Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips 42PFL5603D - 42" Widescreen 1080p Full HD LCD TV - With Freeview

I saw this TV at a knocked down price a local electronics dealer, and within half an hour I'd signed on the dotted line and was on my way home with it in tow. I'd been looking at buying a 40"+ HDTV for some time now, and as such have done a lot of reading up about different brands and models. I was 95% certain I'd buy a Samsung, but when I saw the clarity of the picture on this TV, I was blown away. The contrast and depth of the blacks and greys are stunning and incredibly sharp - it makes even my old DVDs look incredible (I'm playing them through an XBOX360 via the component cable), I'm watching Black Hawk Down now and am amazed by how detailed the picture is, and how vibrant the African sky is. This set really does give the viewer a proper sense of immersion, and the colours really 'pop'. The TV is incredibly easy to set up out of the box as Philips have designed an interface through which you pick the most visually appealing of 2 differently rendered halves of the same picture and the TV remembers how you like the picture.
Other than the visual quality, the TV also has very good sound. I have a 5.1 soundsystem but haven't yet felt the need to hook it up, that's how impressed I am with the (invisible from the front) speakers. As for connectivity, this TV is second to none with more inputs than you can shake a stick at. Even the design is stunning, the deep glossy surround to the TV has an air of quality and luxury about it, and the transparent surround, although seemingly pointless (maybe not, maybe I'm yet to find out it's true purpose), is nonetheless a nice unique quality.
All in all, a brilliant TV. Perfect way of leaping into the HD movement.

There is a lot of choice on the market for LCD tv's... I definately recommend this Philips tv, as the title says... Superb, in every way... Picture, sound, design, looks... The only problem I have found is the rear Scart lead sockets have a small screw above them which gets in the way of the scart lead connector, stopping it pushing all the way in... very frustrating... Looking forward to getting my HD box with the HDMi, connectors, to eliviate this problem so i can take my selotape off the scart lead which i have holding it in... This apart i'm sure you wouldn't be disapointed with this tv... Definately recomended... Enjoy!

I have had the tv for 2 weeks now and i am still amazed how much better it is than my last 32"lcd tv.My last tv was a cheap lcd and the philips puts it to shame.I use the philips mostly for my xbox360 through hdmi and the picture is amazing even the freeview gets an excellent picture with very little distortion.The photos above dont do it justice it is a very nice high gloss black surround sleek and elegant.All i can say is for the price i would recommend the philips 42PFL5603D, but thats just my opinion.

i recived the tv arond 2 weeks ago and i am very pleased with it. the sound is good and the picture is very sharp with no judder.its great all around, plus it looks nice with the clear strip on the outside of the tv. much better than most i have seen... for the money its a very good tv. dont be put off by some bad reviews that are on the net like i almost was. at the end of the day you get what you pay for and for the cash this is a very good tv. you wont be dissapointed with this one.... chris

The TV is perfect for family. I bought the tv for a family friend and they sent a note to me about how happy they are. The kids love it. The parents love it. It has changed the home environment for good. The picture quality is superb. I have not got one for myself yet, but will get one as soon as possible.

I have heard so much about the tv and I know I am not making any mistake buying it. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves this size of widescreen!