Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 HDTV

The Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 has some very nice features. For a low cost HDTV, there’s definitely a lot to like with this set. Getting this investment, you get a 42-inch HDTV set with USB-based multimedia capabilities. The Philips HDTV does a fantastic job of simulating surround sound, and some intelligent thinking obviously went into designing the remote. However, the only major flaw for this TV is in the crucial area of image quality. Obviously, its weak image quality neautralizes much of the previously mentioned feature set.

An evidence to its weak image rendering is how it handled skin tones. Skin tones, on this set, is not very polised as it leaned more towards a reddish hue. The set also had problems with movement as well, producing blurs and pixilation. And while processing 720p video, the 42PFL7403D/F7 exhibited a serious overscan problem, cutting off significant content on all four sides of the screen.

However, when it comes to audio, the 42PFL7403D/F7 delivered a much better sound that image quality. This is surprising coming from built-in TV speakers. The 42PFL7403D/F7 simulates surround sound as well as any HDTV out in the market today.

Thanks to its built-in USB port, the 42PFL7403D/F7 can play photo slideshows (JPEG files only) and MP3 audio files from any USB-based drive. And in case you want to watch TV without waking the family, it has a headphone jack as well.

Speaking of picture modes, the 42PFL7403D/F7 has a separate, convenient menu just for changing this option. Another small menu, called Quick Access, lets you change audio settings, closed captioning, and other features without navigating through the more complex master menu.

Overall, the Philips 42PFL7403D/F7 is a pretty good set when it comes to price tags and attentive touches. However, its unimpressive image quality is a major deal breaker. Shelling out a few dollars could give you a much better set with a much better image quality. After all, image quality is more or less everything when it comes to television.

Sources:
http://www.amazon.com

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