The first TV tested in Philips’ new 2008 line, the 42PFL5603H, also comes in two other sizes; 37 and 47 inches.  Note that the 37 inch panel, announced as a 6 ms, should differ from the one that is used in the 42 and 47 inch which has a 5 ms response time.
The ''H'' on the reference number indicates the presence of a digital tuner that is HD compatible and therefore with channels arriving at the end of the year.  This as well as the 3 HDMI is a wager on the long term life of the 42PFL5603H.

The design

In terms of aesthetics, this TV has a plexiglas frame which maybe sticks out a little too much.  It can remind you of anti-shock protection which you may want to try and take off.  Otherwise, everyone has their own tastes and ideas if the 42PFL5603H is suited to their living room.
Note that the base doesn’t pivot.

A menu that is aging…ungracefully!

Once turned on, the PFL5603H displays the manufacturer’s menu which has been around for a few years now.  It may be time to give it a bit of a face-lift – all the more so that adjustments (brightness, contrast, color etc.) infringe on a large part of the image and it’s practically impossible to do a quick modification.  You have to constantly switch from the options screen to the display of the result.

The PFL5603H offers a menu help when adjusting the image.  You can set the various parameters (brightness, contrast, colors, sound, etc.) without touching the more complicated options.  The process is simple: a series of images divided in half appear and the viewer chooses each time which one he prefers.  Adjusting sound options functions on the same principle.  At the end of this process, the sound and display should be set according to the viewer’s tastes.


Philips offers the rather classic adjustments of brightness, contrast, color, color temperature, noise reduction, Pixel Plus (increased sharpness), brightness sensor and dynamic contrast.

We mostly noted the absence of a 100 Hz option, HD Natural Motion – for more fluid movement – and the ability to modify the gamma curve.
Measurements

With pre-settings, the panel has an impressive contrast of… 5495:1! This is a new record for an LCD obtained from white at 420 cd/m² and black at 0.08 cd/m².  The problem is that to display such results the TV burns out all the whites and therefore has a catastrophic gamma curve.

Once set to the best image we could obtain in home cinema mode, the contrast falls to 2081:1 – still an excellent value.  Black has the same depth and brightness was limited to roughly 200 cd/m².  Unfortunately, the gamma curve is still as poor although we were only mildly surprised.  At the press conference which introduced this TV, Philips proudly presented its new procedure which gives them access to various shades of black and balances the image. In fact, the new system deforms the gamma curve.  The worst is that it’s impossible to deactivate this function and we will never be able to watch a film as it was intended to be seen by the movie’s director.

In practice

We now come to the behavior of this system in movie viewing.
A nice depth in black is immediately noticeable.  On the other hand, we noted that the same black, and more generally the entire display, quickly faded when we stepped out of the TV’s central axis.  Viewing angles are therefore a bit small.

Otherwise, at first glance the image is flattering but we can see that it is much too saturated by default.  Lower saturation by 6-7% to have more natural rendering.

After this is done, we find a nice image but there was still one detail that bothered us.  It’s the modification of the gamma’s dynamic.  We get the impression that the screen’s settings are modified depending on the exposure and brightness of the sequence.  Even if this may not be noticed by the untrained eye, those obsessed with the calibration of their display will never get a satisfactory result.

Very disappointing SD

There is no other way of saying it; the display of SD sources SD (TV, DVD, etc.) is quite simply bad.  The image loses a significant amount of sharpness and artifacts are very noticeable as well as amplified video noise.

Finally, as usual with TVs, sound is disappointing although here we are on the top shelf of what current models are capable.