Introduction
Although the big brands like to talk about their latest flagship TVs, fancy voice control and, increasingly, Ultra HD, not many of us are looking at buying a TV costing north of £600 (around AU$904/US$929). Which makes the 42-inch Philips 42PFL6008, an Edge LED-backlit TV from the brand’s step-down 6000 Series, a candidate for anyone prepared to spend a few quid more for something unique.
The most obvious add-on here is Ambilight, Philips’ long-established – though never copied – device that emits coloured light from the sides of the TV. By closely matching the colours on the screen, it’s supposed to create a relaxing and dynamically changing light show on the wall behind the TV.
It’s really quite something, and though it’s not at its most powerful on the Philips 42PFL6008, which has only a stereo, two-sided array, it’s a feature that definitely puts Philips TVs in a class of their own.
That goes double for build quality. It’s great to see the same brushed metallic design, which unlike many other brands uses solid steel, not fake plastic. A single sheet of glass covers the entire front of the Philips 42PFL6008, with a brushed metallic panel at the bottom that’s 18mm (0.71 inches) wide with a mere 11mm (0.43 inches) of black screen between the edge and the beginning of the image.
The depth is just 32.5mm (1.28 inches), too, though that’s not what’s most impressive about the Philips 42PFL6008’s design. Most of the kudos goes to a desktop stand that’s hardly there at all.
Resembling some sort of heavy-duty coat hangar when unboxed, the main pillar is than attached to a C-shaped, 56cm (22 inch)-wide front that ostensibly puts the entire screen on a very slight-looking frame.
It’s a heavy duty construction, and thus rock-steady, with the Philips 42PFL6008 appearing to float; this has been said many times before in marketing blurb for high-end TVs, but it’s actually true here. Below the centre of the screen is a Philips logo that, although small, is flanked by a mirrored panel that reflects a bit too much for our liking.
A Full HD television that uses passive 3D glasses – four pairs of which are in the box – the Philips 42PFL6008 has a full price of £1,000 (around AU$1,507 / US$1,548).
The TV also has some smart stuff inside, though it’s limited. Unchanged from last year, it puts a live TV thumbnail on a screen pocked with apps – including YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Blinkbox – but there’s precious little else to get excited about.
However, what the Philips 42PFL6008 does have is a double-sided remote control, which can be used for entering text into its web browser. Philips TVs have had standalone web browsers for some time, but they haven’t at all impressed.
The opposite is true of sound, with Philips being one of the first brands to make flatscreen TVs with capable speakers. That trend continues on the Philips 42PFL6008, which is fitted with a woofer on its rear that beefs up audio. Try finding that on a cheaper TV.
Also available
After a few years of delivering its latest wares eons after the other brands, Philips has managed to produce most of its annual collection of LED-backlit LCD TVs in spring. It’s a fairly easy lineup to understand, though there’s a no-show for its usual flagship 9000 Series, which could be reserved for Ultra HD TVs, due in September.
For now the top-end is taken by the 8000 Series, above the 7000 Series, which in turn sits above the home of the Philips 42PFL6008, the 6000 Series.
Despite it being fourth on the ladder, the 6000 Series – which also includes the 47-inch Philips 47PFL6008, 55-inch Philips 55PFL6008 and 60-inch Philips 60PFL6008 – is relatively advanced.
Next up is the 7000 Series, which comprises the 42-inch Philips 42PFL7008, 47-inch Philips 47PFL7008 and 55-inch Philips 55PFL7008, though in a slightly retro move some all-white versions are also available using the PFL7108 model number. These 7000 Series sets add three-sided Ambilight, Micro Dimming Plus, Perfect Pixel HD and a 100Hz panel.
At the pinnacle for now is the Philips 8000 Series, which stars the 40-inch Philips 40PFL8008, 46-inch Philips 46PFL8008 and 55-inch Philips 55PFL8008. All include three-sided Ambilight, Perfect Pixel HD and Micro Dimming Plus, but add 3D Max (that’s active shutter 3D to most of us) and a 200Hz panel.
As a bonus Philips is also making two special DesignLine TVs, the 46-inch Philips 46DL8908 and 55-inch Philips 55DL8908. Based around the top tech of the 8000 Series, they use one piece of portrait-orientated smoked glass that tapers to transparent at the bottom, far below the TV screen.
Features
The Philips 42PFL6008’s connectivity impresses. A lower panel on its rear has downward-facing HDMI inputs – three in total – next to an optical audio output, a Scart adaptor and connections for both free-to-air digital TV and cable.
Although there’s a Freeview HD tuner inside complete with a logo, that’s not the case with the satellite port, which is a leftover from the Nordic spec for the Philips 42PFL6008. It’s not Freesat HD-compliant. TP Vision, owners of the Philips brand, informed us that it’s having extensive discussions with Freesat in the UK, but there will not be an agreement in time for the launch of the 2013 range. Still, you’ll probably get a random selection of channels if you do hook up the Philips 42PFL6008 to a satellite.
Just above the HDMI inputs on the rear of the TV’s chassis itself is an Ethernet LAN slot, though the Philips 42PFL6008 does have Wi-Fi built in. We should think so, too. Nearby are a few more oddly placed inputs that face outwards, including 3.5mm adaptor jacks for phonos, component video and composite video.
Finally, a side panel adds some much-needed extras, including a fourth HDMI input, three USB slots, a headphones jack and a CI slot for adding subscription TV channels. Three USB slots is a decent return – especially since one is needed to attach an HDD – though all three are too high up.
It’s a common complaint about USB slots on TVs that they appear to be designed only for inserting USB flash drives when longer cables to HDDs are more appropriate, but we do wish at least one USB slot was situated much lower down the TV, preferably on the downward-facing lower rear panel.
Smart TV apps are nothing special, though the addition of new apps such as TED Talks and Tesco’s Blinkbox complement the core apps such as BBC iPlayer, YouTube and Acetrax Movies (cover art from which adorns the top of the default Smart TV screen).
In fact, we’d go so far as to say it’s Blinkbox’s provision of one-off movie rentals that saves the platform from obscurity. Some may miss the likes of the higher-profile Lovefilm Instant and Netflix, but for anyone after the very latest movies, it’s Blinkbox you want.
Payments are via an account through Philips accessed via the Smart TV Payment app, which is rather prominent on the Smart TV home page. It’s also rather difficult to reverse out of once entered, a bit like Amazon web pages. In fact, we had to exit Smart TV altogether and return to live TV.
A couple more apps such as National Rail, Picasa, iConcerts, Facebook, CNBC Real-Time, Absolute Radio and Aupeo complete the collection, with a few sideshow apps such as eBay, Tunin.FM and TomTom HD Traffic in an online App Gallery.
There are a couple of 18+ rated apps, Hustler, Private, Forno and Brazzers, though a parental lock on these can be engaged upon setup.
The carousel of settings, such as sources, includes a dedicated icon especially for Skype, though the Philips 42PFL6008 has no camera built-in – that will cost you an extra £75 or so for the Philips PTA317 camera.
Picture quality
Anyone who’s ever seen a Philips TV will know that their pictures usually have their own ‘look’, but while that used to be a slightly over-processed image that wasn’t to everyone’s taste, the Philips 42PFL6008’s natural-looking picture is proof that those days are long gone.
The Philips 42PFL6008 is all about detail. With our test disc Hugo in 2D mode, fine flakes of dust are visible outside Papa George’s shop, while the beautifully-lit sequences around the train station are exquisitely brought to life.
A close-up of Gustav as he puts on his best smile, and again in the flower stall, shows some serious detail while most of the colour palette is utterly convincing, if hardly eye-popping. This we like – too many LCD TV makers veer towards eye-searing brightness and overcooked colours.
Peak whites are well handled, though larger areas of black do take on a slight cloudiness above emptiness; they’re black enough, but there’s not much detail within the darkest areas.
Switch to more mixed material, such as the combination of both stunning visuals and archive footage of NASA’s Greatest Missions on Blu-ray and the Philips 42PFL6008 does well, nicely upscaling the latter. Images from BBC2 excel, too, with standard definition snooker detailed, pristine and clean, with only a slight sheen of very fine picture noise interrupting.
Perfect Natural Motion (PNM) – a lynchpin of Pixel Precise HD – isn’t new to Philips TVs, but here the 100Hz screen gets some more backlight scanning trickery to create a new 500Hz figure. That’s immaterial, though – instead, know that the Philips 42PFL6008 handles motion quite well.
However, left on its maximum setting PNM wreaks havoc around any moving object, with even a quick turn of a head producing artefacts. But on minimum power it creates a smooth, judder-free image that’s preferable to the untreated Blu-ray image. Clear LCD, meanwhile, completely gets rid of blur.
As well as a simple depth adjuster, 3D pictures also get the Pixel Precise HD treatment, with PNM arguably more important. Again on its lowest setting (any higher and everything just looks fake), PNM helps mould an almost perfectly judged rendition of the tricky opening sweeping panoramic sequence of Hugo.
The depth is entrancing, and the smoothness beguiling, though during a later panorama of Paris by night the horizontal lines endemic to passive 3D tech are not only visible, but very obviously blocking some of the detail the Philips 42PFL6008 excels with on 2D.
And all this with Ambilight in tow, which adds something truly unique. A touch of shadow detailing aside, judged on image quality the Philips 42PFL6008 is a tempting screen indeed.
Usability, sound and value
Although last year it was just clever enough to compete, the Smart TV interface on the Philips 42PFL6008 has been sadly left unchanged. As a result it’s not on a par with the big brands, though we’re happy enough with its app selection. Design-wise it’s rather stale, with graphics simply not hi-res enough for a TV this size – let alone the 55-inch version. But a bigger problem is a lack of processing power.
Though it’s hamstrung by the relatively slow uptake of the Philips 42PFL6008, where this TV does stand out is in its provision of a quite wonderful remote control. We’ve seen slinky, dinky, slim and shiny touchpad remotes from the likes of Panasonic and Samsung this year that both try to use voice control instead of buttons, but Philips has gone entirely in the other direction.
It weighs a hefty 160g (5.6oz), but that’s because it has double the build quality of most – and double the buttons. One side is a regular remote with the usual array of shortcuts, including a Home button and a Smart TV button, around some navigational arrows.
It’s good to see pause/rewind/play buttons on the top of the remote rather than the more normal bottom, though the volume and channel buttons perhaps aren’t as prominent as they could be.
On its rear is a full QWERTY keyboard split in half for easy thumb operation, compete with shortcuts for @, two space bars and cursors. A function button also gives most buttons double uses, which creates easy access to www. and .com entry, as well as myriad punctuation.
Our only issue with the design is that the standby button on the ‘proper’ side of the remote is too easy to depress while using the keyboard.
Smart features
Although the dual remote idea is great in theory, in practice the web browser software it’s designed to make usable is far from a pleasure to use. It’s slow, with navigation via a far from ideal system of scrolling through links on the page. Fonts are oddly treated, too.
What we would like to see on Philips TV remotes is a dedicated shortcut to its Pixel Precise HD options, which are somewhat buried away in the on-screen menus. That’s a particular wish for Philips TVs because, like the Philips 42PFL6008, they tend to have more picture processing options, and more powerful ones at that. They all need some investigation and experimentation, but we fear that most users completely ignore them.
One option for those who’d prefer a less-is-more approach is the MyRemote app for iOS and Android, both of which have been updated for the second-screen age.
Wi-Fi Smart Screen puts whatever live TV channel is playing on the TV onto a phone, though we had problems. It took over a minute to load, was at least 10 seconds behind, stuttered a lot, then crashed the app.
The app’s other new feature, SimplyShare, is much better, enabling both photos and music on a phone or any other networked device (NAS drive, computer, tablet) to be sent to the TV. It works quickly and well, though most second-screen apps have introduced video-sending for 2013 – Philips is a bit behind the curve.
File support
From a USB flash drive the Philips 42PFL6008 played a wide variety of files in our test. The likes of AVC HD, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, MOV, WMV and WMV HD video files are supported, though sadly a folder of MKV files was not.
Music and photos are played in the MP3, M4A, WAV, WMA and JPEG formats, respectively. Linked to an iMac the Philips 42PFL6008 then supported MKV files (though couldn’t produce an HD resolution) as well as lossless OGG and APE music files.
However, the user interface for playing digital media is not good. As well as it being downright confusing to find a specific file (there are two layers – and choices – of navigation, though file display isn’t consistent), we did experience some irritating lags and freeze-ups.
Plus the whole process is slightly muddled by having to choose between video, music and photo before delving into folders and files. It’s all a bit old fashioned despite looking rather stylish.
TV guide
Generally speaking we like the Philips 42PFL6008’s core user interface. It’s jet-black and only occupies a band across the middle of the screen.
Swapping inputs, engaging the impressive TV guide for Freeview HD (seven channels simultaneously in two-hour blocks) or twiddling a few settings is fairly simple and everything looks rather stylish, though it does all feel a tad separate from the rest of the TV.
In fact, making changes to picture parameters and locating the processing tweaks within Pixel Precise HD is quite a journey – we’d advise spending a hour or two trying things out on various sources and taking some decisions, because you’re not likely to attempt to quickly change the contrast during a Blu-ray disc.
Sound
Although we’ve heard better, more powerful soundscapes from Philips TVs, the audio emanating from the Philips 42PFL6008 is beyond respectable – and that’s rare for any super-slim TV.
A small woofer on the back of the TV helps create a hugely effective, though actually fairly subtle, dollop of bass that livens up movie soundtracks and music, in particular. It shouldn’t be overstated, and the quasi-surround modes are actually quite disappointing, but the Philips 42PFL6008 has enough audio prowess to make it sound like, well, an old TV.
Value
Four pairs of 3D specs is par for the course for almost all passive 3D TVs, so look elsewhere for hints of good value.
The lack of a working Freesat HD tuner is a shame, but since few TVs have both Freeview HD and Freesat HD tuners, we’re not too concerned about that.
Instead, the best value aspects of this television are in build quality and picture quality. There are few better built TVs than Philips TVs, period, while the picture punches above its weight not just in producing highly detailed HD pics, but in treating soft and fuzzy SD images almost as well.
Verdict
It might not be the priciest TV in the Philips arsenal, but the Philips 42PFL6008 comes across as a serious screen for serious movie watchers. It’s nicely primed for Freeview HD and delivers images to a seriously high level, though gives only a nod to the latest smart TV features.
We liked
A realistic, perhaps cool colour palette, stunning HD sharpness and excellent quality upscaling are the picture highlights, but we were also impressed by the subtlety of Perfect Natural Motion. Frame interpolation circuitry can be aggressive and downright odd-looking, but here it helps produce smooth judder-free images from Blu-ray.
It also helps show off passive 3D, which although always a tad soft by its nature, has never looked better than on the Philips 42PFL6008. Excellent audio and a truly awesome floating design are the icing on the cake.
We disliked
Shadow detailing is lacking, but it’s those after smart features who will be the most disappointed. Wi-Fi Smart Screen is unstable and doesn’t enable video sending, which puts Philips slightly behind the curve.
Smart TV apps offer Blinkbox, but not Netflix or Lovefilm, though the real annoyance is the slow operation and lack of joined-up navigation with the TV’s core user interface. The double-sided remote is great in theory, but the browser it operates remains slow and unusable to anyone with a smartphone in their pocket.
Final verdict
There are few TVs around that produce pin-sharp and clean images from all sources, but the Philips 42PFL6008 is such a TV. As such it’s a great all-rounder for a living room, but only if you’re not interested in smart TV – the few apps and widgets here are blighted by a slow user interface and a stodgy browser not helped by a double-sided remote.
There’s also a slight question mark over shadow detailing and a little clouding over large areas of black in images, but otherwise we have no complaints at all about any sources of video. This is a real all-rounder that’s as good with showing delicately textured and super-smooth HD as it is with standard definition, DVDs – and 3D, which also impresses.
Relatively powerful speakers – even with some discernible bass – cap off a strong and good value performance, but it’s a stunning build quality and floating design that make the Philips 42PFL6008 one of the best value 42-inch TVs around for those not bothered about smart stuff.
Also consider
Rivals are myriad at this screen size, and include the Panasonic ET60 Series, which has a much more integrated, faster-working smart TV interface.
At the other end of the scale is the Finlux 40S8070T, which does a reputable job for under £700, though does produce an image a notch or two below the Philips.
It’s also worth checking out bargain screens currently in clearance, such as the LG 42LS570T.
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