15. The Philips 32PF9630 Is An Exceptional Set

Obviously we put the Philips 32PF9630 through our latency test, and the results were good.

Here again, we expected better, but the performance was quite acceptable for video. A little more speed in the intermediate tones would have been nice.

Video Quality

(Score: 4)

We were blown away. We tried the Philips 32PF9630 with different sources, and the results were always the same. The set has exceptional video quality! First of all, the viewing angles are very wide, and the colors are incredibly rich, bearing out what our tests had showed. But there was one unknown: video noise. With all the filters disabled, we had to admit that the panel is noisy. But Philips' technology works wonders, and enabling the filters literally transformed the picture. Once adjusted, the noise level was extremely low.

Interpolation

The set did a good job of scaling low-definition sources with DVD and video-game images free of jaggedness and still sharp. But we couldn't resist connecting our Xbox 360 to see how it would look in HD, and the result was amazing. The image was very clear with relatively little jaggedness. In short, the display quality of the Philips 32PF9630 is excellent, regardless of the original size of the content.

PC Mode

Using a small form factor PC will make things more pleasant for hard-core gamers. The panel is fast enough and the quality of the image at low brightness will let you get very close to the screen. The scaling is also better, but for once the difference between the two methods (internal scaler and software scaler) was slim.

Sound Quality

(Score: 3)

When we took the set out of the box, we were very skeptical about the thickness of the speakers. Surely they wouldn't be able to provide meaty bass response, we thought. And while it's true that the sound did emphasize the highs a bit, the bass was definitely there. Adjusting the equalizer to optimize things will give you sound that's excellent for an LCD TV set.

Conclusion

(Overall score: 4)

This TV stole our hearts away and reassured us regarding Philips's ability to build TV sets. Up to now, the Philips LCD TVs we'd tested were only average, but this one is really exceptional. If you're a movie buff, want a good picture and can afford it, don't hesitate to grab this one!