comprehensive though can be inconvenient. Most compact HDD devices have cables much shorter than the drop from these USB slots to the bottom of the TV, though anyone using a USB thumbdrive for making recordings from the single Freeview HD tuner – and more likely feeding the pause/rewind live TV feature – will have no problems.

One of those USB inputs is powered, so can recharge 3D glasses, though Panasonic’s latest £50 TYER3D4ME “eyewear”, though slim and lovely with all the electronics built into the bridge between the eyes, are expensive relative to £1 passive 3D specs.

VIERA Connect

It’s fair to stay that Panasonic has yet to conquer the smart TV environment, though VIERA Connect is at last becoming genuinely useful as well as good-looking. Some users won’t like the need to scroll through several different screens to get to the exact app required, but we think the gorgeous, spacious design is worth the extra effort.

Refreshed for 2012 and now sporting Skype, BBC iPlayer and Netflix as well as some other newcomers, VIERA Connect is a smart TV interface on the move. Fed by built-in Wi-Fi on the TX-L47ET50B, it at last includes a dedicated web browser, though only if you go hunting for it on VIERA Connect’s Marketplace area. We’re still not sure that idea has a place on a TV when most of us are packing smartphones.

Networking

As usual on most TVs, the L42ET50B makes a stab at wireless networking and digital file support, but can only be said to cover the basics. From a docked USB thumbdrive, we managed to play only AVC HD, AVI and MKV video files, though that will be enough for most users. Photos, which are limited to JPEG, and treated identically to video in that they’re displayed in a fullscreen grid of thumbnails, though video thumbnails are only visible once they’ve been accessed and played.

Music over USB is more impressive, with lossless FLAC files supported as well as MP3, though arguably it’s the WAV format that’s more common in the world of lossless CD rips and downloads.

Linking to a Mac running Twonkymedia we managed to stream only MOV, MP4, AVC HD and AVI video, JPEG photos and MP3 and FLAC music. Why the difference?

2D & 3D Picture quality

With HD sources the picture is incredibly detailed, crisp, and reasonably bright throughout our test, though deactivate the C.A.T.S (Contrast Automatic Tracking System – it detects ambient light levels and adjust the backlight to maximise contrast) feature and the picture gets decidedly darker.

It’s not a feature if you watch from the wings, though – this telly has a viewing angle that’s far too narrow given that it’s largely going to be bought for mass-viewing in a big room. During a walk down a dark underground tunnel on The Tube, we noticed some LED clusters around the top of the panel spilling light, as well as from one of the corners, but we’ve seen a lot, lot worse than this on other edge LED-backlit TVs.

Still, native contrast lends blocks of black a blue-ish hue, and standard definition fare just doesn’t size-up well on this bigscreen, with lots of visible artefacts in the low bitrate broadcasts. Thankfully the L47ET50B comes armed with a Freeview HD tuner, but the same problems exist on upscaled DVDs and especially app-based video. Stuff streamed from BBC iPlayer looks awful, though colours sparkle across the board.

In a good, though not faultless performance we end on a high with a 3D run-through of Legends of Flight. Big enough to really show-off the format, 3D images here look precise and powerful through a pair of the TYER3D4ME specs, with the sheer amount of detail and smoothness showcasing what the L47ET50B is really capable of. There is the odd visible flicker and a modicum of crosstalk around fast moving objects – in this case wing tips – but that’s more than made up for by the sheer immersion on offer by the L47ET50B’s huge screen.

The 3D effect – though impressive – is subject to the usual caveats that both the format and LCD panel tech bring. As a surfer rides a wave towards the camera in Ultimate Wave Tahiti, the 3D effect is good until he gets too close; the resulting wall of water that hits the lens is utterly confusing since our eyes have no idea where to focus at such short notice.

It’s far easier on the eye when things slow down. Some stop motion photography of a weather system moving down a canyon is sublime, with plants in the foreground fluttering and an awesome 3D depth created. For those not after 3D at all, but stuck on LED-backlighting, consider the entry-level E5 Series, which numbers the 32-inch TX-L32E5B, 37-inch TX-L37E5B, 42-inch TX-L42E5B and 47-inch TX-L47E5B.

Verdict

Great 3D and an enticing VIERA Connect smart TV platform that’s easily the best looking around make this a great option for a family room. There is some bad stuff, though, with a poor viewing angle and low native contrast levels – and it only performs anywhere near its best with hi-def sources.

Can a telly that lacks Freeview HD, 3D and any semblance of a ‘smart’ platform really be considered suitable for modern living? That depends on what you’re after, but we’re sure Hannspree’s latest bargain basement edge LED-backlit LCD TV has enough to suit a lot of living rooms.

If you want the best online IPTV services around and an app-strewn user interface, it’s worth paying top dollar for sets from Sony or Samsung. The rest make a slight hash of it all in any case, so Hannspree – primarily known to us as the maker of budget-busting gadgets – is rather astute to completely swerve the whole ‘smart’ idea.

If a few quid has been knocked from the price already, another couple of tenners are saved through the lack of 3D compatibility, though plenty of homes are being perfectly well entertained without gimmicky children’s movies to get distracted by, so we’ll forgive that one, too.

Even the lack of a Freeview HD tuner makes sense at this price. We could go on forever about how we expect all new TVs to have a DVB-T2 tuner, but despite it being such a hit in 2010 that it’s now become a social faux pas to leave it out, the fact remains that homes with a Sky or Virgin Media set-top box – that’s about 15 million of us – just don’t need it. So why pay for it? Cable and satellite subscribers are often on the hunt for a back-to-basics telly capable of displaying hi-def signals with skill. Hanspree’s SE40LMNB could be that screen.

USB and digital file support

Despite coming armed with Edge LED backlighting, a panel depth of a mere 50mm and a Full HD resolution, the SE40LMNB does lack a lot of features considered normal on modern TVs. But, in an effort to distract us are some USB-fuelled features, which include digital file playback, pause and rewind live TV features (timeshifiting), and even TV recording.

In practical use all of these features are thoroughly disappointing. For starters, that USB slot is disarmed by some sloppy software that deals with the likes of JPG, MP3 and AVI (DivX) files, but fails with MKV – a very common video format.

Timeshifting

ItsTimeshift features, too, are lacklustre – and even nudges being unusable. Although it can be used with a (minimum) 2GB USB thumbdrive, it’s too complicated. Pausing live TV takes three button presses and the navigation of two different menus. As if we’re going to do that when the guy with the lukewarm pizza turns up. Timeshift is supposed to be about convenience, but here Hannspree made us work far too hard to get some relatively simple tasks accomplished. It’s not even possible to set recordings from the EPG.

Was timeshifting added as an afterthought? Possibly – the remote control certainly isn’t equipped to handle such ‘advanced’ functionality.

Connections

A healthy dose of inputs and outputs give this budget TV a more mature look; three HDMIs meet component video, a PC and an RGB Scart (using an adaptor), while audio enters via phonos or a minijack, and exits through digital optical audio or a headphone socket.

Oddly, that optical slot is towards the top of a side-panel, which at a stroke makes it less enticing for owners of separate AV amplifiers and home cinema systems, though those with set-top boxes won’t need to use it.

Graphical user interface

A nicely designed GUI is unexpected and welcome. A subtle design that builds-in a functional Freeview guide complete with thumbnail of the live channel (with audio), and programme information is given for just six channels over two hours, though it’s quick to operate using the so-so remote control.

Picture & sound quality

Without much to shout about so far, we’re left virtually speechless when Blu-ray graces the SE40LMNB’s LCD panel. Detailed, with nicely cinematic colours and a decent stab at producing jet black, consider this a perfectly good set for partnering with a Blu-ray player.

That, however, is where the good stuff comes to a halt; standard Freeview pictures – and there are no other, remember, are covered in picture noise, while motion blur suddenly seems to smear moving objects around the panel. Colours collapse amid a realisation that, yes, expensive TVs with pricey picture processing are indeed much more versatile.

Sound from its twin 8W speakers is nothing to shout about, either, though what flat TV can claim otherwise?

Verdict

At under ?350 the Hannspree’s sterling performance with Blu-rays will make the 40-inch edge LED-backlit LCD TV an attractive proposition for some.

If the lack of Freeview HD, 3D and smart TV apps don’t put you off, Hannspree’s combination of a good user interface and decent hi-def pictures is initially pleasing, though the shine is taken off by some messy, USB-driven timeshift features and a poor treatment of standard definition TV; in many ways its Full HD resolution works against it in terms of all-round versatility.

LG’s 55LK520 55? 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. This 2011 model HDTV features a 1920×1080 resolution, has 3 HDMI inputs, offers a 120Hz refresh rate and, of course, is Internet connected so you can watch Netflix and more.

Normally $1,499.99, savings that bring the price all the way down to just $949.99. It will even ship for free although there is tax in most states. Details and purchasing information can be found here on the deal page.

Gear Deal: LG 55? 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for Under $1000 via LogicBUY

The good old VHS recorder started something that Tivo took to a higher level, and the result has shaken the video broadcast industry to its very foundations.

Or has it?

Conventional wisdom says that U.S. television viewing households hate commercials. It says that they use digital video recorders (DVRs) so that they can skip over the advertisements. It says that this time-shifting of viewing has a negative impact on the value of the commercial messages that are sprinkled throughout the traditional linear programming. And it could be wrong.

The industry analysis company Centris has released a new white paper on DVRs. Their research paints an interesting picture of DVR usage in this country that runs counter to some of our expectations.

First, fewer than two out of five television-viewing households in the U.S. have one or more DVR. It is also interesting to note that few own their own device; about three-quarters are rented from their television service provider. (Fiber optic subscribers are more likely to rent a DVR than cable or satellite subscribers.)

But the result that surprised me was this: half of all DVR users watch 20% or less of their programming on the DVR. In fact, one out of six DVR users don’t watch programming on the DVR at all! That says to me that the threat to Big Advertising on linear television programming is not nearly as serious as some of us might think.

I guess that the other lesson I learned from this report is to not extrapolate too much from your own experience. I’d estimate that more than 90% of the video programming that we watch in our house (and we watch plenty!) is either recorded or streamed. And we do skip commercials (except last Monday night during the SuperBowl, and on Hulu where we don’t have a choice). The only broadcast linear programming that we watch is the occasional news show and live sports. And even then, we often will use our DVR’s “Pause” function and then skip the commercials as we compress the viewing time.

Big, bold and impressive. That’s the only way to describe Samsung’s top of the line UN55D8000 55? 3D 1080p LED 240Hz HDTV. And with today’s Gear Deal you’ll get it bundled with a Samsung BD-D5500 Blu-ray Player and 2 extra pair of 3D glasses (that makes for a total of four pair). The Samsung UN55D8000 features edge-lit LED backlighting with Micro-precision dimming Plus for enhanced image quality (higher contrast, darker blacks and eliminates “blooming”). It also features 3D ready, Internet TV (apps such as FaceBook, YouTube, BlockBuster, Flickr, Amazon on Demand, Skype), 4 HDMI versopm 1.4 inputs, 2 USB ports, ethernet, and wrapped in a slim .9? panel in black design.

As noted, two pair of 3D glasses come standard with the 8000 Series but this deal will include four pair! Normally this bundle would cost $2,649.95. Savings on it that bring the price all the way down to just $1,899.95 and it will even ship for free. 

 

Toshiba doesn’t actually manufacture the panels and tech inside its TVs, but this 40-incher provides yet more proof of why – as a brand – it continues to be one of the most popular around. One word: value. There’s no sniff of absolute top quality here, but nor is there anything remotely tacky about this Edge LED-lit effort; it’s a mid-range TV that will suit living rooms after an affordable flatscreen.

Even the plastic frame manages to make a decent effort at looking faintly metallic (the new vogue in flat telly land), though it’s the super-slim bezel that’s the 40RL858’s key design flourish; it’s barely a centimetre in thickness, quite something for such a low-priced set.

Add a Freeview HD tuner, almost total digital file support from its USB slot, and a BBC iPlayer app, and the 40RL858 is so far looking every bit the every-man TV. There are, however, some significant problems that take this telly down a few notches in the flatpanel pecking order.

Wi-Fi, USB & digital file support

A big problem is Wi-Fi, or lack thereof. A TV that can access web content only via wired connection is hardly cutting-edge; we’d argue that a Wi-Fi dongle is crucial – one is available for a paltry £30, happily. Secondly, the 40RL858’s ins and outs are a tad restrictive. Most alarmingly there is only one USB slot, leaving us wondering whether to install that dongle or dock a USB stick full of DivX files. Choices, choices. We’re also put out by the three HDMI inputs – hardly generous.

Also note that this USB slot cannot indulge in any kind of recording, pausing or rewinding of live digital TV, which although something of a relative oversight on a TV of this price, is hardly a deal breaker – a dedicated PVR does a far, far better job in any case.

In terms of file support we’re impressed by the 40RL858; it plays everything, including MKV video and Apple Lossless M4A music. If USB slots are a tad too manual for your tastes, know that the 40RL858 also indulges in DLNA networking, though here MKV isn’t supported.

Smart TV hub

Our main complaint about Toshiba Places is its drab European-ness. We’ve nothing against our continental cousins, but do we need to read Euronews or France 24? Unfortunately, that’s all that’s on offer in the News Places area. We would much prefer local services, after all isn’t that supposed to be the beauty of web-connected devices that know your IP address and location?.

Better is the Social Places section, which comprises Facebook, My Photos (Flickr-hosted) and My Videos (DailyMotion), while Games Places contains just Funspot, a tiny collection of slightly fiddly remote control-powered games including chess and Sudoku.

Music Places is virtually empty (iConcerts & Aupeo), and though Video Places (Viewster, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Dailymotion, BoxOffice 365, Woomi, Cartoon Network, HiT Entertainment & Acetrax) is acceptably full, it’s got few must-have attractions. Toshiba Places is also rather slow to load and to navigate using the remote.

Graphical user interface

Although the general GUI is rather lacklustre, it does at least build-in some excellent shortcuts. For instance, the Media Player menu, accessed via a dedicated button on the remote, gives one-touch access to the application tab of the main onscreen menu; cue links to core services such as Toshiba Places, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, that USB media player and the network media player.

The quick controls shortcuts cover the same ground, but add a sleep timer, a roster of various picture presets, and some aspect ratio choices.

However, the Freeview HD electronic programme guide is ugly, slow and lacks basic functions; it’s not a patch on the likes of Samsung and Sony TVs.

Picture & sound quality

With our test disc Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy engaged, it’s obvious straight from the off that the 40RL858 has some issues with light leakage. Although it’s most obvious with a blank screen, the dingy corridors aren’t just lined with secrets; around the edges an uneven amount of blotchy light blights the picture’s darker elements. If watching on dynamic mode in a brightly lit room, it’s not the huge problem it may at first appear to be, though even with the lights turned down low and some panel brightness sacrificed, it’s still noticeable.

Let’s not pretend this is a reference level TV, but we spotted some shadow detailing within blocks of convincing darker colours. Colours are actually where this TV excels, showing off its nuanced palette that can deal with well saturated reds and greens as well as paler and more subtle, natural tones.

There is some motion blur, but again, it’s not a serious problem if you engage the 100Hz mode. There’s plenty of detail and sharpness in images; certainly enough to add to our impression of the 40RL858 as a tremendously good value screen for hosting Blu-ray images. It’s worth exploring the myriad picture presets, which include two Hollywood settings that are about as close as this TV get to a cinematic look, and also take some of the picture noise from non-HD sources.

If you’re careful, the 40RL858 is a jack-of-all-trades picture-wise – and that’s actually quite rare at this price.

Audio is via a set of stereo speakers on the 40RL858’s undercarriage, both of which are rated at 10W. Results are fairly poor, with a distinct lack of detail and low frequency in the basic soundstage that’s really only good enough for watching news programmes and the like.

Verdict

It may lack the pizzazz and must-have appeal of higher-end brands, but an extraordinarily thin bezel and good-value pictures make this a decent budget buy.

Granted, there’s no slinky user experience, top-quality pictures or acceptable audio, but at this price we didn’t expect there to be; Toshiba has come up with another budget winner that will get many living rooms a first taste of smart TV.

You want 3D? Well today’s Deal will get you some awesome 3D AND save you money in the process.

Today’s deal brings us the Samsung UN55D6400 55? 3D-Ready 1080p LED-LCD HDTV AND the Samsung BD-D5500 3D Blu-ray Disc Player AND Samsung SSG-3050GB Active 3D Battery Glasses in a bundle with tremendous savings. The UN55D6400 is a 2011 model that features 1080p, 1920 x 1080, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz, 4 HDMI, USB, PC Input, and more. Normally this bundle would cost $2,459.96 but after all the savings it is just $1499.99. You can get details and order yours here on the deal page.

Samsung UN55D6400 55? 3D 1080p LED HDTV, Samsung 3D Blu-ray Disc Player, Samsung Active 3D Battery Glasses Bundle 

We start the week with a Deal on Toshiba’s 55? 3D 1080p LED HDTV. The Toshiba 55TL515U 55? 3D 1080p 240Hz LED HDTV features 1080p resolution, NetTV w/Yahoo Widgets, built-in Wi-Fi, ClearScan 240Hz, Natural (Passive) 3D, CineSpeed Plus LED Panel, Local Dimming, 3D Resolution, Tri-Vector 2D-3D Conversion, and more.

Normally $1,999.99, we have found it for  $1,249.99 with free shipping. There is also no tax in most states. Details and ordering can be found here.

Hugely expensive and boasting some unique tech, the headline act on this 46-inch 3D LED backlit LCD TV from Philips’ 9000 Series is undoubtedly its Moth Eye filter. The whatnow?

The Moth Eye – a reflection-dampening filter across the screen so-called because it mimics the insect’s optics – is tremendously effective, and helps create extra contrast in bright conditions, but there is so much more to like about this one-of-a-kind telly.

A mere 39mm deep and seemingly hewn from one piece of stainless steel, the 46PFL9706 features Ambilight, that signature Philips addition that sees coloured light spewing from the sides of the TV. On this high-end TV it’s the no-corners-cut Ambilight Spectra XL that does the job, with twice as many LED – compared to previous versions – strung across both the sides and the top of the TV, cunningly sending light relating to the changing hues on-screen across the wall behind.

Though the 46PFL9706 isn’t just about light. As well as being one of relatively few Phillips TVs to feature active shutter ‘3D Max’ tech – most of its stable boosts ‘Easy 3D’ a.k.a. Passive 3D – this flagship TV is one of very few screens available that uses Direct LED backlighting.Tthat means 224 clusters of LED lights used right across the back of the LCD panel. This allows for local dimming, which means segments of the lights can be switched off, to improve black levels.

Compared to the much more common – and, yes, often slightly slimmer – edge LED system employed by the likes of LG, Samsung, Sony and Sharp, where light is provided only from the sides of the screen. Direct LED backlighting usually results in much more convincing contrast, with mixed brightness scenes – such as a movie sequence where a character sits in a gloomy room while bright light is visible outside through windows – so much more convincing.

Set-up

The first Philips TV to be endorsed by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), the 46PFL9706 boasts a full suite of picture processing tweaks, including Philips’ Perfect Pixel HD.

Elsewhere on this range-topper is a Freeview HD tuner, basic PVR functions if you attach a HDD via USB, four HDMI inputs, streaming from a connected PC or Mac, and playback of files from a USB stick.

One disappointment is Smart TV. Sure, this Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) powered online hub brings the BBC iPlayer into, err, play, but there’s little else here to get excited about. Slightly hamstrung by a lack of speed and also by a somewhat drab grid-style design. There’s also a web browser that’s helped, though not by much, and certainly not enough, by Philips’ MyRemote app for iPhone and Android.

Picture

The 2D appeal of the 46PFL9706 is a black and white affair. Seriously, we’ve not seen blacks this deep, or whites as pure and brilliant as on this hugely advanced LED panel. Add that to some enviable detail and natural colours and the pictures are something akin to groundbreaking.

This is a Philips TV, so there is the brand’s usual concentration on advanced processing, something that can introduce an unnatural look. The solution is to simply switch off tech like HD Natural Motion and Perfect Natural Motion (PNM), though they’re both worth experimenting with if you’ve not already passed judgement on the especially fluid and free pictures they create from Blu-ray discs. In our opinion, these modes can sometimes add distracting fizzing and a somewhat forced, false look and feel. Freeview, however, is worth looking at with PNM enabled.

Noticeably brighter than most active shutter 3D TVs, this and other features that make the 46PFL9706’s 2D performance so exhilarating play a different role when watching 3D Blu-ray. Here, that intense brightness and high level of detail leave no hiding place for imperfections, and in sequences with significant depth effects we did notice some ghosting. Still, it’s not an endemic problem and occasional 3D viewers (are there any other kind?) shouldn’t have a major problem. There’s also a rather hit and miss 2D to 3D conversion mode.

Sound

In all this excitement about the 46PFL9706’s reference grade pictures and an enviable hit list of features, it’s worth noting that the main body of the TV doesn’t have any speakers. Shock, horror, etc. For a long time, Philips TVs have been alone in offering a relatively powerful, bass-heavy soundstage complete with rear woofer and front tweeter, but at last the company’s design engineers have succumbed to our never-ending thirst for slimmer and slimmer TVs, and banished audio altogether from the main body of the TV.

However, those designers have done a fine job in fitting the 46PFL9706’s desktop stand with said speakers. Yup – just strap-on the stand on the undercarriage, and we’re almost back to where we started; loads of low-frequency sound and plenty of detail.

Of course, this odd array does pose a question for wall mounters, and although the desktop stand can actually be used as a bracket – thereby supplying sound from behind the TV – that 39mm depth will be ruined. We’d suggest a separate home cinema if you want to go down the on-wall route.

Whether Philips’ range-topper will end up in your hands is doubtful unless you have over two grand to spare, but the sheer innovation on board the 46PFL9706 – and its general rarity value – makes it a stand-out performer. It’ll be too expensive for most of us, but if it’s a sign of trickle-down tech to come, we’re all in for a treat.

Verdict

Philips 9000 series has been at the top of the telly tree for some years, but with this Moth Eye marvel it leaps up any few more branches.

Remarkably adept with contrast and brightness in all ambient light conditions, and producing bright active shutter 3D pictures that are, on the whole, impressive, Phillips has produced a high-end choice that will suit both discerning living rooms and those after a centrepiece for a home cinema.