After initially pulling out of the flat panel TV market, Philips Europe has re-entered the Australia market via Melbourne based distributor Qualifi, who is set to launch a 56-inch Philips LCD TV that will only deliver Blu ray content at a 21:9 cinema aspect ratio.
Retailing for $8,995 dollars the new Philips TV is described as the world’s first cinema-proportioned LCD Display.
“To get a TV signal a user has to have a Foxtel set top box or a separate tuner as the model we are launching has no Australian tuner” said Ralph Grundl Marketing Manager at Qualifi.
“We believe that is a market in Australia for this product, it will be a second TV which is purchased by people who want a quality TV picture primarily from their Blu ray player”.
Len Wallis of Len Wallis Audio believes that the product is good, but is being delivered at a difficult time as consumers are about to be asked to step up to a 3D TV.
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“This is not a big TV but it is a unique TV that will work well in a small room. It is also a secondary TV that will be bought by someone looking for a quality TV experience.
The new Philips Cinema 21:9 TV is the world’s first LCD display to recreate a true to life cinema picture experience claims Qualifi “Traditional LCD displays compromise the way consumers watch films at home by changing the aspect ratio to fill the screen. This loses the full scope of the original shot by inserting distracting black bars (letterboxing) at the top and bottom of the screen. Cinema 21:9 overcomes these issues and perfectly displays 2.39:1 movie material to give the viewer an immersive experience from the comfort of their lounge” said Grundl.
The TV incorporates Philips Perfect Pixel HD processing engine (500 million pixels per second processing power and 2,250 trillion vivid colors). Also incorporated into the 21.0 is Philips highly controversial Ambilight Spectra technology which appeared in several TV launched by Philips Australia.
Ambilight projects ambient LED lighting from the top and sides of the panel that absorb the viewer into the picture and expands the content beyond the confines of the screen claim Philips. The colour and intensity accurately change to match the on-screen action and lock your vision on the screen to immerse you further in the movie. Completing the picture package, the TV is equipped with a Full HD 2560x1080p screen with 8.3 million pixels that guarantees crystal clear and razor sharp images with high definition sources.
The TV also has a refresh rate of just 1ms, ensuring even the fastest on-screen action is realistically life-like and smoothly rendered thanks to 200Hz Clear LCD. In addition, Perfect Contrast helps boost contrast levels to deliver an 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Picture quality is further enhanced by Perfect Natural Motion that ensures moving objects glide naturally on-screen, eliminating the judder associated with other LCD screens.
It also has five HDMI 1.3a ports, DLNA and Wi-Fi connectivity.
