Philips launches Aurea LCDs, with next-gen Ambilight

Right on schedule, Philips has unveiled its new wave of Ambilight-powered television: Aurea. Sure, it's not as sexy when you call it by its 42PFL9900D model number, but the 42-inch 1080p LCD is sure to turn heads either way. Under the hood Philips has 100Hz refresh, "invisible speakers" and even a trio of HDMI inputs. The new Ambilight Spectra tech uses 126 LEDs and shoots light through the "Active Frame" for a more extensive Ambilight experience. The displays will be available next month, but there's still no word on price. Peep the gallery below for some stylized shots of the display by fashion photog Vincent Peters.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 31st 2007 10:05AM]

Wow it looks gorgeous!
Specs claim 14bit RGB: that's medical/military level detail.
Available in Europe only as its 220-240 volt.
This has got to be priced near nose bleeding elevations... Condo in Vail, maybe.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 30th 2007 5:07PM]

About the price:
MSRP is �4499 ($6100 US). Several Dutch webshops have started to list prices today, cheapest around �3800 ($5200 US). Not enough for the Vail Condo I think, but very close. ;)

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 30th 2007 5:10PM]

Note: The above prices include all EU/Dutch taxes.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 30th 2007 7:11PM]

This looks awful.

[Raptor007 Posted Aug 30th 2007 7:19PM]

In my opinion, that looks really cool!

The contrast ratio isn't up to part with the latest Samsung and Sony offerings, but the Ambilight may mask that. With the area around the screen lit, the not-so-black blacks will appear more black to your eyes (which is really the bottom line here).

Ouch at the MSRP though. Not the set for me.