Hi all. I need some feedback on the 42 inch 3620a/37 plasma panel. I have seen it a few times recently and was impressed with its feature set and its picture. This will be my first plasma purchase and like everyone else I want to make the right buy. In our home we watch sd programming as well as dvds. When I purchase the panel I intend to upgrade our cable service to include the digital programming and HD programming. I know Sd never looks as good as say digital etc. but for now the panel would have to be able to display that in a fashion that was still very satisfactory to view. The panel will be our primary living room television. My other concerns would be that the panel is quiet, I really cant take fan whinning or buzzing, the room its would be in is approx. 12 feet x 17 feet and I can only place a 42 inch panel due to the location it would be mounted in.So needless to say I would like the panel to be very quiet. When I viewed this panel at bestbuy and circuitcity. It was interesting that the one at bestbuy had only what i would call a little hazyness to it, the one at circuit city was crystal clear.I attempted to use the remote to adjust the hazyness out but couldnt, perhaps the feeds? In addition I contacted philips customer support to try and find information about the panels specs., I know that specs arent the reason to buy but it would at least let me know if the panel included recent technology. They did say that the panel was rated to 60000 hours to half brightness, but couldnt give me the number of colors it could display or the shades of graduation. I wanted this as it could be a factor in false contouring(clayface).Last but certainly not least what about burn in protection that was one I forgot to ask. Anyone with information on the philips line or this panel I would love to hear from you. And thanks in advance for your help. Oh one more, lol, is that panel actually a LG?
Philips always deliver terrific products and their FlatTV plasmas don't dissapoint. I'm the proud owner of a 42PF9966/37 With Ambilight and i won't change if for anything.
The new Philips, like previous models are fanless, no buzzing of any type is ever heard.
Best Buy maliciously set all non-Panasonic plasmas bad to make them look inferior to the Panasonics. So Don't be fool by their picture quality, Philips are great.
The new 10,000:1 Contrast ratio panel is from either Samsung or LG, that information has not been released, yet. But you can read the specs. of the 10,000:1 Samsung panels by visiting that manufacturer's website and have an idea of what the number of colors might be.
False contouring will even occur on the new Panasonics, even with all their new "improvements" and all their 2,048 shades of gradation. I don't see or notice much false contouring with mine or any other set in the stores, so that shouldn't held you back in making a purchase decision. But having a new panel and assuming they have improve the circuits i bet Philips has found a way to minimized this.
The Burn-in issue with Philips... *ahem* well, on my 42PF9966 there's no an screen orbiter that you could actually activate. Except for the HDMI, which is a self-activated feature because you can't adjust the aspect ratio on that input, so the feed is locked with a black frame around it. I been able to see this when i leave the DVD menu open.
However, on all the other inputs i've notice the screen slighty moves 3-pixels {1-pixel at a time.} to the right, then left, then down, then to the right and then up then to the left again this is done on a 5-minutes period of time.
Another thing is if you leave an image for long {4-hours or more} it will leave a mild ghosting effect, NOT VISIBLE., but once you turn the TV off and then turn it back on the ghosting is gone and i mean completely gone!
The only permanent burn-in you'll see and won't be able to prevent it is from closed caption and the menu, this will happen with every Plasma, not just Philips., the closed caption burn-in is the most visible if you take a VERY closer look on a dark room while the set is in the Black screen {no signal}.
On all the other inputs {exclusing the HDMI} my Philips have several aspect ratios that you can set, mine is in "Automatic" which will automatically strech the image to eliminate the black bars with no distortion and/or lost of picture quality. This feature is also available on the new models.
You'll love the Picture-in-Picture feature, it's amazing! you can choose picture-in-picture, picture-by-Picture {side-by-side} multiple windows ranging from 6 to 8 or 1 full side and 3-small windows., and yes, you can swap them.
The only thing i don't like is the new design and that Philips no longer includes the wall bracket freebie.
Thanks Perrey for the response. Can you give me an idea of how the SD channels look. Also whats your impression on Dvds at 480P to the 720p set.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Jim,
Standard def. is pretty good, mine is connected with composites {A/V} to the DISH Network receiver and there's times when i see a lot of pixelation, but nothing to worry about., I've seen most sets at the stores with similar PQ, so is not consider a defect, that's the best high resolution plasmas could display 480i, but the signal they're receiving. I've seem the same unit as mine with basic cable and the image is great, the problem seems to be with digital satellite feeds.
DVD at all resolutions look awesome! One thing i forgot to mention is the Philips HDMI input will accept all brands of high resolution up-convertion DVD players and set top boxes., this is a big issue with Panasonic, their sets will only accept Panasonic brand up-convertion DVD players and their SA-XR70-S A/V receiver. And even that receiver won't accept anything other than Panasonic.
OK let me see if I undertand a point that you made. You said that with all inputs other than the hdmi that you use automatic to stretch the image to fill the enter screen. So if I was to use the Sa8300 series cable box via component video connections would I be able to fill the entire screen with the picture regardless if it was SD, digital or hd signal? What about cablecard? Same thing? Also do you have your Philips panel wall mounted? If so what mount did you purchase. The reason I asked is that I was reading a thread from someone who purchased the plasma and they said the mount they used didnt fit well. OH and thanks for your help!
Perrey I noticed in a post you commented on regarding burn in that you said after 45 hours use your panel developed it.Is it still there or faded. What do you intend to do. Thanks as always for your thoughts.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Jim,
Any signal or device connected on the composite, component or S-video that has Black bars, the Philips will stretch {when the aspect ratio is set in "Automatic"} and fill the entire screen eliminating the bars, with undetectable distortion. {you can only see the difference when you have a side-by side 4:3 TV.}
I cannot comment on the usage of the CableCARD, mine doesn't have it, but like i said, anything will be stretch within 5-seconds of detection.
I originally set mine with the glass stand but after the trial period, i got it on the wall with the provide flat-on-the-wall bracket., the bracket is Philips universal and has 2-more measurement that will fit the 32" and 50" models, if is not properly assemble it will not fit the 42"., I'm not sure if the new models include the bracket, though.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
As i mentioned to you before, my set has burn-in from the closed caption and mild ghosting from the menu. other than that, nothing.
I have left the TV on Bloomberg, CNBCW and CNN for a few hours and when i turn the channels to check for burn-in i do see the ghosting of the logos adn their graphics, but after i turn it off and then back on, they have dissapear completely.
The first time i saw the closed caption burn-in i was in shock, but i've learn to live with it, you can't remove it., all phosphor-based technologies will suffer from it so what can i do. The good thing is it's not notable under regular TV viewing and normal room brightness, only when the screen is all Black and the room is mostly dark. And even with that you have to get very close to the screen to see the burn-in blocks.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
BTW Jim,
The 10,000:1 panel for the new Philips is from Samsung SDI.
Any suggestion for a reputable online dealer for this unit? I have seen it at BB and CC but I'd like to pay less than they offer it for.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
None have it yet. They all have plenty from last year's 9956/37 and 9996/37 series. Circuit City has the best price you could find.
mad as heck
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Jim, Don't buy the plasma. If you use the split screen you will get burn in. I just went through it with Philips.
They also create a tremendous amount of heat and in a small room that would be good if you live in Alaska, lol. The TV draws almost 600 watts of electricity, that's a lot of electric and you WILL notice it on you electric bill.
You can go to bizrate.com to get the best price. No sales tax and sometimes free shipping. Rob
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Jim already knows all of that.
And no, they do not generate ANY heat of that level, Philips are fanless. When the units are fanless they do not generate any heat over 5-degrees room temperature. There's not need to cool a panel that doesn't get hot...
And the electric bill will NOT be higher when you have fanless units., on the contrary you won't see much of a difference, these Philips are Energy Star compliant meaning they use MUCH LESS power to operate than any of the brands with a similar size and a cooling fan{s}.
Units that have cooling fans Like Panasonics Will defenitely rise the room temperature over 15-degrees. when i had my TH-37PX50U i had to set the AC air vent directly to the back of it to keep the TV AND the room cool. I don't need to do that with any of my Philips or the Samsung.
Fanless units= Good for the room temperature, Good for the electric bill, good for themselves.
Units with cooling fans= Bad for the room temperature, electric bill rises due to the constant heat from the panel {based on a comparable fanless unit.} and the usage of built-in cooling fans and your A/C unit.
Well I'm sorry to hear about your problem with the Philips. I was at CC again looking at the plasma and I noticed exactly what you were taking about in split screen mode. IMHO this would be the perfect 42 inch plasma if it had some sort of burnin or ghosting protection, ie. white wash, pixel orbiter whatever. At least it would make you feel more comfortable. I went as far as to talk to Philips customer service about the unit. I asked since this unit has no protection against burnin are you saying that the panel is less susceptable to burnin than previous panels that you had employed this type of software on? Well to make a long story short the person who I spoke with seemed to know less than I did. So I have a case number to speak with a more senior tech tomorrow. Maybe Im just disappointed that this panel was I thought the one. But I have to say I am somewhat leary about the absence of the burnin protection. Maybe I should wait a bit like PerreyZ has stated and see if they offer a model later in the year that employs this function in my price range. I need time to think.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hmm, i notice there's been a serious of attacks by Panny fanboys lately to tarnish the good name of Philips FlatTVs, some are very creative...
The 3720A/37, 9630A/37 and 9730A/37 are all 2005 series.
The specifications for last year and this year's models mention they all have an anti-aging circuit.
What does this mean? it means fixed images from signals such as DVD players, Set top boxes, satellite receivers and over the air broadcast signals NOT TV MENUS, CLOSED CAPTIONING OR SPLIT SCREENS LINES will dissapear after you turn the sets off.
Although i hate to admit it, but i provide unbiased technical advises i did notice a similar feature on the Panasonic TH-37PX50U so that might be the so-called anti-aging, CRT-like phosphor burn-in resitant improvements i've heard so much about.
But still, nothing offers more peace of mind than seeing the screen slowly moving one pixel at a time.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Oops! i meant: 7320A/37 not: 3720A/37. and forgot: 9830A/37
Yes Jim, Philips need to train all of their CSR not just the technicians with more product knowledge. Please call: 1-866-309-7740 this is the second level technical support insider's line.
OK Perrey Z as usual your were right on with the anti aging circuit. Whew I do feel better now, I did contact Philips and yes that is what they told me also. In my case the pic in pic isnt a reason for me to want the panel. If it has it ok but I really wont be using it.
Perry or Somebody, Would you please make up my mind for me - Football season is about to start! Where should i go to buy it to receive the best service when it fails the morning of the Superbowl?
Same issues as Me. I have a Phillips DVD & 5.1 surround w/dolby decoder which I've found to be a great system for the price! I don't have satellite and rely on the cable tuner box from my cable provider. I want 50 inches of plasma with the best picture and would consider DVR, HDTV tuner, etc.
Sounds like Perry likes the Phillips Models. I've been pulling my hair out as well trying to decipher all these model numbers and manufacturers. I just want the latest, best unit on the market with the best reliability, longevity and warranty. I'm not real technically savvy and I drive a ford truck even though I could afford a hummer if I wanted to. You have my respect and confidence - what manufacturer and model do you suggest I buy? I'm in Kansas City.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Thanks Jim. After seeing that yellow line split the screen i decided not to use any of the picture-in-picture modes. I don't usually need it but it was the first day i got the Philips and i wanted to try it out.
Have you consider the 42PF9830A/37? it's this year's 42" LCD and the price will be the same as the 9730A/37 plasma the only problem is, it will be released at the end of September.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Matthew,
Have you consider a plasma monitor instead of plasma TV? you already have a cable box that could be use as a tuner and your sound system the speakers.
Yes, is no secret, i like Philips, they offer nice features with innovative inventions other manufacturers don't.
But not just their TVs, almost everything Philips., they have a very accessable customer call center., if you ever need assistance, they will be there for you. The simplicity of the products menus and setups, Philips basically makes your life easier.
I haven't seen any other products that were easier to set and use than Philips. And not to mention stylish and affordable.
Well after nine months reading everything I could about Plasma TV and visiting every B&M in my local area until they knew my name, not to mention the wicked case of paralysis by analysis that I had, I finally made my purchase. It wasnt easy there are alot of outstanding panels out there, something for everyone. I finally settled on the Philips 42PF9630a/37. As you know the panel has a great picture and the connectivity is outstanding. Not to mention the automatic mode that expands the picture to full screen without any tell tales signs of expansion visable. Its gets delivered on monday and I will report my findings when I receive it. I now need to decide whether to have my cable company install a cable card or the SA8300HD DVR STB. OH decisions decisions, lol! And I couldnt believe I purchased it from CC. They came down below there advertised web price and let me use a gift card I recently received in the mail as well as giving me another 40 gift card as I left the store. OH, if anyone who owns this unit is interested in the Service Manual for this unit its available for free download on the web. Just do an internet explorer search using the model number, youll see it. And a big thank you to PerreyZ for all his help. Cant promise I wont ask anymore questions though.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Your welcome, Jim. I'm glad i was able to help in with your decision.
Please feel free to ask any other questions you might have.
Well the plasma arrived today! Delivered in pristine condition and as far as I can tell no bad pixels of any kind. (Woohoo)So far I have analog cable until next Thursday when my SA8300Hd is delivered. Amazingly the SD channels 2-99 really arent so bad, some alot better than others but all viewable without objection. Watching A DVD in progressive scan is simply outrageous on this unit. It makes you feel like you really never saw the movie before.The ambilight is a definite WOW, makes things just so much nicer to view a real plus I think. I have the contrast and brightness set low during the first 100 hours or so to give the panel a chance to break in. The pixel plus really does what it says it really improves the picture and doesnt make a difference if its SD or DVD. Cant wait to see it with HD. And to make this all so much sweeter I just saw BB's latest Sunday newspaper advertising the same panel for almost $900.00 more than I paid at CC!! The unit makes no external noise at all no hum, no whirring nothing just perfectly silent . So far I am more than pleased. I have two questions for other Philips plasma owners that would assist me further. First off I measured the holes on the back of the unit for when I purchase a wall mount. They measure center to center 32 inches across, and vertically set apart 16 inches. O-------------32------------0 / / / / / / 16 / / / / / / 0-----------32--------------0
What mount will work properly with this panel? I see most are max 32 inches wide but have noticed a few for larger screens from 32 -60 inches . I am looking for one that provides a slight tilt kinda like the omnimount util3. Dont want it right up against the wall to close. I think the omnimount is 3 inches off the wall.
Also a double black cable set came with the unit with what appears to be two clear led's one at the end of each cable with a pin plug at the end. Whats that for?
Well once again thanks for any help advise or assistance I do appreciate it. /
PerreyZ Any idea on the wall mount or those cables I spoke of?
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
The cable with the two clear ends is an optical digital audio cable. That's THE best way to receive crystal clear audio.
You can use any universal-fit tilt-on-the-wall bracket that support 30" to 60" units. All tilt brackets are at least 3" away from the walls.
snowcone
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I purchased my Philips 42PF9630A HD Plasma on August 1 from CC. I have also purchased the CC Protection Plan, and the OmniMount U3 Tilt Wall Mount (have not hung the unit yet). Here is a short summary of my experience since then.
Pre-SA8300HD-DVR: Before I received my HD cable hookup, I spent a good amount of time becoming familiar with the TV's general features and setting; in particular, Philips Slideshow option. I filled up my Memory Stick Pro media and USB Sandisk Flash drive with high resolution images and mp3s, and created my own custom slideshow, which turned out to display the images beautifully. NOTES: 1) background music while displaying the images is not limited to 1 song; you can create a playlist of mp3s to loop, make sure to save the playlist as a .pls file and not the Winamp default .m3u which will not be recognized. 2) I was using Photoshop CS to scale down some of my higher resolution images, and although the specs say that the native resolution of the TV is 1024x768, I found that the resolution that maximizes the most screen real-estate is 1366x768. When I scaled images to 1024x768, the notorious black bars presented themselves; but when scaled to 1366x768 the images filled the screen completely and perfectly. 3) I also used my USB flash drive to update the TV's firmware, which I will discuss a bit later. For now, I just want to say that I used the autoupdate feature and got a quick error/failure message in red font just before the process was finished, but my tv completed the install "successfully" and showed the new firmware version under the current info menu. 4) Because I spent the first week without any live TV feed, I spent a considerable amount of time on the menu screens and displaying my collection of static images with the slideshow feature. I was taken aback on the 4th night when I had the TV on, but with no TV signal or menu up on the screen -- essentially the screen was "glowing" black -- I saw the outline of the Philips menu, in particular the TV icon on the top left hand corner of the screen. I was concerned this may have been early signs of burn-in, and the effect lasted for the better part of 2 days. It has since disappeared, most likely due to watching a TV feed once I received my cable box, and was probably just an example of image retention or ghosting?! I'm not sure, but I know it no longer is visible on the plasma screen.
SA8300HD-DVR Cable Box The SA8300HD-DVR is the newest HD recorder available from Scientific Atlantic on Time Warner Cable, and its most attractive feature is the HDMI output, which is not available on any other boxes carried by Time Warner Cable. I first connected the SA8300HD via the HDMI output -- I purchased a Radio Shack Gold Series HDMI cable for around $50 -- and received a beautiful picture on the plasma, especially on the HD channels, but alas, NO SOUND. I could not get sound of the plasma. NOTE: 1) I have not tried a different HDMI cable. 2) I have a bi-directional cable splitter for my cable modem, and have not tried connecting the direct cable line, sans the splitter, into the SA8300HD. 3) I called customer service and tried setting the Digital Audio In input to HDMI-1, and I still received no sound. 4) Once I tried using the SA8300HD with HD component video cables, with standard L and R audio cables, the sound worked instantly, and I have been watching TV using the component and audio cables ever since. 5) I have not tried my HDMI connection with an up-conversion DVD player to test the sound, as I have not yet purchased the Panasonic S77S that I want. 6) When I called customer service concering the HDMI issue, they informed me that 1 other customer was having similar issues with the digital audio via the HDMI cable being MUTED, and that the firmware update available online would resolve the problem. I went to the website and downloaded the firmware again, and place it on my USB flash drive as I had done before. The manual says that if you try and re-install firmware that is the same version, or an older version, than is currently installed a warning screen should pop up and ask you if you are sure that you want to continue. I receive no such warning screen, and the TV says that it cannot find any updating software on my USB flash drive or memory stick media. Customer service had no answers and recommended returning the TV for an exchange since I had 30 days for a full refund or exchange, no questions asked, at CC. So I took their advice, and am having the TV picked up on Sat morning. They will be dropping off a brand new exchange, and hopefully, once I complete the firmware upgrade, the HDMI ports will function properly, with full digital sound. If not, I will be returning the Philips permanently, and will continue looking for a set with these many connectivity options and features at the low price of 2,300.
When you were talking with Philips did you ask them if the software updates are cumulative? What I mean by that is does each successive update include all the modifications of past updates or are they singlular? Also did the U3 tiltmount you purchased come with any extension bar?(I was thinking of purchasing that one also) I was advised that this was needed to hang the unit considering the mounting holes are 32 inches apart? Also, I wonder why Philips didnt ask you to use the remote and enter the panels service menu? Any malfunctions the unit displays an internal error listing that would have helped diagnose the problem you encountered. I have been reading alot of posts just like you have about HDMI compatibility. Many are having issues not just you. In fact now that I have my thinking hat on doesnt one of the software updates on Philips site pertain to added functionality with set top boxes? In any event please let me know the outcome . Appreciate your input.
PerreyZ, Loving my new Philips 9630a bigtime. Finally got my HD box and it looks GREAT. I have a question for you if you dont mind. On the back bottom ledge of the panel there are additional inputs that (unless Im loosing it) arent talked about in the manual. Appears to by a 75 ohm coax and what might be another set of comp inputs. Do you know what inputs they correspond to? As usual thanks.
Casey
John2
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hi All,
I am interested in thePhilips(42PF9630A) 42'' plasma from Circuit City. Our local CC do not have this TV on display, there is no way for me to view it in person. From all the reading and research (thx to all that posted), this looks like a great TV and at good price. My question is, do I need to worry about burn-in with this TV? Is it a good idea to purchase a service plan from CC? What is the manufactor warrenty for the TV?
John, You dont need to worry about burn in but you should be prudent especially during the first 100 hours of viewing. Try not to display static images for long if possible, lower your contrast and brightness to below 50 etc. As you build your hours of usage you can increase slowly your viewing of different materials. This isnt for this panel alone its just good advice for all panels. Philips give you a one year in home parts and labor guarranty. Me, I purchased the extended warranty, I would never buy something that costs this much to fix without one. I prefer to error on the side of good judgement and prudence.
Perrey Z.
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hi Jim,
I'm glad to hear you're enjoying your Philips. have you check the CD-Rom {if it was included} for these? I'm afraid i don't follow you.
Are these inputs not mentioned on the booklet and/or CD-Rom? or is the design configuration of the appropriate plug set what you don't understand?
No I didnt check the cd rom yet but since you mentioned it I will. The connectors werent mentioned in the booklet they are under the bottom ledge.Let me check the cd rom maybe that unlocks this mystery.
john2
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Thanks Jim!
We have decided to buy the Philips(42PF9630A) from Circuit City. Best price we found is $2699
Now we need a TV stand, the ones they have at CC is too big/deep. We need a stand for the DVD but want a small one to save space. Some thing that is less than 20'' Deep. The ones at CC is way too big. They are all around 25'' Deep for DLP TVs. Any one know a good place for Plasma TV stands?
BTW.. you should check out the Philips DVP-642/37 Code Free DVD player. It can read/play all region DVDs.
WRB
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Hi all, I just purchased the 42PF9630A about 2 weeks ago. Last night, I played Halo2(Xbox) on this tv for about one hour then watched a little SportsCenter. When I turned off the DirecTV box (TV was still on), I noticed images of Halo2 AND ESPN still on the screen. I turned the tv off and back on and the images were still there. This morning I checked it again, and most of it was gone...there were just a few lines from the video game in the lower right corner. After a few hours of TV watching this afternoon, all "burned in" images seem to have disappeared. Is this something that I need to worry about? PS I had the TV in "torch mode" for the first 40 hours of viewing before I lowered the contrast and brightness. Thanks for listening!
JJ HDMI
Unregistered guest
Posted on
I have the same issue as Snowcone - i.e., I receive no audio feed through the HDMI cable from my Timewarner SA8300HD-DVR Cable Box.
Timewarner just told me that the sound for the HDMI output is NOT turned on.
This seems stupid, does anyone know if this is true?
Samsung's HP-R4272 has 13-bit processing colors = to 591 billion colors And Philips 42PF9630A/37 only has 16.1 million colors. This is a big, big difference does it really matters? Is this difference really true, or the context is incorrect. What I mean is, can we tell the big difference between the two? Price difference is also big, the lowest price for Philips is $1999, and for Samsung is $2950. Is it worth it to expend that much on the Samsung TV, or not?
Philips has a 10-bit color precessing. Including colors and shades. Does any one know how goos is that Samsung TV. Can our eyes really notice the difference? I'm sure they can, what I mean is, is this a difference that we need to consider.
Anonymous
Posted on
If you want to get a good price go here. Circuit city is to expensive. fivestarplasma.com 1999
Bbear523
Unregistered guest
Posted on
For all of you asking about audio for HDMI cables. I am 99% sure there is no audio on this cable. It is only for video (similar to an s-video or RGB composite). You will need a RCA (red & white cable) or a 3.5 mm minijack cable between the audio source and the tv.