Product review: Philips 19" Class LCD HDTV with Digital Tuner

I reviewed a flat screen television not too long ago, the Toshiba Regza 46” HD-ready LCD TV. This was a great purchase but it was not the only flat screen television I ever purchased. In fact I had a prior purchase that I want to discuss now.

The Philips 19" Class LCD HDTV with Digital Tuner, 19PFL3403D/27 is available from Wal-Mart. It is priced at $347, which makes it a very reasonable purchase. It is capable of being used as a screen for the computer, or as a television. It is easy to hookup cable, video games, DVD players or most anything else you would consider.

Resolution can go up to 1440 x 900 pixels, though 720 is recommended. It has two 6-watt speakers. And with the conversion to HDTV (a real waste of money in my opinion, and a great way to pick up television sales) it has the ability to go to the new format immediately without any additions.

But the fact is that I find this LCD television inferior if not problematic. The television works fine, at least in the first year. But after that well there are problems.

Now I should mention that my use of a television is not exactly normal. In fact I exceed what most would call normal. I watch news about 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. That is well outside the norm of anyone. Thus I tend to stick with LCD televisions to help prevent any screen burning. That is important to remember if you consider plasma televisions, long term use – especially if you watch a single channel a lot, or play video games where the screen does not change often.

But the Phillips LCD is fine with those aspects. Honestly it’s reliable in the picture quality. The problem is with the sound, especially when the television is turned on.

After a year of use, which might equate to 2 years of use for most, the sound starts to get wonky. When the television is turned on the sound fails completely. No sound at all.

The way to get around that is to turn the set off, and then back on 2 or 3 times. You have to let the set stay off about 30 seconds each time it’s switched off. If you don’t do this the sound will come back and then cut off in about a minute.

If you do this too many times, or not enough, you will get scratchy sound for about 2 minutes, and they a horrible, loud tonal noise that sounds like a fire alarm just went off. The volume of the alarm will exceed the volume setting of the television.

I should note that the sound settings I prefer to use is about 30, which is just under 1/3 the total volume the television can deliver.

The problem with the sound is irritating at the least. Even when it is done properly the sound starts with huge static that fades over the first 5 – 10 minutes of use. Thus if you want to watch something suddenly, like say a news forecast about a tornado approaching, you are out of luck.

So is this a great television? For the first year the cost is worth the ease of use. But unless you like to replace televisions on an annual or bi-annual basis this is not the product you want.