Digital Trends

 

Upon powering up the Philips 42PF9831D TV you are greeted by an onscreen wizard, which reminds us of something you would see from a PC system. It will walk you through each step of the setup process and ask what type of signal you are using, whether it’s Cable, OTA (Over-the-air), HD, or SD etc. Once you let it know where you will be getting your content from, the set will automatically scan and program the channels. Now, something you will need to watch out for is that the Philips 42PF9831D only comes with 1 coaxial input. So if you plan on connecting regular analog cable (please tell us you are not), AND an antenna for catching HD signals, you are out of luck. Another thing to worry about is that while Comcast Digital Cable boxes typically provide output using either RCA or S-Video connections, most people still wind up using the coaxial connection. Do not do this, and save the coaxial jack for an HD antenna (unless you plan to get HD content through your satellite or cable company)!

 

The built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners did a great job scanning our area for HD and SD signals. We were able to pick up at least 7 channels broadcasting locally, using a $30 Sharp HD/UHF antenna, in a building with concrete walls – we were stunned! However, we disliked the fact that this set would mix both the HD and SD channels. One of the benefits to having multiple coaxial inputs is that you can switch between the inputs from analog cable to OTA HD if you chose to. Otherwise, you can just mark the channels you want as favorites and access them that way – we know, we are too picky!

 

For the most part the Philips 42PF9831D really does deliver on its promises. The picture quality looks great from typical viewing distances (7-15 feet) and we only noticed picture fading and color loss at the most extreme viewing angles. Philips says that you should be able to watch HD quality content at up to 170 degree without picture loss, and they sure got close (but we did notice some degradation). For an LCD though, we are very impressed with the Philips 42PF9831D capabilities.