Philips 56PFL9954 (56-inch LCD)

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Features

Ambilight Spectra ambient lighting in action.
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Films are usually shot in ultra-wide screen format. However, the Cinema 21:9 is surprisingly the first HDTV to follow the cinematic aspect ratio. This eliminates the letterbox bars which occupy precious display space on regular 16:9 panels. To enhance motion fluidity, this model is equipped with 200Hz Clear LCD technology based on 100Hz frame interpolation and scanning backlight. Another unique proposition is the three-sided Ambilight Spectra which produces an aura-like glow using LEDs to reduce eye strain, among other benefits.

NetTV	YouTube	Wannahaves	Funspot
Tunin.fm	MeteoConsult	Myalbum.com	Web browser
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The Cinema 21:9 offers a full-fledged Connected TV function with DLNA network multimedia playback and Net TV. The latter comprises seven Web content services: YouTube with search option, Wannahaves for the gadget-oriented IPTV channel, Funspot for 12 mini games, MeteoConsult for weather reports, Tunin.fm for 185 Internet radio stations and Myalbum.com for photo sharing. More interestingly, Net TV comes with a Web browser complete with a virtual keyboard, but lacks support for plug-in software such as Adobe Flash.

A/V and multimedia

Video	2,560 x 1,080 resolution (full-HD-ready); 80,000:1 dynamic contrast; 200Hz scanning backlight
Audio	15W x 2; Virtual Dolby Digital; BBE; onboard subwoofers
Multimedia	MP3, JPEG, MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, WMV-HD, H.264 via USB, Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
TV tuner	Analog; digital (DVB-T, DVB-C)

This Philips is one of the rare gems with five HDMI inputs.
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This panel scores highly in the connectivity department with five HDMI terminals. That makes it seven 1080p-ready inputs if we factor in the component-video socket and analog PC jack, though we can definitely go without the European SCART connectors. Multimedia file playback is catered to by a USB port, Ethernet and onboard 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, while IDTV is supported through a single antenna shared between the analog, DVB-T and DVB-C tuners, plus a Dolby Digital-enabled digital coaxial audio-out.

Connectivity

HDMI input(s)	Five sockets; version 1.3; 24p-ready; Easy Link (HDMI-CEC)
Component-video input(s)	One socket; 1080p-ready
PC input(s)	Analog; 1080p-ready (officially up to only 1,360 x 768 pixels)
Audio output(s)	Analog; digital coaxial