Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips 17" WXGA LCD Flat TV 17PF9946

I've only had this a couple of days but have no regrets. The set up was SO simple and I quickly connected to Sky, DVD and VCR with no problems.
The sound is superb and there are several settings like 'Theatre' or 'Music' so you can adjust this simply, along with more detailed equaliser settings in a menu. The virtual Dolby sounds super although I will still use my separate Cinema 5.1 system for watching movies.
The picture is great and again there are several settings such as 4:3, 16:9, fullscreen, superwide etc etc. I am still getting used to these as I seem to have to reset it for different programmes. However, the settings are easy to change through cycling through the options with just one button. The picture is easy to see from amazingly wide angles and appears to have great depth and colour (again there are lots of settings to adjust this too if you like).
The 17" screen is not as small as I feared and seems great for enjoying movies in an average-sixed living room. In fact, the perfect size for people who want to enjoy widescreen but do not want a TV which takes over the whole room. This is my first widescreen and I have enjoyed being able to see all the action in various sports programmes. The whole package looks modern and elegant - already drawing admiring comments from visitors.
Lastly, the remote control is nice and compact, and has the great looks that you would not mind leaving on your setee when friends come 'round.

Below i have put the Amazon.com (USA) Product Description as it gives far more detail than the UK preview.

The Philips 17PF9946 17-inch HDTV-ready flat-panel LCD TV is more than just great looks. The perfect size for a small space, the 3.4-inch-thick display provides an excellent audio/visual experience with features like Pixel Plus, which uses more pixels for improved sharpness and resolution, Digital Crystal Clear, Active Control Plus+, Virtual Dolby Surround, and unique flat speakers. It even has a built-in FM radio tuner so you can listen to all your favorite radio channels, and up to 40 station presets make sure you tune in fast.
The high-definition (HD tuner not included), 1,280 x 768 WXGA LCD panel uses the latest panel technology, such as Philips' proprietary Digital Crystal Clear package of innovations featuring a 3D digital comb filter (eliminates dot crawl and color bleeding, enhancing fine detail, cleaning up image outlines, and removing most extraneous colors), Dynamic Contrast for deep blacks and pure whites, green and blue color enhancement, and Digital Color and Luminance Transient Improvers. The high 400:1 contrast ratio gives you better subtle color details and the ability to see the picture in bright light conditions, and the 16-millisecond response time means it's capable of handling fast-moving action--including 3D games--without image blur or lag.

Active Control delivers the best picture setting, any time, from any source. The incoming signal is automatically analyzed and key picture settings, like sharpness, color, and contrast, are adjusted. It also uses a sensor to adjust for ambient room light; when the room gets brighter, so does the picture. The 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio is the best for viewing HDTV and DVDs so you can have a more realistic cinema experience, but the TV has zoom modes for viewing 4:3 analog broadcast TV and pan-and-scan-formatted video. Multiple picture-in-picture modes allow for simultaneous viewing of two video sources either as picture-in-picture or side-by-side.

Built-in flat speakers (10 watts per channel) sit on either side of the active-matrix TFT LCD, giving you full stereo sound without needing to connect to an external speaker system. Virtual Dolby surround-sound support simulates cinema surround-sound effects without the need for rear speakers. Dynamic Bass Enhancement provides improved low-frequency response. Philips' Smart Listening auto volume leveling eliminates drastic volume spikes while changing channels or when channels go to a commercial break.

Other features include fantastic 176-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angles, 100 preset channels, Autostore for easy tuning, Auto Picture (five modes), Auto Sound (four modes), multilanguage onscreen display, sleep timer, integrated NTSC tuner and RF jack for terrestrial reception, ergonomic remote control, and an antireflective screen.

Want to do more than just watch TV? The 17PF9946 has an FM antenna connector for getting better reception, a rear composite input, S-video, and a component input that helps minimize digital and line-scan artifacts during DVD playback. And, because the TV is progressive scan, it can take advantage of the more filmlike images produced by progressive-scan DVD players. An HDMI jack is available as well for the ultimate digital experience. HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is an uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface that supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus 8-channel digital audio--all on a single cable. It has a VGA input too, which receives the signal from your PC so you can use it as a TV and a PC monitor. A set of side jacks has a composite A/V input with S-video, a mini headphone jack, and an audio in for using the TV's speakers with your PC.

Personally, i am very pleased with this lcd tv. It has far more connections than on other tv's of this size, and it still retains a clean, slim and curvy design. The sound quality is also impressive. The picture quality is excellent for an lcd tv as long as your reception is good. Superb with digital tv!

Included is a DVI input that will accept HD and progressive scan signals BUT Sky have announced that HDCP compliance is required to receive their broadcasts in 2006 and this means the HD input here is only really of use for a PC. Keep this in mind before you buy so that you're not buying this TV for the wrong reasons. However, if the HD capability is not something that concerns you, this is a great LCD TV.

The Philips 17PF9946 is a stylish seventeen inch high-definition widescreen television perfectly suited for DVD's or digital broadcasting. The flat screen gives a superiour picture with sharp contrast and crisp colours, whilst the virtual dolby sound gives an above average audio experience without the need for additional equipment.
The multi-function remote control is small, ergonomic and intuitive, and the television menus simple and easy to navigate. Dual SCART sockets allow multiple devices to be plugged in simultaniously (DVD/set-top box/VHS/Playstation etc.) and the television's anti-glare coating and wide viewing angle, allow excellent picture quality to be enjoyed almost anywhere in a room, even with bright sunlight from the window.
The television also incorpates a number of additional features I have not seen before, a built-in FM radio potentially removing the need for a seperate stereo, and an inbuilt VGA socket allowing use as a external monitor for a computer - particularly well suited to slim-line systems such as the Mac-Mini.
Overall an excellent system, and good value for money.

I agree with the other reviews here that this is a really good TV with lots of useful bells and whistles, however, I have had some trouble with sound distortion at high volume. That said, if I was looking to buy another LCD TV, I would still choose this one.