Have your say & ask the experts

hi guys , i have a loan of a philips 37pfl5064 while my plasma is repaired , initially i didnt think much of it , but after fine tuning the settings it really isnt bad at all , it has no 100hz or fancy processing , but does have quite a nice picture , even sd is quite good , the smaller screen size probably helps that , my plasma is 46 inch , anyway , if my plasma isnt tip top when i get it back , i will be exchanging it for another tv of the same value , 950 euros , now , in an ideal world i would add another few hundred and get a panasonic 46g10 , but im skint , however a philips 42pfl7404 is the same price in the shop , so i may swap , i know the 7404 has 100hz , essential for me , and pixel precise hd, so im hoping i will like it , hence the question , has anyone seen or heard of clouding on philips lcds ?? i have not read any posts about it here , and no reviewers have mentioned it that i can recall , sonys problems are well documented , and samsungs tvs are also prone , any thoughts ??

I have a philips lcd and have never had clouding, for me it is one of best tvs's you can buy.

It does not surprise me that you have found them to be good., If you do buy one just go for a top model one and you will not be disapointed.

maxflinn:

...i know the 7404 has 100hz , essential for me , and pixel precise hd, so im hoping i will like it , hence the question , has anyone seen or heard of clouding on philips lcds ?? i have not read any posts about it here , and no reviewers have mentioned it that i can recall , sonys problems are well documented , and samsungs tvs are also prone , any thoughts ??

 

I gave the 7404 an extensive audition before I opted for my G10. The 7404 really isn't a bad choice at all -- I found it a very close call between these two sets. The 7404 drags up a huge amount of detail, more than the G10, and as I've said before on this forum, with a lot of tweaking you may well be able to eradicate the problems I noticed with the set (wierd motion handling at times, some blocking during complex scenes with Blu Ray). I wish I'd had a good few hours to mess around with the settings in the shop, and the lack of reviews of the 42" 7404 is frustrating. But, as I'm sure you're aware, the 32" 7404 was a recent WHF group test winner. I don't think you'd be disappointed.

Also, have been watching a family members Samsung LED, which was also very good. If you can find one in your price range then it's probably worth a look... 

thanks folks , my 950 wont get me an led sammy , i could get a sony 40w5500 or a samsung 40b650 , if i do end up needing a replacement ill have a good look at them all , philips seem to be making some of the best tvs lately , problem free too it appears ..

I don't know if size is an issue for you, but I know that it would be for me. If you do end up having to buy a new tv I would hold off until you can get at least a 46" like your current set. I don't think I could face dropping in screen size, and 6" is quite a bit.

I went for a couple of months without buying my tv and, although patience isn't a virtue of mine, it was worth the wait eventually.

In any case, Amazon are selling the Panasonic G10 46" and 50" for £927.99 and £1,029.66 respectively, which seems fairly reasonable and fairly close to your budget (unless your 950 is in euros, but even then there's not much in it between the two currencies at the moment).

hi hmtb , the 950 is euros , anyway i dont expect the store to refund , they will probably offer a credit note if my plasma bites the dust , i too would prefer staying at 46 inches , but the 37inch tv i have right now is quite watchable , so the 42inch philips may be ok , i am actually impressed with the little philips , very sharp with hd , good blacks too , lots of detail , more than my plasma , which to be fair was the cheapest full hd panny from last year , i never thought id say this , but im really warming to lcds ...

say...and im watming to the 5 series...the basic difrference to the 7 will be 100 hz...but face it...will you be using the 100 hz much?

100hz is essential for me ear ..

Maxflinn, 

I agree. I would go for a 100hz. I don't have anything against lcds either, in fact, I was seriously considering the Sony W5500 before going for my plasma. One of the reasons I didn't go down that route was due to the clouding issues I'd read about, but having seen a sony set recently, I was very impressed. I also really like the thin Samsung LED-backlit lcds.

I hope your tv is salvagable, it would be a shame and extremely disappointing if it died after only a year. Even if you don't have an extended warranty, I think it would be worth speaking directly to Panasonic and pointing out that it is unacceptable for a tv to last for only 12-18 months and see what they say. Quite frankly, if a tv becomes irreperably damaged after such a short period of time, the manufacturer should offer you something.

it may be fine when i get it back , to be honest im hoping it wont be , as i now want the 7404 , im watching lux hd now and even on the lowly 5064 i currently have the picture is very good , skin tones are not as real looking as on my panny , but its much sharper , even the blacks are good , i would as i said rather a g10 , for the usual plasma strengths , but i am impressed with what lcd can do too , 100hz is important for me though , on this tv i have noticed slight judder ,and it can be a little uncomfotable watching footie , i would definately consider a w5500 also , but only with a clouding equals refund deal , if it wasnt for this bloody recession i could have a kuro , aaarrrrrggggggghhhhhhh.

quick update ,(for anyone interested) my panny was repaired , but , the engineer had it on test for a week , and hes not happy , so ive phoned the store and said ill be wanting a credit note , should be ready to choose something else tmw , i didnt push for a refund , as its a local store (d.i.d electrical , waterford) and they have been very good so far ,id rather they got my business,  even though it will be painful to hand over 150euros on top of my 950 credit , just to get a 42g10 with no freesat , seeing as its only £700 in blighty ..

theres also the option of a philips 42pfl 9804 , 999euros , or 7404 , 950euros .. id be paying the extra for the ambilight and web access , with the latter being unimportant to me , theres also the usual sony and samsung 40inchers , around the budget price ..

so im off to the store now for a good look , id be happier going with cash in my pocket so i could wear out the salespeople with requests for remote controls , blurays on all tvs , kit kats , coffee etc , but ill go a bit easier on them seeing as theres no commission at the end of their ordeal , im 80% going for the panny anyway at this stage , for its more natural picture , nice deep blacks and motion handling , but , i could come back with a 40w5500 , hopefully without clouds or meatballs ..  

hi maxflinn i have the 7404 in the 47inch and i think that it has a wicked picture i have absolutely no clouding and haven't had any problems with it since i brought it when it first came out.

it provides me with really good blacks a very sharp picture with the 100hz and vibrant colours if i had the chance to get the 9664 i would have but it wasn't out at that time.

i don't regret my purchase one bit i only wish that i waited cos now the 47inch can be had for £999 and the 42inch for even cheaper at the time when i got it i paid £1300.

if you do decide to get one i really don't think that you will be dissapointed.

Hi Maxflinn,

Good to hear that there's a resolution to your tv issue on the cards. I'm sure both the g10 and w5500 would be great choices.

Let us know which one you go for in the end, and what you think. If you go for a Sony, let's hope it's a good one!

hi guys , turns out theres some good offers in the store , 9% off list price , and 150euros off the samsung led tvs , i wont know till tmw if they will credit me , but im hopeful , so i had a good look at the tvs in my budget , now up to 1200 , there was one clear winner , the samsung 40b7020 , absolutely stunning picture , i would have liked to compare it with the 9664 , but that was set up awful , in fact it looked worse than anything else out there , even though its the most expensive tv at 42inches , i dont know how they expect to sell any , when i asked for a remote they told me they didnt have them , that they were display models shipped without remotes , which is obviously nonsense , so the philips tvs were impossible to judge , thats them out

the panasonic 42g10 was showing sky news , contrast wacked up full ,looked terrible , again , not the tvs fault ,again , no remote.i know what the tv looks like when set up properly as ive seen them elswhere , and have a panny ,  the samsung 46b650 looked very good showing a hd demo disc ,the salesman managed to get that into movie mode , i can actually get that for 1080euros , thats a good price , anyway , after seeing the led sammy i had a quick glance at the sony lcds , again , set to shop settings , again , no remotes , and it was back to the sammy leds , the 40b7020 is 1499 - 9% - 150 eco cashback , thats 1215euros , or their is a 40b6000 at 1030euros after deductions and cashback , the difference between the two is basically dlna compatability , which dont interest me , so all going well tmw , its a choice between the 40b6000 , the 46b650 or the 42g10 .. with preferance at the moment for the b6000..

im aware the philips sets are very good too when set up right , but if im going lcd , the 46b650 seems better than a 42pfl7404 costing 850euros , they dont have 47inch philips ... 

you will notice much different between the 100 hz on the philips and on the sony. i cant stand the 100 hz on the philips makes me feel sick like someone said on another post.the sony 100 hz is much much better and black detail on the sony is also much better