Review: Philips 32PFL7605H

Conventional (CCFL) LCD will be extinct by the end of 2011 at this rate. Philips' 32PFL7605H is the latest in a procession of startlingly affordable, relatively small edge LED TVs and its diode-driven backlight delivers benefits ranging from its super-svelte chassis through to enhanced picture quality.The pleasingly extensive features include Ambilight, open internet access and Pixel Precise HD processing and there is a high degree of multimedia support, with all sorts of video, photo and music files being playable via either USB storage devices or DLNA PCs. You can make the TV Wi-Fi ready, too, if you add an optional USB adaptor.The feature count isn't totally comprehensive, though, as the set sports neither 3D support nor a Freeview HD tuner. The former omission is entirely forgivable on a �620 edge LED set, but the missing HD TV tuner is harder to stomach, although this is a flaw common to every set in the current lineup.The 8000 series above the PFL7605H adds 3D playback via a bundled pack and introduces the more powerful Perfect Pixel HD video processor. If money's no object, meanwhile, the 9000 Series, with direct LED lighting and superior 3D capabilities (except on the 32-inch model), is well worth investigating.The backlight makes for an extremely svelte TV and a distinctive metallic silver livery and rounded corners complete an extremely pleasing picture.Ambilight Spectra 2 ranges rows of LED lights down the set's left and right sides to cast pools of coloured light onto whatever is behind the set, changing the hue and intensity to suit whatever is onscreen, usually uncannily accurately.It might sound gimmicky, but the feature is now so sophisticated that is can even compensate for the colour of your walls and repeated tests of the system suggest that it makes long-term viewing less tiring and more engaging.The surprisingly generous connections kick off with four HDMIs, one of which is built to the v1.4 spec, enabling it to offer an audio return channel to your AV receiver. If you're a multimedia type of person, you will also doubtlessly get plenty of use out of the provided USB and Ethernet ports, both of which enable playback of most of the main photo, music or video format types from USB storage and DLNA PC devices.The Ethernet also provides the portal to Philips' part weird, part wonderful online service, NetTV. The weird part is the section devoted to ring-fenced content controlled by Philips and is designed to work well with a TV operating system. There is plenty of video content, but sadly most of it is subscription only and it doesn't help that much of it is foreign (ie, non English) language.The wonderful, currently unique aspect of NetTV is that is enables you to surf the web at large via a built-in Opera browser. This has limitations (it doesn't work with plug ins, for instance) and having to input lots of text and navigating web pages using a TV remote isn't ideal, but having more or less unfettered access to the internet feels genuinely liberating.The last really important feature of the 32PFL7605H is its picture processing. Pixel Precise HD might only be half as powerful as the top-end Perfect Pixel HD engine, but it is still extremely potent and outperforms most if its rivals in such important areas as colour, contrast and motion handling and gets an added boost from 100Hz scanning.If it isn't to your taste, every individual facet of the processing is adjustable via the onscreen menus.The 32PFL7605H's ingenious remote control combines an elegant, tactile design with a remarkably low button count while managing to handle the vast amount of features at your disposal with ease.The onscreen menus are similarly well considered; they're not particularly pretty, but are mostly logically organised and it is clear that considerable time and effort has gone into striking the optimal balance direct button feature access and selection from the onscreen menus.The only downside to the system is the extent to which you need to get involved with the 32PFL7605H's various processing tricks. This is because some of the tools available can make pictures look worse if you set them too high or apply them to the wrong sort of material and Philips still doesn't seem particularly adept at adjusting all the processing options automatically. In other words, you'll need to revisit the picture set up menus quite regularly if you want to get the best from the 32PFL7605H.Put some effort into optimising the picture and the rewards can be considerable. Sharpness with HD sources is prodigious compared to many similarly priced rivals, thanks to a combination of raw clarity, and detail reproduction, while Pixel Precise all but entirely eradicates motion blur and judder. The high processing settings needed to achieve this, though, result in a picture that looks a bit too smooth to be real, especially with film sources. Plus, the complete removal of motion artefacts require the HD Natural Motion and 100Hz systems to be set to their highest level, which can result in shimmering noise around moving objects.Running the motion compensation circuitry on a low level seems to work best, though it is worth experimenting with pushing up higher for some material and turning it off altogether for others. The processing also helps deliver a well above average standard-definition performance. All but the lowest-quality Freeview sources are rescaled to the full HD screen with good sharpness and without too much noise and there's little, if any, sign of any reduction in colour accuracy.Tones, while certainly vigorous and bold, look a notch more believable at all times than they do on most comparable sets, enjoying a surprising degree of subtlety when portraying such tricky fare as skin tones and detailed landscapes. While the 32PFL7605H's is often a potent, engaging force to behold, however, it fails to excel with black level response. Dark scenes are a little greyed over, arguably more so than with its TV's 40in sibling, the 40PFL7605, making dark scenes feel a little flatter and less richly detailed than brighter moments.The 32PFL7605H also suffers slightly more noticeably from backlight inconsistencies than the larger version, with thin strips of extra brightness in a couple of places along its bottom edge and one along the top. Thankfully, these don't spread across much of the picture, but can still be a little distracting during very dark footage.Pixel Precise HD doesn't upscale standard-definition material quite as cleanly as the newer Perfect Pixel processing engine and is more prone to leaving shimmering around moving objects if you've got the Natural Motion circuitry operating, but its strengths are still considerable for a �620 edge LED TV.One final weakness that's pretty much a given with LCD is that the screen isn't particularly tolerant of wide viewing angles: contrast drops off and colours lose saturation from as little as 35� off-axis.SoundThe 32PFL7605H is a decently accomplished audio performer with a mid-range wide enough to leave vocals sounding rounded and credible and trebles sounding clear without becoming harsh, sibilant or over dominant. There's even a small amount of bass in the mix, though as usual with a very slim TV, this remains an area where things could be improved.ValuePerformance and features are both sufficiently high compared to Toshiba's ridiculously cheap 32SL738 model to justify the Philips' extra cost comfortably. The 32PFL7605H catches the eye by being unusually cheap for a Philips TV, but its early appeal runs much deeper than that. For a start, it looks classy, thanks to a slim profile and an unusual metallic silver bezel finish, not to mention the Ambilight light pools spilling from its sides.It's also got all the connections you'd expect to find on a more expensive TV, including extensive multimedia capability. Particularly good to find for �620 are the set's DLNA support and online features that include open internet access.The video processing, while not Philips' most advanced, is still impressively potent for the money and does a very good job of making standard and high-definition pictures look very impressive, provided you're willing to revisit the setup options reasonably frequently.With some decent audio to accompany the good pictures, the only thing stopping the 32PFL7605H bagging a maximum overall mark is a slightly uninspiring black level performance.We likedTelevisions as attractive and distinctive as the 32PFL7605H are rare beneath �650. It's exceptionally well equipped for multimedia, features one of the best remote controls around, and is, for the most part, a good performer.We dislikedThe set's black level response and backlight consistency aren't quite as accomplished as those of this TV's larger siblings and you need to spend more time than usual in the TV's many onscreen menus in order to keep getting the best out of the set, as some of the processing options can cause problems with certain types of material. The omission of a Freeview HD tuner is also unfortunate.VerdictThe 32PFL7605H puts sophisticated LED technology within reach of a mainstream audience with no significant compromises to performance.The set also manages to cling to an impressive roster of features despite its affordability, with highlights being its potent video processing mix and its online capability, especially open web access.The 32PFL7605H falls marginally short of top marks on account of not having a Freeview HD tuner and problems with deep black level response, but it's still really good value, especially for someone after a quality second room set.Related LinksTVs@TechRadar - our new TV channelTechRadar's Review GuaranteeRelated StoriesReview: Panasonic TX-L32D25BReview: Panasonic TX-P37X20Review: Panasonic TX-P37X20Review: Philips 40PFL9705Review: Toshiba 55WL768Craigslist