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Philips PFL9707

SUMMARY – Quite simply, the Philips 46PFL9707 delivers the best 2D picture we have seen from a LED LCD TV to date [...]

PICTURE QUALITY (2D) – This would seem an appropriate point to just come out and say that the 46PFL9707 has one of the best 2D pictures we've ever seen from a LCD TV. Why is this? Well it's a perfect storm of factors, all of which have combined to deliver a truly stellar performance and Philips are to be congratulated. Firstly the use of a full array LED backlight means we get a perfectly uniform backlight, with no clouding, bright edges or hot spots. There was some occasional banding on camera pans but we would prefer that to the kind of patchy backlight found on almost all LED TVs these days. Secondly the use of a VA panel means that the 46PFL9707 is capable of some of the best native blacks you'll see on a LCD TV. The downside is that the viewing angle is limited but this can be mitigated by careful positioning. Then there is the Moth Eye filter which eliminates most reflections delivering an even better dynamic range and the Ambilight can also help with perceived blacks in the evenings.

The accuracy of both the Movie and ISF picture styles is another major factor, as is the addition of calibration controls which can deliver a near reference level of image accuracy. Te micro dimming also played its part, help to deliver deeper blacks without robbing the image of shadow detail. The quality of the video processing is also excellent and the motion handling, especially with 24p content was absolutely superb, whilst the high definition panel itself delivered a wonderfully detailed image. The result is a picture that at times didn't look like an LCD TV at all, which is surprising. We use Pioneer Kuros as our reference TVs and so we become very used to the look of plasma, as a result LCD can often look very digital or processed. This wasn't the case with the 46PFL9707, we found ourselves really enjoying the images it produced and even in side-by-side comparisons with the Kuro it held up to scrutiny.

There really is no greater praise than that for any TV and we found ourselves perfectly happy watching anything and everything on the 46PFL9707. In fact regardless of what content we watched, the 46PFL9707 did a fantastic job, from the best Blu-rays to standard definition TV broadcasts. Of course when it came to Blu-rays, the 46PFL9707 could really show what it was capable of, with the Avengers Assemble, for example, looking absolutely stunning. The beautifully rendered images were no surprise given the source content but high definition TV broadcasts were equally as impressive, with the gorgeous vistas and camerawork on the BBC's recent Africa being expertly delivered by the 46PFL9707. The same was true with Six Nations Rugby, where 46PFL9707 handled details like the crowds or the pitches wonderfully but also had no issues with the fast motion, even with all the motion enhancing features turned off. The same was true of a DVD double bill of Sweeney! and Sweeney 2, where the image accuracy brought the nicotine stained late seventies vividly back life!

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