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Ambilight is one of those ideas that sounds like it was cooked up by a mad scientist who had a quiet week and a couple of coloured LEDs lying around. The reality of it is quite different, because once you’ve seen Ambilight working, the scientist doesn’t seem quite so mad anymore. The Philips Cineos 42PFL9632D makes him seem worthy of a Nobel prize.
If you’ve been living in a cave for the last couple of years, you might not know what Ambilight is — allow us to help. Simply, an Ambilight TV has a series of LEDs at the rear of the television. When you put the screen against a wall, light is projected on to the wall that reflects what’s on screen. In addition to extending what’s happening on screen into your peripheral vision, this has the added benefit of increasing the contrast ratio. The other good news is that if you do live in a cave, Ambilight will really cheer it up. Hurrah.
The 42PFL9632D has other tricks up its sleeve. Firstly, it’s a ‘Full HD’ 1080p screen. So it’s well set for all the next-generation high-definition formats. It also has Perfect Pixel HD processing, which Philips claims improves the picture quality and increases sharpness. You’ll also find 100Hz technology, which should help reduce film judder.
The Philips also has three HDMI sockets, a welcome sight in these days of HD. We’re also pleased to see a USB connector for viewing pictures from a memory stick on your TV. Always nice for parties.
The 42PFL9632D has a recommended price of £1,799, but you should be able to find it for less than that if you shop around. We’ll have a review of it ready very soon.
Update: A full review is now available on the site. -Ian Morris
