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Philips 42PF9966 42-Inch HD-Ready Flat Panel Plasma TV

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Manufacturer: Philips
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List Price: $4,499.99
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Product Description

Philips' 42PF9966 plasma television offers a high-performance, widescreen (16:9) image from a casing less than 4 inches deep. The 50-inch set offers astronomical brightness and contrast settings (1,000 cd/m3 and 3,000:1, respectively), as well as an integrated TV tuner for cable or broadcast reception of all your favorite programs. Hook it up to an optional DTV receiver or progressive-scan DVD player and you'll enjoy vivid, detailed images from 1080i, 720p, and 480p sources, which render at up to 720p resolution on the set's native 1,366 x 768-pixel screen.

Philips' unique Ambilight feature throws a soft glow on the wall behind the set to relax your eyes and heighten your perception of image detail, brightness, contrast, and colors. Ambilight settings include 6 presets and a user-adjustable setting. Philips invented Digital Natural Motion to eliminate the "juddering" effects visible in moving video images. Digital Natural Motion estimates motion and corrects "juddering" in both broadcast and DVD-based movie material, smoothing and sharpening the images you see.

With a plasma screen you get vivid colors like you've never seen before, extremely wide viewing angles (wider, even, than those of most LCD screens), and easy placement due to a plasma monitor's slim profile--the 42PF9966 is a mere 3.9 inches deep, perfect for desk or wall mounting (mounting brackets provided). Brightness tends to be extremely uniform across plasma screens, which are also impervious to the picture distortion and negative color balances that afflict CRT monitors when placed near lighting or sound systems. You do, however, need to be wary of image burn-in (wherein long-held stationary images leave a permanent impression in the screen).

This TV also uses the power of the Pixel Plus processor to enhance every single pixel displayed. The result is razor-sharp pixels with incredible detail and depth. A feature called Active Control Plus continually adjusts picture settings at over 60 times per second for all inputs, correcting both sharpness and noise reduction, even adjusting for changes in ambient viewing light.

The set pumps 15 watts per channel x 2 RMS, and onboard Dolby Virtual Surround simulates enveloping surround sound from any 2 speakers. FM tuning options include 40 convenient presets, RDS (Radio Data Service) for visual station and song identification, and auto/manual station setting. The unit's .125-inch headphone jack affords private listening.

Audio/video inputs include a direct-digital HDMI input, 2 component-video (1 configured for RCA-type RGB+HV computer outputs, with separate horizontal and vertical sync terminals), 3 each S-video, and composite-video connections. A convenient side-panel input (including a headphone jack and an S-video jack) simplifies spontaneous hookups.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link the set with any AV source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver). HDMI supports standard-definition (SD), enhanced definition (ED), or high-definition (HD) video, plus multi-channel digital audio--all using a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports up to 8-channel digital audio, with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.

What's in the Box
TV, stand, a universal remote control, remote batteries, and a user's manual.

Product Details

42-inch widescreen HD-ready plasma television with 15 watts per channel x 2 and built-in NTSC tuner; 43.5 x 30.6 x 3.9 inches (W x H x D)
Ambilight technology throws a soft glow on the wall behind the screen to enhance perceived brightness, contrast, and color accuracy
Pixel Plus processor enhances every single pixel displayed, giving you razor-sharp pixels with incredible detail and depth
Digital Crystal Clear technology and antireflective coating ensure high (3,000:1) contrast, high (1,000 cd/m3) brightness
Includes table stand; mounting brackets and a headphone output for private listening

Video Reviews

No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews

Great picture, thrilled with Ambilight

Review Date: May 19, 2005

Reviewer: Wei Lee, Pleasanton, CA USA

I bought this TV in Dec 2004, so this is the experience after 6 months of living with the unit.

To my surprise, the most prominent feature of the TV is Ambilight. It is able to project a soft light from the back of the TV. You can turn it on/off, adjust the brightness, have it dynamically adjust to the color on the screen etc. I thought it was a gimmick, but have come to the conclusion that I cannot live without it. I used to have to find the appropriate light to leave on while watching TV, now it is perfectly installed into the television.

I have my unit connected to a surround sound system recently. However, before purchasing the audio, I have been very satisfied with the speakers and sound system already in place. The main reason being that you can connect a sub-woofer to the TV, and there by greatly enhance the sound output. It is able to simulate surround sound using the Virtual Dolby Surround feature.

Another pleasant surprise I got was the ease of mounting the TV to the wall. The unit comes with a nice glass stand, but I finally decided to hang it on the wall. It comes with a wall bracket with holes spaced at 16" for standard drywall studs.
You can see the picture of my TV under the "custom image" link!

People supposedly spent around $100-$200 to buy plasma mounts. Similarly, the TV comes with the DVI-HDMI connector cable. This is the higher end video connection if your DVD or set-top box supports it. Again, the cable cost around $100 if purchased separately.

Many of the other cool sounding features are harder to distinguish. Is it sharper? Is it brighter? I don't think many of us can see the difference. All I can say is that the picture quality of the 42PF996 for High-Definition is simply amazing!! Mine is connected to Cable and I can no longer watch non-HD programming.

On the negative side, which has nothing to do with this particular model, do be aware of the following. Normal analog programming (non-HD) looks worse than on our old televisions. High Definition TVs magnify the imperfections. It is very painful to watch analog programming. Note that this unit does not have a built-in HD tuner. Which is not a big deal, because most of us get our HD programming from cable or satellite, which provides the tuner. It is useful to have a built-in tuner for 2 reasons. One is that you want to get HD signal over the air with antenna. Secondly, some cable companies can give you a 'card' in place of a cable box if your TV supports it.

Lastly, Philips customer service has been disappointing. This is not based on 1 phone call, but rather months of calls to resolve some questions.

I am the type that research the TV I buy quite thouroughly before buying, and found it useful to browse through the product manual online before purchasing. As in many other manufacturers, Philips has the manuals online for download: http://www.usasupport.philips.com/productSelector.html
So there should be no surprises regarding how many connections you need, what type of A/V available etc.

Good luck!

The best on the market! My 4th!

Review Date: July 3, 2005

Reviewer: D. D'Eugenio, Palm Beach, United States

I was considering (having narrowed it to) a couple of different well known brands in the six thousand dollar price range. Having started out leaning towards the bigger name brands the service tech did a fine job trying to keep me in the higher priced models. I'm not sure who wore who out. As I read more about the different models I found them to be very similar in their offerings, however, I kept leaning towards not what the descriptions said, but where I felt it mattered most, in the visual presentation of the picture I saw. I also found that visual presentation to be equally as personal. I asked others (in the showroom) their opinion and no surprise, I got as many differences as there were people. For example, I viewed some that looked to be naturally lighter and some darker and some with the hues more sedate than others that were more brilliant. We all saw them differently, yet the specs were all the same. My decision to buy this Phillips LCD plasma screen wasn't scientific, I bought it because I've had great success with Phillips products in the past and I found the picture to be as pleasing as models double the price! With the money I saved, I upgraded to the Bose audio system and still had plenty of money left to buy DVDs and the popcorn to go with them. I would strongly recommend this plasma screen and feel confident that you made the right decision. PS, don't let those clerks up-sell you, let your eye decide, after all it's you that will be watching it! Now I have 4 of them!

Wow, what a beautiful picture

Review Date: April 26, 2005

Reviewer: S. Pugh, Seattle

This is my first plasma screen and once I got the HD signal to it I was amazed. I can not wait to get it mounted on my wall instead of on the stand.

I can't imagine getting something from Amazon and not having it complete. I think the previous reviewer may have bought at a local store where it could have been previously opened.

My experiences with Amazon have been uniformally good

Ambilight is fantastic and the picture is great too

Review Date: May 31, 2007

Reviewer: Arthur P. Haviland Jr., Tampa Bay, Florida

I couldn't resist when Sears put this set on sale for $1,099. Best Buy was selling it for $1,699 at the same time. A week later, Sears had raised their price as well. In the store, it was hard to tell the effect from Ambilight. After I placed it in front of the white wall in my home, I had one response. WOW! The Ambilight feature changes the color that is projected behind the set to match what is on the screen. If you are watching a golf match, green light will be projected on the wall that will give depth to the image that you are watching. You have to see it to believe it.

I now own two Phillips plasma tvs. While I have never needed service, I have been able to update the firmware on my units by downloading it from their website and transferring it to a usb jump drive. Very easy to do. You can also put your photos on a jump drive and insert it in the usb slot on the side of the tv to display them. Picture quality is outstanding.

The only thing that kept me from giving this set five stars was the absence of cable card support. The non-ambilight version that I own does have a cable card slot. You have to bite the bullet and rent the hd set top box.

Has no remote

Review Date: April 10, 2005

Reviewer: TN Doc,

The picture was great but..... When the TV arrived it had no remote in the box. When I called Philips, they said they could not send me a remote; therefore, I boxed it up and sent it back. Very poor service from Philips.

Categories : 42inch HDTV

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