Is Philips Ambilight worth it? (1 Viewer)

[MarkDude]

I've been shopping for an HDTV for months now and can never make a decision because I'm afraid that I'll later realize I made a bad choice. But something that's always been on the back of my mind is the cool-looking Ambilight TVs from Philips. However, I want to go for an LCD flat-panel as opposed to plasma (because of the negative things I've heard about plasma), and there are few LCD ambilight HDTVs from Philips that are in my price range (~$2,000).

Anyone here who has experience with an Ambilight TV, please let me know what you think of it. I am planning to mount the TV on a wall in the living room, which does not have a ton of light, and I often watch TV with the lights out. Is the experience as cool as it looks in the promotional photos?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[Chris*L]

I personally wouldn't pay extra for it, just throw some ambient light behind any other TV and you'll get the same experience.

 

[homthtr]

I seen the ambilight and just wondered WHY??? It looks like more of a distraction then adding to the experience.

 

[JohnRice]

I got the impression that the color of the ambilight changes with the predominant color of the image. If that is true, it is absolutely the LAST thing you want, since it will screw up your color perception.

 

[Cees Alons]

The Philips Ambilight series are very good TVs. I'm looking at one myself (the 42PF9830/10), because it has true 1920x1080 resolution.

I'm not sure about the specs of the US machines, the ones in Europe may have different frame refresh rates, because of the (still necessary) differences between NTSC and PAL.

Personally, I consider the Ambilight feature itself more of a gimmick. I wonder how much it increases the price (hardly, I guess), and you can switch it off, e.g. for films.
(However, it might even be useful for TV broadcasts.)

I'm reconstructing part of my house, and we will almost definitely have one of these in our new living room (together with a HD DVD player ).


Cees