Refine search for TVs

Philips Essence 42PES0001 42in LCD TV Review

Author	John Archer
Published	30th Dec 2008
Manufacturer	Philips
Price	£1,653.91 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£1,902.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Design
Features
Image Quality
Sound Quality
Value
Overall

Watch Video Review discuss this article

7 comments Email

TrustedReviews Newsletters

Returning to the Media receiver, it occurs to me that I haven’t actually gone into its connections yet. So here goes: it includes three HDMIs, a USB port, a DLNA-certified Ethernet port for PC networking, component and VGA PC inputs, and a digital audio output – as well as the usual SCARTs and so on.

In an ideal world a fourth HDMI might have been nice, but then it’s hard to be churlish about this when the box manages to provide such an unusual degree of multimedia flexibility. Its USB and Ethernet ports can, after all, handle MP3, .alb (slideshow), MPEG1 and MPEG2 files as well as the usual JPEGs, while the Ethernet port supports a huge list of media server applications, including Windows Media Player 11, PacketVideo Twonky Media 4.4.2, and Nero 8.

The Essence’s media receiver has some pretty important stuff going on ‘under the hood’, too. For tucked away in there is the chipset of Philips’ latest Perfect Pixel HD Engine video processor. We won’t go into this in great detail here, as we’ve already covered it extensively in other recent Philips reviews. But essentially it’s designed to improve colour, contrast, detail levels, motion reproduction and video noise levels. The same can be said, of course, of countless other video processing engines from rival manufacturers. But we’ve consistently found the Philips engine to be considerably more aggressive and powerful than any of its rivals.

Finally dragging myself away from merely admiring the Essence’s outstandingly practical but also beautiful design, really the only thing I need to say about the pictures produced by its screen is that they’re not negatively affected by the screen’s super-slim status in the slightest. Which means that the Essence’s pictures are among the very finest anywhere in the flat TV world.

I refer you to recent reviews of the Philips Aurea II and, especially, the 42PFL9703 for a full description of just how the Essence’s pictures break down. But in summary, if you love extraordinarily dynamic but authentic colours, incredibly acute fine detailing and sharpness, and some of the best black levels in the LCD world (outside of the LED-backlit fraternity, at any rate), the Essence will do nicely.

Latest 4 of 7 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

ilovethemonkeyhead said on 30th December 2008

when the radiation is safe enough not to fry people's brains (or melt through walls)

or why not have something like a contact wall, where a conductive wall is c... more

salvo said on 1st January 2009

I just love the way non of the pictures show the ‘umbilical cord'. But it still looks better than most TV out now. The only thing is belkin have their flywire wireless transmi... more

Bluepork said on 12th January 2009

I wonder, could you use some of the flatwire products that Riyadh is excited about at the CES, to replace the umbilical cord?

I agree with sthair though, about Phili... more

sofie said on 3rd February 2009

I've just orderd the TV - and i REALLY like the media table on the picture. Do anyone know, anything about the exact mediatable? Thx

See all 7 comments on this article.

Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.