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Philips trumpets 5000 / 7000 / Eco series HDTVs
It's right around the midway point between last CES and the one to come, and for Philips, that means it's time to dump a few new HDTVs onto the unsuspecting public. Announced today from atop a New York City hotel, the outfit got official with its 5000, 7000 and Eco series of LCD HDTVs. The 5000 FlatTV lineup includes 32- ($799), 42- ($1,799), 47- ($2,099) and 52-inch ($2,899) flavors, all of which are bathed in glossy black and feature HDMI 1.3a inputs. The Eco sets tout "several power-saving features such as a proprietary dimming technology" and arrive in 42-, 47- and 52-inch sizes ($1,099 to $2,299). Lastly, the 7000 Series ($1,699 to $2,699) -- or Ultimate TVs, as Philips likes to say -- offers up 120Hz ClearLCD / Perfect Pixel HD technology, an "invisible" speaker system and four HDMI-CEC connectors. For what it's worth, Philips is also re-introducing its Profile 1.1-compliant BDP7200 Blu-ray player, which has already been reviewed and brushed aside in anticipation of fresher Profile 2.0 decks.
Philips Profile 1.1-compliant BDP7200 Blu-ray player reviewed
It's no shock that Profile 1.1 players have lost their luster with Profile 2.0 being all the rage, but we figured it prudent to pass along CNET's recent review of the CES-announced BDP7200 just in case. Philips' BD player features a fresh, attractive design, supports Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio in bit-stream format and performed excellently in 1080p24. So, what's the problem, you ask? Unfortunately, there's no onboard decoding of the previously mentioned audio codecs, no Ethernet port for firmware upgrades, an inability to understand Profile 2.0 and "subpar image quality in standard 1080p mode." All in all, the 6.4 out of 10 rating screams "mixed bag" to us, and while this particular device may actually be right for some, we'd certainly take a gander at the review linked below before diving on in.
Philips and DivX get down like two flat tires
DivX seems to be recovering nicely from the fall of Stage6, inking a deal with Philips to make sure a "wide variety" of its consumer electronics devices will be compatible with the format. The two year license agreement applies to DVD players, TVs and Blu-ray players -- the upcoming Bonus View-enabled BDP7200 is not mentioned -- and in light of a similar agreement with Panasonic should continue to increase the amount of DivX Certified equipment available in the near future.
