Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips 32PFL5522D - 32" Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV - With Freeview

I would highly recommend this TV, i brought mine from john lewis with a 5 year warranty (1 year as standard) and it beats other makes hands down, i looked hard and long as toshiba, panasonic, LG and they all had reported problems with the digital tv system hanging, and locking up.

As the guy above has said, the interface is basic for the freeview, but it is instant, not laggy like they are usually, you press a button it changes channel immediatly, no messing. (this is why they kept it simple).

Either this or the 26" i would recommend.!

The choice to go for this set was made for me; I had originally ordered the LG 32LC46 from Pixmania, as they had it on sale for £293, however I received an email the following day stating that it was out of stock and I would be receiving the Philips 32PF5566D/05 (it's full title) instead at no extra cost - I wasn't going to complain as this was the more expensive option. So on Christmas Eve (1 week after ordering) I received my new TV, and I must say that initial impressions were very promising...
To start, this LCD TV is gorgeous; it blows away almost everything else. Not as boring as a Sony, as tacky as a Samsung or as ugly as a Panasonic. Initially I had been looking Sony's and Panasonic's costing twice as much, and from a purely aesthetic point, this TV easily surpassed them. It has a thin jet black gloss bezel, and a black glass stand that is attached to the set by a silver metal column (with built in cable management) and 4 screws, and will look very impressive standing in the corner of any room. What dented initial impressions was the remote, which although looks good, feels cheap and insubstantial and as if gripping it too tightly may shatter it.
Connections are good rather than outstanding with 2 HDMI ports, 2 SCART ports (1 RGB), S-Video, component video and PC VGA inputs.
Hooking everything up is easy and straight forward and upon switching the set on for the first time, you will be guided through the initial setup which is very simple and after a matter of minutes you have all of the digital and analogue channels sorted.
Now the performance of the set is where its budget status within the current Philip's line starts to show. Freeview and Standard Definition material, while in general is very good, cannot be compared to the quality shown on (much) more expensive models, or even a half decent CRT. With a good quality digital signal, and by sitting about 8 feet away, higher quality programming (such as what can be seen on the major terrestrial channels) is reproduced well with good colour definition, picture clarity and black levels. However, as this set only includes the most basic of digital processors (called Pixel Plus HD) digital noised and artefacts on more obscure channels are very obvious, making the whole viewing experience quite unpleasant. These characteristics are also noticeable when watching live sports, such as Match of the Day, where the set really struggles with the colour and definition of the grass, thus making it look like its being streamed from the internet. On the plus side, the set seems to handle motion well, and you won't be getting that `Comet' effect on the ball or players (although some motion blur is evident on fast panning shots). The set come pre-programmed with 5 different picture and sound settings which should help when watching material from different sources, although I tend to stick with `Rich'. Furthermore, the EPG is very simple and a bit of a chore to use, so if you have been used to the system Sony employs, this may irritate.
HD material is where this TV really shines, an Xbox 360 hooked up via HDMI and at a resolution of 1080p looks glorious, clear, crisp, great colours and very good black levels. Again there is no evidence of motion blur or any other side effects from LCD technology. Furthermore up-scaled DVDs have a new lease of life, looking very sharp and detailed (although it does depend on the quality of the actual DVD), and can really make a difference to your viewing pleasure.
One feature missing is 24p compatibility, meaning that some fast moving scenes on HD-DVD's can judder slightly - it doesn't ruin thins, but is noticeable.
Sound is good, but not outstanding, again about right for the price bracket this set occupies.
In conclusion, a good set for the price, it looks fantastic, HD material is brilliant and it handles SD admirably while still displaying some inherent flaws with LCD technology as a whole.

Yes I know you can get cheaper screens or larger screens for the same cost but the quality of the picture and the product make this worthwhile. From the glass stand (turnable) to the glossy black surround the TV feels like a quality product. The sound is also clear with effective surround sound without obvious large speakers cluttering up the looks. Plenty of inputs and an easy to use remote control complete the package. Very pleased so far with the picture both on analogue and digital, yet to try HD input but the playstation 2 has a new lease of life through the S-Video input. All in all excellent value and a quality product.

I am totally delighted with my tv it took about ten minutes to tune in
and the delivery service is the best I ordered it one day and it was here
the next the picture is very sharp and the quality of the sound is excellent I am over the moon it's just the best purchase I have ever made
thankyou Amazon.

What a beautiful screen for such a low price!
This is a top end tv with a very attractive price.Enjoy films and tv shows more. HD ready as well if your lucky enough to have sky hd or Playstation3 or any other hd input, you wont be able to stop watching!

5 out of 5!

Buy quickly! (Oh and the manuals a good read too :p)