Philips’ newly-unveiled 42PFL9803D LED Lux TV is all set to revolutionise LCD picture quality by boosting black levels to plasma-beating standards.
Rather than using old-fashioned flourescent lamps to backlight the picture, this 42-inch model boasts 128 LED clusters behind the screen. That means it only lights up the bright part of an image, while the murkier tones in other areas remain unlit.
Compare that to a traditional LCD, where the whole screen is lit all the time, and you’ll understand why the blacks on this TV actually look black rather than grey – they’re completely unlit.
Philips claims the black performance of the new set smashes that of the current plasma ranges from Pioneer and Panasonic, and LED Lux can also do super-bright whites too – something plasma tech struggles with. Hence the claimed contrast ratio: a stonking 2,000,000:1. That’s even better than Sony’s fancy OLED screen.
The TV also comes with two-channel Ambilight Spectra, Philips’ latest Perfect Pixel HD Engine picture processing, a full 1080p resolution and a tasty brushed aluminium finish.
Out late 2008 | £2,400 (€3,000) | Philips
