What a set!
Written: Dec 20 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Picture Quality: |
|
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Picture quality, aesthetics
Cons: Guide+, fan, remote, documentation
The Bottom Line: I'm very please with this purchase. Given the opportunity to buy it again, I'm pretty sure I would. If you get the chance, definitely take a look at this set.
|
|
|
| bqbq's Full Review: Philips 55PP9701 55 in. TV |
This set was the "Stereophile Guide to Home Theater" RPTV of the year for 2001.
First, the bad stuff.
The Guide+ feature feels clunky and slow so I never use it. The RPTV doesn't know that, however, so it continues to scan for schedule info. While scanning, it kicks on a cooling fan. This occurs even when your set is not in use. It's kind of like hearing your radiator fan run after shutting off the car. When the set is on, I don't hear the fan at all. I just wish there was a menu selection to turn this feature off to make my home a little more quiet.
The remote has a decent layout, but the some keys are finicky and don't always seem to work. It seems rather directional, too. I gave up on it and now use a Sony RM-VL900 -- check it out at www.remotecentral.com. It's a much better remote, and it was only $46 shipped to my door.
The documentation that comes with this set is, at best, adequate. Hey, Philips! For this kind of money, you can do better! There isn't even a decent spec sheet! Give me a break!
Next, the average stuff...
The audio on this set is pretty good but not the best on the planet. In general, I use the built in speakers for TV watching and an outboard A/V receiver for DVD playback.
Calibrating this set for color and tint could be better could have been accomodated better. On Video Essentials, you have to play menu games to be able to see the color bars -- a bit of a hassle, but it's not something you do every day, either.
Like all RPTVs, control of ambient light is an issue, but it has a surprisingly good picture even with extra light in the room.
Now, the good stuff...
I'd been looking at sets when Best Buy (!) ran an ad for it in the local newspaper. It certainly was the best looking RPTV at Best Buy. It may have a better picture than the Sony XBR RPTV, though a side by side comparison wasn't possible. It also gives the Pioneer Elite RPTVs a run for the money. The list price on this set is $4799. Best Buy's ad said the price was $3500. We negociated down to $2865. I'd been looking at Sony Wega's in that price range, so this was an easy choice.
On analog cable (Time Warner), the picture ranges from OK to surprisingly good. It has never been unwatchable. I think that says a lot about the quality of the line doubler. It has occasionally produced artifacts, but it's been rare. As expected, composite video inputs are OK, but S-Video and component video inputs from DVD are excellent, and IMHO, very close in picture quality, though component still has an edge. I saw this set produce an HDTV picture in Best Buy that was amazing. I don't have an HD tuner, so I can't say for certain what it will look like in my home.
The SGHT review of this set indicated that it has trouble with progressive scan DVD players. I'm using a Pioneer Elite DV-05 DVD player (not progressive), and have had no problems. The picture on the best DVDs is stunning and looks 3D. The colors are gorgeous. This set has not (yet) been ISF calibrated.
There are likely to be more RPTVs that give this competition at this price point over the next year or two, but for now, I'm not aware of any set that can touch this level of quality for the price.
The SGHT article reviewing this set noted that it's also sold under the Marantz label. They're right. I saw one at a high end A/V store in Nashville.
Lastly, this is a good looking RPTV. It doesn't look as big as it really is. Perhaps the T-shape has something to do with that. In any case, even my wife likes how it looks.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2865.00
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
bqbq
|
|
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.