HD PICTURE QUALITY HD picture quality falls short, mainly due to image detail and texture that is compromised by active noise reduction processing which can’t be turned off (see ease of use). We also noted some added edge enhancement processing but it isn't distracting. Color accuracy is very good, with flesh tones in particular, looking natural. Contrast—the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites—was good, so images have depth and dimension. Black level is generally good, though not as dark as better performers on the darkest scenes (though quality does degrade as you move to the sides - see viewing angle). Image brightness is only fair, dimmer than most even with the backlight turned up, and is not the best choice for a bright room. There is visible banding (unnatural contours) on scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas, such as a sky during sunset, rather than smooth transitions. There is notable display non-uniformity that creates brighter cloudy areas, most visible on very dark scenes (or in the black bars of a letterboxed movie). We routinely see this issue with LCDs and severity can vary from model to model. Film mode operation for HD film-based content is excellent, with no visible jaggies along the edges of objects during motion scenes. Deinterlacing is very good, with minimal jaggies visible when converting 1080i video content, such as from cable, to the display's native resolution.
VIEWING ANGLE This Philips has a narrow viewing angle overall, below-average performance among TVs for this attribute. Only those seated directly in front of the screen will see the best picture quality. When we view the TV from the sides image quality degrades significantly. The picture shows a strong loss of color, so flesh tones look very washed out. Black levels brighten significantly, making dark scenes look hazy. When viewing the image from above or below eye level to the screen, the vertical viewing angle is good. The picture shows some change in color, contrast, and black level.
