Philips 37 PF9946

I purchased a 37" Philips plasma TV after looking for a wall mountable TV that wouldn't dwarf my living room but also wouldn't look too small. In the end my decision was made after getting a good deal at my local Co-op which enabled me to get a price match plus an extra 10% any high street price. The TV was advertised for £2300 in Comet and I took the brochure to the Co-op who incidentally had the same TV advertised for £2800. After the price ...
...asked if I wanted a Philips DVD recorder for £69 which retailed at £269, I jumped at the chance. To make the deal even sweeter they also did 2 years interest free credit which I gladly accepted and left my cash in the bank making interest.

The TV itself is impressively large without being ridiculous, it also came with a wall mount bracket which was a bonus, as the Sony model I'd looked at required an optional £400 bracket.
The ... more

I purchased a 37" Philips plasma TV after looking for a wall mountable TV that wouldn't dwarf my living room but also wouldn't look too small. In the end my decision was made after getting a good deal at my local Co-op which enabled me to get a price match plus an extra 10% any high street price. The TV was advertised for £2300 in Comet and I took the brochure to the Co-op who incidentally had the same TV advertised for £2800. After the price match and obviously 10% off the TV cost me £2070, they then asked if I wanted a Philips DVD recorder for £69 which retailed at £269, I jumped at the chance. To make the deal even sweeter they also did 2 years interest free credit which I gladly accepted and left my cash in the bank making interest.

The TV itself is impressively large without being ridiculous, it also came with a wall mount bracket which was a bonus, as the Sony model I'd looked at required an optional £400 bracket.
The TV was delivered in a transit van sized crate which worried me a little at first, but after the delivery driver had unpacked the individual boxes from inside my fears were allayed and a box slightly larger than the one I had seen on display emerged.

The boxes consisted of the following:-
1 x 37" Plasma Screen
2 x Remote Controls (One Posh Aluminium, the other normal plastic)
2 x Sets of AA batteries
1 x Media/Tuner Box
2 x Power Cables
1 x Monitor/Signal/Audio Cable
1 x Wall bracket with paper template and uselessly small fixings
3 x Sets of instructions for most languages around the world
1 x piece of silver decorative trunking

After unpacking the boxes and working out what everything did, it was time to mount the TV on the wall. The fixings that were supplied with the TV were pathetic and wouldn't have held a 15" TV. This meant a trip to the DIY shop for some more substantial fixings, which cost in the region of £6. After getting the new fixings home, I mounted the paper template to the wall with blu tack, made sure it was level, and proceeded to drill into the wall. I soon found that behind the plasterboard the wall was made of breeze blocks which made me happier as I was worried that plasterboard alone wouldn't hold 33KG of television.
Everything went relatively smoothly, I fixed the bracket into position and then had the job of hooking the TV onto the bracket blindly. Due to the size and weight of the screen this proved difficult, but eventually I succeeded and the screen hovered 2mm above my fire surround as planned. After connecting the TV, DVD recorder and SKY+ Box to the Media/Tuner box it was time to switch on for the first time.

The installation was automatic with all terrestial channels tuned, sorted and stored by the tuner box. The setup menu is a Graphic on-screen affair and very easy to use with the directional keypad and select button. The Sky and DVD were installed on separate AV scarts (The media box has four) enabling direct access via the input menu. The picture was slightly better than I remembered the demo unit had been, but I put this down to the quality of the signal and cable coming from both the Sky Box and DVD, rather than the split coax feed they used in-store.
The picture suffers from pixellation when viewed up close (about 2 feet) but as I don't sit that close to the TV, the picture is great although not as sharp as the Sony Wega it replaces it is still very good. The TV also features Pixel Plus which makes a huge difference to the quality of picture, there is also a split screen demo mode which enables you to switch Pixel Plus on one side and compare the two. Believe me, this is one setting which will never be turned off, as it makes an amazing difference to the clarity and sharpness of picture. The TV also has a small light sensor next to the IR sensor, which automatically adjusts the brightness and contrast based on the level of light available in your room, Philps call this Active Control, and it works very well.

One thing people ask when they visit is "Is your TV HD ready?" to which I have to answer no. I know people keep harping on about HD and I admit it will be the future but at the moment I'm very happy with my TV in standard definition.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a 37" plasma, great design, great features and excellent picture quality, good for playing Xbox on when the wife allows.
 

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