Customer Reviews

Philips 42PF9966 42-Inch HD-Ready Flat Panel Plasma TV

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought this TV in Dec 2004, so this is the experience after 6 months of living with the unit.

To my surprise, the most prominent feature of the TV is Ambilight. It is able to project a soft light from the back of the TV. You can turn it on/off, adjust the brightness, have it dynamically adjust to the color on the screen etc. I thought it was a gimmick, but have come to the conclusion that I cannot live without it. I used to have to find the appropriate light to leave on while watching TV, now it is perfectly installed into the television.

I have my unit connected to a surround sound system recently. However, before purchasing the audio, I have been very satisfied with the speakers and sound system already in place. The main reason being that you can connect a sub-woofer to the TV, and there by greatly enhance the sound output. It is able to simulate surround sound using the Virtual Dolby Surround feature.

Another pleasant surprise I got was the ease of mounting the TV to the wall. The unit comes with a nice glass stand, but I finally decided to hang it on the wall. It comes with a wall bracket with holes spaced at 16" for standard drywall studs.
You can see the picture of my TV under the "custom image" link!

People supposedly spent around $100-$200 to buy plasma mounts. Similarly, the TV comes with the DVI-HDMI connector cable. This is the higher end video connection if your DVD or set-top box supports it. Again, the cable cost around $100 if purchased separately.

Many of the other cool sounding features are harder to distinguish. Is it sharper? Is it brighter? I don't think many of us can see the difference. All I can say is that the picture quality of the 42PF996 for High-Definition is simply amazing!! Mine is connected to Cable and I can no longer watch non-HD programming.

On the negative side, which has nothing to do with this particular model, do be aware of the following. Normal analog programming (non-HD) looks worse than on our old televisions. High Definition TVs magnify the imperfections. It is very painful to watch analog programming. Note that this unit does not have a built-in HD tuner. Which is not a big deal, because most of us get our HD programming from cable or satellite, which provides the tuner. It is useful to have a built-in tuner for 2 reasons. One is that you want to get HD signal over the air with antenna. Secondly, some cable companies can give you a 'card' in place of a cable box if your TV supports it.

Lastly, Philips customer service has been disappointing. This is not based on 1 phone call, but rather months of calls to resolve some questions.

I am the type that research the TV I buy quite thouroughly before buying, and found it useful to browse through the product manual online before purchasing. As in many other manufacturers, Philips has the manuals online for download: http://www.usasupport.philips.com/productSelector.html
So there should be no surprises regarding how many connections you need, what type of A/V available etc.

Good luck!

I was considering (having narrowed it to) a couple of different well known brands in the six thousand dollar price range. Having started out leaning towards the bigger name brands the service tech did a fine job trying to keep me in the higher priced models. I'm not sure who wore who out. As I read more about the different models I found them to be very similar in their offerings, however, I kept leaning towards not what the descriptions said, but where I felt it mattered most, in the visual presentation of the picture I saw. I also found that visual presentation to be equally as personal. I asked others (in the showroom) their opinion and no surprise, I got as many differences as there were people. For example, I viewed some that looked to be naturally lighter and some darker and some with the hues more sedate than others that were more brilliant. We all saw them differently, yet the specs were all the same. My decision to buy this Phillips LCD plasma screen wasn't scientific, I bought it because I've had great success with Phillips products in the past and I found the picture to be as pleasing as models double the price! With the money I saved, I upgraded to the Bose audio system and still had plenty of money left to buy DVDs and the popcorn to go with them. I would strongly recommend this plasma screen and feel confident that you made the right decision. PS, don't let those clerks up-sell you, let your eye decide, after all it's you that will be watching it! Now I have 4 of them!

I just bought this TV 5 weeks ago. I heard a noise and now TV won't power on (though I have a monster power surge protector). Called Philps as any one else would do. According to them, it can take upto 20 days for them to get one part, so I should wait before calling them again. I tried after a week, same response. I have been given a ref number.. thats it. In which world do we live in? 20 days for a service rep to come with a part? And they don't even know if the part ordered was a right part.. what if is doesn't work?

I highly recommend that you think twice before buying a Philips TV. I did a mistake and would warn you.

I am posting reviews on ALL Philips Magnavox 42 plasma tv's. I purchased a 42" plasma from Circuit City, the sound went out on the TV, it also sometimes will not turn on or turn off. You have to use the main power shut off in the rear of the TV. The sound processing Board has been on back order I have not seen my TV in almost 2 months. Now they tell me it will take 20 more days till the part arrives to them , then they have to send it to the repair shop. Circuit City will not do anything to help me, not even make a phone call on my behalf, DO NOT BUY FROM PHILIPS MAGNAVOX if I would have read a review like this I would have got a different brand, its all too much of a head ache to deal with.

I just received this tv and I also found no remote control in the box. Called Philips Customer Service and found them to be totally unhelpful. This TV has a good picture but for $3000 pricetag, a remote would be a nice thing to have. As of now, Philips Customer Service is unsure when I will get a remote and wouldn't even consider sending me a cheap $10 one to at least change the channels.

My tv is 2 years old and now dead. It started with a red flashing light and no sound and black screen. Just google phillips flat screen tv red flashing light and you will see many complaints about this issue.

I paid $2000+ for mine and 60 days out of the warranty it popped and had no sound or picture. (red light flashes 7 times) I searched the webb and learned this is a very common story for this TV. It cannot be reasonably repaired and very few places even service this model in Central Indiana. I enjoyed it while it worked.

Bought this product as a refurbished item from the Phillips on-line store. Suddenly stopped working in the middle of game 5 of the NBA finals - first the picture went off, and then the sound. The green indicator light changed to a blinking red, and refused to even power off using either the remote button or the power button on the TV! Eventually had to unplug it to switch it off. Even though it's "under warranty", the only way to get any work done on it is to haul it to an authorized Phillip center, which is about 50 miles away. Checked on-line forums - apparently is a common, expensive problem with no easy solution. Had an independent, trusted TV repair man look at the problem - he immediately recommended scrapping the TV, and said it was a very common problem with Phillip TVs, and would cost at least $450 to fix. My strong recommendation is to never purchase a TV from Phillips!

I am amazed that the other reviewers laud the picture quality. I have a 6 year old RCA which I considered to be a poor tv (weighed over 200 pounds), but the screen on that shows no pixelation and more realistic color. There is NO comparison in picture quality and this one cost $300 more that that did. I was really shocked at how bad the picture is; it's actually annoying. Plasma supposedly gets worse over time. I can't wait.

When something moves onscreen you get a shadow, the TV takes a while to start, the screen jumps to adjust whenever you change channels, channel changing is slow. Really, this is the worst TV I have had since the 1960's. If you do not HAVE to hang your TV on a wall, do not buy this TV. Frankly, there are ones with better pictures than this. But don't buy a flat screen unless you need to. The quality is MUCH better on non flat models. At this point, cool technology loses out to plain decent functionality. My best TV is the RCA -- sad to say.

I purchased this TV in 2008 from Aaron's it has the Ambilight which I love to death but on the negative side the picture stopped working sometime this year!! I am not sure how long these TV's are suppose to last but I think with the amount of money I paid for it I should receive more than 3 years of service. I took it to the shop for the second time and it should run me about $300 to get it fixed...I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because it is Christmas and I have to decide on whether or not to get my TV fixed or get another one!! My first plasma TV died on me too early...Buy if you want to I just pray you don't have the same problems I had...Happy Buying!!