Author: Daniel Sung
REVIEW: Philips Cinema 21:9 LCD TV
Short Version
Name: Philips Cinema 21:9
Type: 56″ superwidescreen LCD TV
Specs:
- Dynamic contrast – 80,000:1
- Resolution – Full HD (2560 x 1080p)
- Response Time – 1ms
- Frame Rate – 200Hz
- Viewing Angle – 176º vertical and horizontal
- Connectivity – 4 x HDMI 1.3, 2 x Scart, USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11g
- Speakers – 2 x subwoofers, 2 x dome tweeters
- Features – Net TV, Ambilight, Pixel Perfect Engine, Anti-reflective glass
How much does it cost?: £4,500
How much should it cost?: £3,500
Should I buy it?: The short answer is yes. It doesn’t represent great value and the picture isn’t as perfect as the money sounds but it’s an awesome TV. You’re paying the extra for the unique design and the swaggering step of an early adopter.
Long Version
First Impressions
This was one of those reviews that a blogger/journo gets very excited about. It’s not everyday you get to take a private, close-up look at a potential game-changer – particularly in the TV world.
The first thing you notice is that it’s big. It’s really big, and it looks even bigger because it’s such a long, narrow shape. Think carefully before you buy it because it takes a special room to accommodate it properly. A dedicated cinema room will probably be the home of the bulk of Philips Cinema 21:9s sold.
You get used to the shape in minutes and when you turn back to a standard widescreen, it’ll look boxy as hell.
The Cinema 21:9 is just that. It’s a cinema screen and once that’s in you head, it’s a very comfortable watch.
Picture
There’s only one way to test out a cinema screen and that’s with blockbuster Blu-rays. So, first up stuck on the beginning of I Am Legend for some fast paced action to test out the frame rate and response time and later the Dark Knight for the colour and light levels.
The level of detail of the picture you get is frightening. The expression of the Full HD resolution is unbelievably real, the edges of objects and actors so sharp that they almost seem to bend out at you as if in 3D. It’s apparently an optical illusion or so I hear.
The second point about it is that some films almost look like they’re home movies. Now, I know that sounds like a bad thing to say but it isn’t. It’s not a poor fuzzy picture quality I’m talking about. It’s a stripped down Hollywood laid bare feel. There’s little glossiness and softness left. Pictures are raw. Actors looks like real people in that way that Tyra Banks famously complained about High Definition. You can see every blemish and, on this TV, in such size. It takes a little getting used to but it’s part of the whole wonder of the experience.
The 200Hz frame rate and 1ms response time are perfect. Not a blur, ghost nor judder in sight and nor would you expect one on such a premium panel. The hunting scene at the beginning of I Am Legend was spot on. I was right into the fast-paced chase from start to finish.
Again, the Dark Knight was a joy to behold but there were two problems that arose when watching this film. The first is that the Dark Knight is shot in both 16:9 and true cinema 21:9 which meant that from scene to scene the Philips auto screen size sensor would flip in and out to adjust to the correct size.
The idea of the 21:9 is, of course, that you don’t get any black bars at the top and bottom of your picture. That’s fine when something’s shot in 21:9 but at other sizes, the sensor will fit the image to the screen sometimes with a very slight cropping of the image.
I didn’t find the cropping a problem with 16:9. You really don’t notice it, but it frustrates me to say that, at the time, I didn’t think to try it out with a normal 4:3 television broadcast.
I’d be disappointed if Philips hadn’t figured out an algorithm to make that work and, at the least, you can always watch TV without the sensor off and black bars to the left and right – big chunky ones might they be.
The other issue, and the reason it’s always worth testing with gothic look films, is the black levels. This is the one real thorn in the side of the 21:9. They’re not great. This isn’t an LED TV, it’s relatively tradiontal tube backlight technology and there is a degree of light spill when we’re talking about such big bulbs.
It’s not something you’d nornally have a problem with but in dark scenes, of which there are many in Batman films, the blacks tend to look a little unform and flat. You could see the folds on Comissioner Gordon’s dark suit on the nighttime roof tops when you know that they should be there. It’s a bit of a shame but it won’t ruin your experience.
Features
The best, and most Philipsy, feature of this set is the Ambilight Spectra 3 system. For those unfamiliar, it’s a system of LEDs at the back of the panel that projects the colour of whatever it is you’re watching onto the wall behind. Philips says it extends the picture. I’m not sure about that but it is a really cool effect and I’d opt for a TV with an Ambilight if you can. It really brings a sense of atmosphere.
The anti-reflection glass and the eight-day EPG are worth a mention while we’re here. The former works. There’s not a lot more you can say about it. I was never aware of a reflection problem. No glare at all. The latter is smooth, clear and well implemented.
The whole menu system on the Cinema 21:9 is in line with the same house style of all Philips products. There’s a Symbiam 60ness about it. It’s straighfoward and easy to navigate around all the menus of the set and it’s largely icon based; on the friendly side but without going too far into the relams of cartoon. You’ve paid too much money for this to look childish.
The last point I’ll mention is the sound. Now, it’s unlikely that anyone buying this TV isn’t going to go the whole hog and invest some more cash in a proper home cinema set up, but if your amp goes on the fritz or your surround sound speakers pop, you’ll be perfectly happpy with what the Cinema 21:9 can offer while you get it all fixed. It’s got good clear top end and nice, rich, heart-pounding base.
Conclusions
There’s no two ways about it. The Philips Cinema 21:9 is a great TV. The picture is excellent apart from the blacks issue and if it weren’t for that I’d call it a must. All the same, what you’re buying into is something altogether unique. No one else you know is going to have anything like this, at least not for another year and half.
The time will come when more manufacturers make their own version of this orginal cinema shape and when that time comes there’ll be better panels and cheapers ones too. Philips themselves will doubtless improve on what they’ve already done. But until that time, you’re going to have to pay a premium for this luxury item and, for now, that premiums worth it – even if the picture does have its faults.
Philips Cinema 21:9 Video Preview
Philips get stylish with the BDP7300 Blu-ray player
I don’t often think “sexy” when I look at a Blu-ray player but there’s something about the Philips BDP7300 that’s got that kind of Naim/NAD utility chic about it. It’s the minimal black design. Shame they didn’t go the whole hog with the angle cut corners and matte finish but you can’t have it all, I suppose.
Still, what counts with these things is the insides and there the BDP7300 doesn’t disappoint. Again, there’s a minimal feel to what Philips has on offer but what there is, is solid.
Naturally, it does all your bog standard Blu-ray playback at 1080p/24fps but, as we’ve come to expect with most of these machines these days, it’ll upgrade your DVDs to an approximation of HD quality too.
As well as your discs, it also supports DivX Ultra, WMV, MP3, WMA and JPG files formats via the USB port on the back. There’s also a 1GB internal memory for downloading and saving any BD Live extras you might want to bore yourself to death with before you get up off the sofa and go and buy another film.
Audio-wise it decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio Essential 7.1 to make sure you’re getting the sound as the director intended. You will, of course, need a proper amp and enough speakers to appreciate that, though.
It’s out this month for £249 but you will be saving a few pence and the planet as you go too. It only uses 0.2W in standby. Of course, you could always just switch the thing off when you’re not using it and do everyone a favour.
Zara has left the building
Yes, you read it write. Dismay, distress and lots of other bad words that begin with “dis”, the fantastic Zara Rabinowiscz has left her post at our sister site Shiny Shiny and our Shiny Towers offices too. She is moving to pastures new along with her encyclopaedic knowledge of compact cameras, media players, e-book readers and e-cigarettes.
Zara was also queen of the Shiny Tech videos in her two years with us and we’ve become very accustomed to her reviews here on TD’s pages. So, for one last time, for you and for me, I give you Lady Zsa Zsa and her farewell.
If you still can’t get enough, then we also set up a little fan page for Zara over here. Be nice now.
Nokia to ditch DRM by 2010
While most had their eyes on Stephen Fry at the Nokia N97 launch, some keen bods were busy pumping the execs for information and it seems they pumped well. It turns out that Nokia is planning on phasing out the DRM on their Comes With Music package meaning that users will be able to download tracks as MP3s and actually keep their tunes.
It’s always been the desire of the mobile giant to go DRM-free but ultimately the decision has always been down to the labels who have never exactly been first to come round to new digital ideas.
It seems, though, that the big wigs have softened/modernised their attitudes since deals like the DRM-free one between Virgin and Universal and it looks as all with CWM will reap the rewards as of 2010.
A Nokia spokesperson said: “Nokia is committed to going DRM free on the Nokia Music Store in 2009”.
“Comes With Music offers great value and even with the DRM in place, it continues to have great appeal to our consumers. We are constantly discussing with the music industry about how to evolve Comes With Music and further enrich the proposition we currently have”.
It’s not clear if this evolution will continue to involve an all you can eat service if it is to be DRM-free but, given the extent of the CWM catalogue, I’m looking forward to finding out.
(via ME & Pocket Lint)
CHEAP DEAL: 42" Full HD LCD TV at Tesco for under 500 quid
I’m not going to tell you this is the world’s best TV. It isn’t. It’s got a pretty modest contrast ratio of 1,300:1 and a lot of people will tell you that contrast is the most important feature of any panel. However, it’s very hard to complain when the 42″ Technika LCD42-910 only costs you 500 pounds.
It’s a stylishly slim 6cm deep, without the stand, which is probably where you’re getting the best value, but don’t ignore the fact that it’s got a very healthy 100Hz frame rate and a response time time of just 8ms, so you’re unlikely to suffer from ghosting, blurring and juddering picture problems.
It is a 1080p resolution picture, so provided you’re watching through an HD box or Blu-ray or such, you will be getting Full HD viewing. Technika doesn’t’ even stiff you round the back either with four HDMI sockets.
Tesco has reduced the set by 200 pounds and, so long as you can live with the compromised colour palate, then it could well be time to get your wallet out.
Buy it here
Babyglow: Global hypercolour to help prevent cot death
I was amazed to hear how rubbish babies are. They’re so rubbish that they can’t even control their own body temperature for the first two years of their lives and, essentially, that puts them in the same class as lizards as far as I’m concerned.
A pub landlord, by the name of Chris Ebejer, was just as horrified as me and decided to do something about it by inventing the Babyglow – an all-in-one baby suit that turns white whenever your tiniest one’s body temperature goes above 37C.
Seeing as the number one cause of cot death is overheating, it seems to me like Chris is onto an excellent idea, and I’m not the only one. The enterprising 42-year-old has won himself a contract to produce 900,000 Babyglows for £12.5m. Nice.
The Babyglow will launch in October, retail for a very reasonable £20 and come in pink, blue and green, for girls, boys and, er, greens.
(via Telegraph)
Haier H7: mass market Android phone coming to the UK?
I’m not usually in the habit of reporting on Chinese phones but then this particular model, the Haier H7, is set to be launched in France in September, and if it’s going to France there’s a very good chance it’ll be all over Europe like a rash.
The H7 could be the fourth Android handset to hit UK shores after the G1, the Magic and the Samsung I7500 notwithstadning whatever else the likes of HTC, Sony Ericsson & co may have up their sleeves in the coming months.
It’s got a 2.8-inch touchscreen, a 2-megpixel CMOS sensored camera, connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (no mention of 3G), FM radio, GPS and an on-board flashlight or what we know over here as a torch. It’ll also ship with Android 1.5 (Cupcake) and even 2.0 (Donut) if it’s availble by then.
It doesn’t sound particularly speccy but then perhaps it’s not supposed to be. The Haier H7 is only expected to retail for $150 (108€). Are we looking at the first mass market Android phone?
HTC Magic review:
British Newspapers: Huge archive of online papers launched
Thousands of old newspapers have been put online in a national archive dating between 1800 and 1900. You can search by headline for free but downloads of the articles themselves are on a pay as you go basis.
The archive includes 49 national and local titles and features all manner of weird and wonderful stories from the 1800s including the Whitechapel murders, the abolition of slavery, the Crimean War and all the births, deaths and marriages of the time.
You can download 100 pieces over a 24-hour period for £6.99 or 200 over a week for £9.99 but all articles from the The Graphic and The Penny Illustrated Paper are absolutely free.
The more keen eyed of you will have noticed that the image I’ve used is completely inaccurate given that the Titanic did not set sail between 1800 and 1900 and the Times Dispatch would not be included in the archive because it’s an American paper. Still, there are few covers that say “old” like a massive picture of a legendary ship.
British Newspapers
iPhone 3.0 software goes live in UK – GO!
Yes, cut and paste on the iPhone is finally here, along with all the other things that Apple handset users should have been able to do for a long time now.
So, for those who haven’t already downloaded the torrent and jailbroken its bottom off, I suggest you get your iTunes software into operation, plug your little darling in and pull those files from the internet heavens into your aching hardware.
For more on what iPhone 3.0 is all about head over here.
Apple
Asus to produce Disney netpal netbook – you know, for kids?
Asus has teamed up with Disney to make netbook for children called the Netpal. The 8.9-inch machine is targeted at youngsters between 6 and 12 years old and is available from the end of July for $350 from Amazon and Toys R Us.
Like all sub-notebooks, the Netpal’s powered by an Atom processor but this time the Windows XP OS is child friendly and augmented by Disney themes with Mickey Mouse, Cars, Toy Story and WALL-E all featuring.
The Magic Desktop comes with a Disney browser, Disney e-mail and the widget for the Disney Radio station to stream music straight to the computer. There’s Wi-Fi but no 3G which probably is part of supporting the parental controls that also come fitted to make sure that your kids aren’t surfing sites they shouldn’t while away from home.
You get the option of either a 160GB HDD or a 16GB SSD and it’ll weigh a kilo or just over depending on which you opt for. Most importantly though, the Netpal is available in the floral patterned Princess Pink or the Mickey Mouse themed Magic Blue.
It all sounds slightly sickly sinister to me but try telling your children that.
(via USA Today)
