Philips 46PFL8008S - Mobile Phone Advisor

Philips 46PFL8008SPosted by admin on September 26th, 2014 12:00 PM

Contents

Introduction
Also available
Features
Picture quality
Usability, sound and value
Usability
Sound
Value
Verdict
We liked
We disliked
Final verdict
Also consider

Introduction

Philips has actually produced the Televisions with the very best construct quality for as long as we can keep in mind, which continues with the ballistic Philips 46PFL8008S.

The uncommon skeletal system desktop stand is hardly there at all and produces a virtually drifting appearance, and unlike numerous, it swivels, too, while the TV’s metallic materials are top-quality and lovely.

The 8mm (0.3 inch)-broad bezel (which tapers back to 12mm/0.5 inches) will impress, as will certainly the 32.5 mm (1.3-inch) depth, though it’s exactly what’s going on behind that’ll really blow your socks off.

Ambilight in its three-sided XL flavor – a selection of 36 LEDs studded to the back of the Philips 46PFL8008S’s frame – puts on a dynamically changing light show across the walls behind the TV.

Tech-wise, the Philips 46PFL8008S uses a 200Hz, edge LED-lit panel that boasts a dual-core processor within – something that’s progressively crucial to make the extra smart TV-rated functions functional.

Talking which, this TV does have a half-decent collection of apps, though BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Blinkbox and Netflix are the only genuine highlights.

Perfect Pixel HD ties together some sophisticated image choices, while 3D – in the active shutter 3D Max guises – puts in a magnificent appearance.

However, the genuine advance on rivals is using two subwoofers on the Philips 46PFL8008S’s back, they plump out the rear of the TV a little, but by golly it’s worth the sacrifice. Not only is it the best-looking TV around, the Philips 46PFL8008S is also one of the best-sounding we’ve actually heard given that TVs got thin.

Also available

This 46-inch Philips 46PFL8008S – priced at ₤ 1,800 (around US$ 2,790 / AU$ 3,120) – is the smallest in Philips’ 8000 Series for 2013 below the range-topper, the 55-inch Philips 55PFL8008S (₤ 2,500).

Further up is the flagship 9000 Series, whose yearly iterations routinely trouble the ‘Best TV of the year’ honors. Come September we completely anticipate the 9000 Series to be reborn as a lineup of rather big Ultra HD/4K TVs, however for now we can just inform you about 2012’s stunner, the 46-inch Philips 46PFL9707S (₤ 2,500).

The Philips 46PFL9707S can effectively be the only LED backlit LCD TELEVISION staying on sale that provides the slightly thicker, however far better, ‘direct’ LED system. Many other LED TVs on sale now – including the Philips 46PFL8008 – use Edge LED lighting that fires in the brightness from the sides of the screen. It’s less precise, but it can still produce marvellous outcomes.

Features

The Philips 46PFL8008 has a Full HD resolution, 200Hz panel, it sports sophisticated good appearances, and inside is a Freeview HD tuner, however the first thing you’ll discover about the Philips 46PFL8008S will likely be its special Ambilights. Right here, the system is explained by Philips as Ambilight three-sided XL, which makes up strips of LED lights (9 on the sides and 18 throughout the top), though they are all around the back and completely out of sight from the typical viewing position.

It’s clever stuff – when you’ve actually mentioned to the Philips 46PFL8008S exactly what color your living-room (or house cinema) walls are, it monitors exactly what colors are being displayed on the TELEVISION screen in real-time, picking out the dominant shades and forecasting a calculated mix on to the walls around.

What you get is an ever-changing play of light that’s expected to ‘magnify’ your participation in whatever you are viewing. If your living-room is at the front of a building it can have an alarming effect on exactly what light is projected out, however the dynamics of the system can be tweaked and relaxed quite easily. We like it.

High-end Televisions hardly ever skimp on the ins and outs, and the Philips 46PFL8008S is no different. In the box are a few adaptors for those wishing to connect Scart or element video, though the onboard slots are plentiful.

The rear holds 3 downward-facing HDMI inputs, an RF aerial for powering its built-in Freeview HD tuner, a Scart adaptor jack and a digital optical audio output. Simply above is an outward-facing wired Ethernet LAN port, some basic audio ins and an adaptor jack for component video.

A side panel adds a fourth HDMI together with a stunning three USB slots, a headsets jack and a CI slot. You’ll need a 4GB USB flash drive for time out live TV functions, and an HDD of a minimum of 250GB for making recordings from Freeview.

There’s a Wi-Fi module inside that gets the Philips 46PFL8008S online as well as powers Wi-Fi Miracast, a screen mirroring tech for Android phones.

Wi-Fi likewise assists with the Skype system, which on the Philips 46PFL8008S makes it possible for native video calls thanks to its pop-down camera. We are quite sure that’s a distinct design selection, considering that the majority of such video cameras on LG, Samsung and Panasonic TVs are situated on the top of the TELEVISION.

The Philips 46PFL8008S does have Philips Smart TELEVISION included, but do not expect industry-leading antics on this front. It’s absolutely nothing to get upset about, considering that all the significant apps are right here, however there are plenty missing, too.

In our test we counted apps for BBC iPlayer, Blinkbox, Netflix, iConcerts, Muzu. tv, YouTube, Facebook and Absolute Radio on the front page, though around a dozen others are likewise available to download.

The e-mail and internet browser widgets demand the attentions of among the Philips 46PFL8008S’s star functions – its double-sided push-button control. It’s a well-crafted product indeed, which makes use of wonderful quality products and holds a nicely spaced-out variety of buttons on one side, and a QWERTY keyboard on the back.

The QWERTY keyboard is divided into two halves, with a huge space in between, to make it a thumbs-only experience. It’s a wise step – and the push-button control function as a Nintendo Wii-style guideline remote, too.

A MyRemote app is offered, which powers SimplyShare digital media sharing and some cloning of live TV channels (that run about 10 seconds behind), while the Philips 46PFL8008S also consists of 3D Max (active shutter 3D) and 2D to 3D conversion of any video source.

However, it’s the constant refinements of Philips’ picture processing suite, Perfect Pixel HD, that verifies to be the most essential to the Philips 46PFL8008S’s success.

Picture quality

Although this is a TV with enough tweaks and management decisions to make it a preferred among AV geeks, we are relieved to state that the Philips 46PFL8008S’s picture presets – in particular Motion picture, ISF Day and ISF Night – all provide an exceptional picture with no messing around. You’ll discover them in the Photo Design folder on the Details button.

That’s a great thing to see on a Philips TV, and the good news doesn’t stop there, due to the fact that the Philips 46PFL8008S at its finest is virtually unsurpassable. It hosts a very comprehensive image the like which we’ve actually not seen before.

There’s constantly a threat with LCD panels that this quality can vanish with fast activity, however that’s not the case here, which’s largely down to the 200Hz panel, which handled some very fluid images during our frenetic test disc of Star Expedition.

Those sickened by the sight of on-screen judder should go to the menu’s Perfect Natural Activity frame interpolation feature. Such innovation – which is designed to retain the comprehensive image throughout fast-moving scenes and remove visible judder – typically falls over by presenting a raw video-like high frame rate look as well as various artefacts around moving things and stars.

For 2013 it seems that a lot of producers have at last got to grips with frame interpolation, which includes Philips. Perfect Natural Activity left on its Minimum setting creates a very clean and precise image whose produced fluidity is simple on the eye. There’s the odd flicker or tear around fast-moving items, however it’s uncommon.

However, the photo is better than smooth. We are talking an exceptionally broad and very carefully graded color scheme that’s developed around the Philips 46PFL8008S’s core contrast and black levels.

With no LED light leakage to compete with, this edge-lit LED panel plays host to a dizzyingly deep analysis of jet black that commonly consists of lots of shadow information.

We did notice some glare from small brilliant things when watched on a jet black background (a panoramic of a city in the evening programs this up), though, as well as a seeing angle that is not really the widest in town.

Another key skill of the Philips 46PFL8008S is upscaling. Our maturing test DVD of The West Wing looks really clean and including, regardless of the enormous drop in detail, while even some VGA-sized videos from YouTube are watchable regardless of the apparent digital obstructing.

As if the Philips 46PFL8008S’s depth charges were not enough, it’s got Max 3D, too – active shutter in our language. This system uses 2 frames of Full HD video instead of the half-res polarised screens (which likewise happens to be typical within Philips’ lineup of TVs), and the included effect is palpable.

The 2D to 3D mode is hit-and-miss, revealing graphics in a shaky, complicated manner, but a close-up of some waterfalls while watching Orbit look sensational. 3D conversion appears to be a feature that deserves thinking about, especially given that it works on any source.

Still, our natively 3D test disc Hugo is much better – stunning, in fact – with the Philips 46PFL8008S showing even more contrast than in 2D mode. Once once more we chose to engage Perfect Natural Activity, and the way it removes judder from the opening series of Paris scenic scenes is just impossible to withstand.

It’s a mostly crosstalk-free performance, too (if you neglect the option to increase 3D depth), though cynics will say that the paltry two pairs of 3D specifications are not nearly as comfy as the polarised 3D system.

They likewise let in a great deal of reflections, which buoys-up claims that the Philips 46PFL8008S is best made use of in house cinema blackout conditions.

Its spectacular colors, information, motion and especially black levels back up that impression still further.

Usability, sound and value

Usability

The Philips 46PFL8008S is a basic TV with few pretenses. The interface’s carousel of colourful icons for different features – inputs, smart TV and TV guide – is simple and extremely fast to skip around, thanks mainly to the use of a dual-core processor. Moving in between sources and making use of the eight-day TELEVISION guide is a cinch, and everything looks terrific.

As well as changing the TELEVISION remote entirely, the Philips MyRemote app for Android and iOS gadgets allows you to stream pictures, music and video from the smartphone or tablet it’s set up on, in addition to from networked computer systems.

The Wi-Fi clever screen function clones the live TELEVISION channel you are viewing and puts it on an Android or iOS device, however we were not able to connect the app to the TELEVISION in order to utilize it to check the TV’s digital Guide features.

In theory it’s possible, however the pairing code set-up info is wrong and it’s not possible to produce a smartphone link code. We are amazed that nobody checked this.

Stick a USB flash drive into the side and the Philips 46PFL8008S supports MP3, M4A, WAV and WMA music files (including lossless OGG and APE if you stream) in addition to JPEG images and AVI, MKV, MOV, WMV, AVC HD, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video.

Unfortunately MKV files can’t be streamed. The media gamer software is also a bit fiddly, and needs streamlining.

Sound

Is this the best-sounding TELEVISION around? The frame-like desktop stand is a departure from 2012’s stand-with-built-in-speakers idea, but the Philips 46PFL8008S does have completely respectable audio.

It’s geared up with 2 15W-rated speakers and a few rear-mounted subwoofers, which together produce a wide soundstage fulled of treble detail and rich, bassy undertones. Both the Music and Film modes are outstanding.

Value

It’s always tough to evaluate value on a TV over ₤ 1,500, but the Philips 46PFL8008S makes a convincing case for its high price tag. Chief amongst our reasons are the special Ambilight feature and those on-screen fireworks, though we are also conscious that few Televisions even at this price-point are this well-made.

The push-button control is likewise worth a reference – it’s fantastic – while the provision of two pairs of active shutter 3D glasses is rather basic for this kind of 3D TV, whatever its cost.

Verdict

Philips has constantly been firmly in the camp that thinks that clever picture processing is the only method to produce the best-ever photo quality, though that’s actually often meant that its TVs have been difficult to set up and have commonly hosted fake-looking images.

Happily, that’s not the case with the Philips 46PFL8008S, which is both simple to set up and right up there among the very best edge LED-backlit LCD Televisions on sale.

We liked

The close-up detail, the extensive black levels, skillful mixed brightness sequences, color and fluid detail-retaining motion all impress. Ambilight is a stunning function, while the double-sided remote and bottom-mounted built-in cam are distinct.

Brilliantly though just developed, the Philips 46PFL8008S’s innovative stereo, well-judged picture presets and its dual-core processor make it a joy to listen to, to see and to make use of.

We disliked

Aside from a few troubles with its 2nd screen apps and an interface that frankly is not the best around (though certainly is not really the worst, either), the only issue we’ve with the Philips 46PFL8008S is some small glare from brilliant white items on jet black backgrounds. However, most TVs cannot produce jet black, so we are being particular.

The absence of a Lovefilm app will certainly put some purchasers off, and it must be said that Philips Smart TELEVISION is not really the most dynamic platform around. The absence of MKV streaming is likewise a concern.

Final verdict

Philips’ top Full HD tv for 2013 – with the exception of the bigger Philips 55PFL8008S, perhaps – is one of the very best in business. Information in both moving images and close-ups is exceptional, blacks are profound and its Perfect Natural Activity circuitry includes an enjoyable high frame rate-look.

Ambilight impresses as soon as again, while the drifting design is exceptionally efficient. Its double-sided remote makes getting in text on a TV at least a possibility, while the sound quality is nothing except spectacular.

Also consider

Among the Philips 46PFL8008S’s competitors at the vital 46-inch size are the Sony KDL-46W905A – most likely its closest opposition in regards to pure image prowess – though it’s also worth auditioning Edge LED TVs such as the Samsung UE46F8000, Samsung UE46F7000 and the Panasonic TX-L46DT65B.

If you are set on a big screen, however, it would be verging on an offence not to check out a couple of 50-inch plasma TVs, such as the Panasonic TX-P50VT65 and the Samsung PS51F8500, which both excel with 2D and 3D Blu-ray material.

First reviewed 28 August 2013