Digital Trends

Philips 32FD9954 March 4th, 2003 | by Ian Bell

Use and testing

The remote control of the 32FD9954 is lacking in both style and advanced functionality often reminding us of a remote control for a 19” sub $100 television; not a high end 32” plasma. Using the THX picture setup menu in Star Wars phantom Menace DVD, we quickly tuned the picture and sound to optimum settings. While there are brightness and contrast buttons on the remote control, there is no on screen scale to show you where the settings are. You are forced to use the menu in order to see where the brightness and contrast setting compare on the scale. We found this frustrating at times and easily tired of going through the menu system to see where the settings are.

Picture quality is above average and the screen is viewable from far distances and odd angles unlike most rear projection televisions. The contrast ratio and black level look better than average most of the time, but we found on certain movies, the brightness level would change if a scene was in a constant setting for a long period of time. While watching “The Count of Monte Cristo”, the brightness and black levels would often fluctuate between scenes. The 32FD9954 looks great despite an average 400:1 contrast ratio.  

One thing the 32FD9954 is certainly not lacking is AV inputs/outputs. In the rear the 32FD9954 has multiple component video inputs, s-video and hi-def 1080i inputs. On the front the 32FD9954 has both S-Video  and CVBS video inputs as well as head phone jack. Check out the complete features on page 2. We had no problems switching between the multiple video and audio connections using various video/audio sources. If you have never hooked up a computer to a plasma television, you are in for a real treat. Playing Unreal Tournament on the 1024x852 pixel set was nothing short of stunning. Playing Microsoft's Xbox at HDTV resolutions was even more enjoying.

Conclusion

While the Philips 32” 32FD9954 has above average picture quality for a plasma set in this price range, the lack of advanced features without the FTR9964 E-Box Receiver is very disappointing because it raises the price of the 32FD9954 setup significantly. Despite a lack luster remote control and some brightness control issues, the beautiful display makes the 32FD9954 a contender in the 32”plasma market. Add the Philip's Samurai stand to the great looking 32FD9954 and watch television in real style.