The fact that the 50PFP5532D didn’t make a big splash when Philips introduced it last year doesn’t necessarily mean that the HD ready 50-incher isn’t a good plasma. To the contrary, user reviews are mostly positive, even though a number of issues – such as limited connectivity – were raised against this HDTV.
Design
The design of the 50PFP5532D is rather ordinary, not the eye-catching sort where one immediately does a double take for a closer scrutiny. The multi-toned finish is a welcome change from the glossy blacks of many
Philips 50PFP5532D
of its rivals, but the three-layer bezel framing the screen seems a bit tacky. The angled-back lower frame trimmed by a matte black strip contains the power button and the two hidden Nicam speakers, while a metallic swivel stand completes the setup. To be fair, this set appears classier than the plastic look of other TVs in its price range.
The infrared remote shipped with the 50PFP5532D is a medium-sized clicker with smallish buttons that are sensibly grouped together and nicely laid out. The placement of the navigation keys and the volume/channel near the centre of the remote makes the most common tasks easy, while intuitive naming of buttons enhances usability.
Screen/picture clarity
While not out to win awards, the 50PFP5532D delivers decent image clarity and sharpness owing to the Pixel Plus HD and the 3D combfilter colour separation technology employed by Philips. Black levels are respectably deep, though nowhere near the reference black levels of the high-end plasmas. The deep blacks make shadow details more visible and coloured images more vibrant and life-like, particularly as the TV has excellent colour reproduction.
Video processing of the Pixel Plus HD processor of high-def sources is good, with no apparent resolution loss even when downscaling 1080p materials to the TV’s 1024 x 768 native resolution. Cleaning of noise, moiré and jagged edges from standard-def sources appears adequate, as these unwanted artefacts weren’t too distracting. In the absence of a dedicated PC socket, one would have to use a DVI/HDMI cable connected to one of the HDMI ports, but maximum resolution is limited to the 50PFP5532D’s native resolution.
Features
Being a budget HDTV, features are understandably limited for the 50PFP5532D. among its features are a 7-band equalizer (though sound output isn’t that inspiring) and auto volume leveller; child lock; sleep and wake-up timers; 8-day Electronic Program Guide; and 1,000 page Teletext. The much ridiculed connectivity options include two HDMI ports (four is the norm these days), two Scarts, headphone jack and a host of component input/output jacks. Sadly, there is neither USB nor Ethernet connections for possible firmware updates.
It seems Philips can’t find a firm footing in the HDTV niche, as it continues to churn out some hits and frequent misses, but if it is any consolation, there is some improvement in the company’s technology, as shown in the decent performance of the 50PFP5532D. This is a good all-around TV – not exceptional – but good nonetheless. And the price’s cheap!
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