Philips 55PFS6609 LED HD 1080p 3D Smart TV 55 inch review. In 2014 Philips appears to be focusing on value. As well as securing a seemingly popular berth in Argos with some seriously affordable entry-level models, the brand is out to woo more discerning but cash-conscious viewers by aggressively pricing its mid-range sets. This 55in LED TV, for instance, costs only £1,000.
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| Philips 55PFS6609 LED HD 1080p 3D Smart TV 55" Review |
Thankfully, the 55PFS6609 doesn't look cheap. In fact, with a gorgeously high quality aluminium frame wrapped around the screen and its glossy white rear, it's one of the prettiest TVs I've seen so far in 2014. Despite not being curved...
Of course, it doesn't exactly hurt the 55PFS6609's aesthetics that it's equipped with Ambilight, where LEDs down its left and right sides throw out coloured light that can be matched with remarkable tonal and positional accuracy to the content of the image you're watching. To live with Ambilight for any amount of time is to not want to live without it again, even with this two-sided iteration (a four-sided version graces high-end sets)
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| Need for Speed crashes into your cinema on Blu-ray |
Network-savvy
Connectivity on the 55PFS6609 is strong, with four HDMIs, two USBs, and the usual Ethernet and Wi-Fi network options. The USBs support playback of a wide variety of multimedia file formats, while the network options support both DLNA streaming from connected devices and access to the latest Philips Smart TV online platform.
This platform is improved from 2013's rather ropey effort. It runs much less sluggishly for a start, despite using more complex and high-resolution graphics, and it's upped its content levels a bit so that highlights now include Netflix, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, BBC News, Blinkbox, Spotify and YouTube. However, the continuing lack of any 4OD, Demand 5, ITV Player and Amazon Instant Video support – together with the fact that its built-in content recommendation system seems to work with only a very limited number of potential sources – means it's still only a B-lister in Smart terms. Philips does at least seem to be moving in the right direction, but it's doing so rather slowly.
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| Philips' menu system has been retweaked for 2014 and is easier to navigate, but note that this set doesn't feature the Android Smart platform that was announced at CES – we expect those screens to surface in the Autumn. |
Presumably as part of its bid to be more aggressive on price, Philips has fitted the 55PFS6609 with its second-tier Pixel Precise HD processing system rather than its top-tier Perfect Pixel HD system. This is a pity given that I've consistently found the top-level system to deliver superior motion processing and noise reduction. But Pixel Precise HD is nonetheless an extremely powerful tool in the context of the TV world, delivering key elements here of a 400Hz-emulating motion compensation system (made up of a combination of a native 100Hz refresh rate, frame interpolation and backlight blinking); multiple noise reduction systems; and various modes for boosting sharpness and contrast.
In fact, the quantity of picture adjustments the 55PFS6609 provides is so extensive that it can make it a bit tiresome to use, particularly as some of the processing elements can do more harm than good. For instance, I'd suggest not using the noise reduction or sharpness boosting systems at all, at least with HD sources, and urge extreme caution with the motion and colour processing options, leaving both only on their lowest-strength settings if you don't want pictures to start looking overly molested. In fact, you may not want to bother with the HD Natural Motion system at, all given that the 55PFS6609's native pictures aren't especially susceptible to LCD's motionblur problems.
The Sharpness of Smaug
This motion clarity plays a significant part in the TV's most noticeable picture strength: its exceptional sharpness when showing HD. The strikingly crisp transfer of the treasure halls in The Desolation of Smaug Blu-ray is done full justice; in fact, the quality of Philips' picture engine is such that you'd be forgiven for thinking at times that you were watching a picture containing more than the 1,920 x 1,080 pixels it offers.
Also helping the 55PFS6609 stand out from the crowd is an intense brightness and colour vibrancy to its imagery. This extremely potent look is down in part to the employment of a direct LED lighting system, rather than the more common edge-mounted approach, and the effect is so powerful at times that pictures look almost luminous. Naturally, this makes the set a good option for a bright room, as well as injecting gorgeous life into Peter Jackson's consistently rich-toned fantasy world.
The worry with a picture as bright as this is that black level response will take a bath, even more so as Philips doesn't apply a local dimming engine to the direct LED lighting. But mercifully, while it's not a classic black level performer, this 55in mid-ranger isn't the contrast disaster zone I'd feared. During the murky Spiders of Mirkwood sequence, for instance, there is a slight grey wash hanging over the darkest parts of the screen, but it's not severe enough to make the scene seem unconvincing – especially as the screen proves unusually good at reproducing shadow details in dark areas, giving the picture a sense of depth equivalent to that seen with bright content.
Also showing that the 55PFS6609's contrast performance is no mug is the way the TV manages to retain good vibrancy with colours during darker material, largely avoiding any ‘wash out' when handling low-lit content.
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| The 55in Philips comes with a stylish remote. |
There are three serious gripes I have with the 55PFS6609's 2D images. First, the sharpness I mentioned comes with a little noise attached, as well as some slightly forced edging around Bilbo during some of Desolation's most contrast-rich images. Second, as hinted earlier, you have to spend time revisiting the TV's menus if you want to continually get the best picture results with different sources – something that the brand's rivals generally avoid. Third, my input lag measurements recorded a figure of 100ms, which makes the 55PFS6609 a problematic screen for serious gamers.
It is still strong overall with 2D, though. Alas, the same cannot be said of its 3D performance. At first glance all looks well, with the searing colour and brightness doing a great job of countering any dullness introduced by the active 3D glasses. And the Philips' sharpness works well at making the 3D world feel dense and real. However, all this good work is totally undone by vast quantities of crosstalk ghosting. This was so widespread and aggressive throughout the 3D version of The Desolation of Smaug (which features lots of largescale vista shots tailor-made to throw up crosstalk if a display is susceptible to it) that it made the film pretty much impossible to watch.
I can end on a positive note with the Philips' audio. This TV combines an open-sounding performance from its speakers with more bass than I'm commonly used to. This low-end did distort a bit when trying to reproduce some of the deepest Smaug-induced rumbles, but generally it contributes well to a solid all-round sonic display.
Nearly, but not quite
It's impossible not to feel a bit frustrated by the Philips 55PFS6609, as it limits its audience a little with its poor 3D and laggy gaming performance. Many, though, will not be bothered by either of those things and can't aff ord the (still considerable) financial step up to a good 4K screen. With that in mind, this glamorous-looking 55-incher is probably a bit of a bargain. It trades the last word in deep blacks for vibrancy and colour punch, but its HD visuals will still put a smile on your face.
Specifications
3D: Yes. Active
4K: No. 1,920 x 1,080
TUNER: Freeview HD
CONNECTIONS: 4 x HDMI; component video;
composite video; RGB Scart; 2 x USB, integrated Wi-Fi; Ethernet; RF input; CI slot; stereo audio output
SOUND: 20W
BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 350cd/m2
CONTRAST RATIO (CLAIMED): N/A
DIMENSIONS (OFF STAND): 1,231(w) x 715(h) x 54(d)mm
WEIGHT: 17.4kg
FEATURES:
Pixel Precise HD processing;
Smart TV features including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Blinkbox, YouTube and internet browser;
two-sided Ambilight;
Ambilight + Hue support;
direct LED lighting;
Micro Dimming Pro system;
400HZ motion rate;
installation wizard;
My Remote app with Simply Share for mobile devices;
media file playback from DLNA & USB;
Miracast
PROS:
Stunning good looks;
bright, colourful, detailed pictures;
decent sonics;
strong value
CONS:
High input lag;
horribly ghosty 3D;
subwoofer occasionally distorts;
second-tier Smart platform
View complete specs and price
