Philips LCD 42PFL9532

Design and Features
Like all Philips TVs, this comes in an all-black bezel with a glossy finish. The stand is rectangular, with a similar exterior, though the neck of the stand is in metallic silver. The TV has a slim, horizontal black speaker attached to the bottom of the frame, while the left side has the buttons for operation. All in all, this is a good-looking TV that eschews curves and other costly design facets, yet fits easily into a classy décor.

In the rear are 3 HDMI connections, the norm these days. Component, composite and the rest are also present. A USB inlet plays JPEGs and MP3s, though not videos (that would be the day)! Though I feel that viewing JPEGs on such a large screen will definitely lead to pixelation, Philips deserves credit for adding the feature.

The PFL9532 has a large number of features: some proprietary, some generic. Like all full-HD panels, this one too plays up to 1080p 50/60 Hz, and everything below, so resolution is not an issue. Philips has clearly jumped on to the frame-rate doubling bandwagon, so we get some interpolated 100 Hz frame rates: but how useful it actually is a topic of discussion.

Perfect Pixel HD and HD Natural Motion are the proprietary features; these have performed well in the past. Dynamic contrast is 8000:1, brightness is 550 cd/m2, and the color chip uses 14 bit processing. That’s what’s stated – if accurate, the colors are sure to be good.

And... it’s got the Ambilight, arguably the ‘bestest’ feature ever!