The 47-inch 47PFL9732D from Philips includes built-in LED-driven light bars at the back of the set. These cast a bit of light to the rear of the set and keep you from sitting in what might otherwise be a completely dark room. These lights can emit basic white, or have the ability to project color corresponding to the picture on the screen instead. The results can be a fuller experience with the right source material.

Of course this feature, which Philips calls Ambilight, isn't needed all the time, so you will have the option of turning it off at times such as during the day. We were pleased with the anti-reflective screen, and we found the 47PFL9732D to be perfectly bright even when the ambient room light would otherwise wash out the TV picture.

The Philips 47PFL9732D features quite a vibrant picture, and we were generally pleased with the black levels. Out of the box, we found the colors to be less vibrant than we expected, but with adequate tweaking they really did spring to life. There are multiple auto picture modes, but most of the time you're likely better off taking the time to tweak the picture yourself. We liked that this model includes a Settings Assistant that will walk you through the set up process, and this step-by-step tutorial offers a split screen so you can compare the changes you've made. For anyone who has spent a lot of time tweaking and wondering "does this look better," the Settings Assistant is an excellent tutorial.

The 1080p 47-inch set features a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 and can display every pixel of 1080p and 1080i content. For movie viewing, this model features a 3:2 pull down to reduce the "judder" with film content. Additionally, the 47PFL9732D includes 3D comb filter to produce a crisp and clear picture. This model features multiple widescreen modes, including an auto-format feature to get the most out of your picture viewing.

The 47PFL9732D adequately handles standard definition content, and as with other Philips HDTV sets, this one includes the Pixel Plus HD engine to increase the number of lines from various non-HD content. The results vary considerably. While some sources may look sharper and more detailed, sometimes the picture is sharpened too much.

The 47PFL9732D doesn't come up short on A/V connections. This set features three rear HDMI inputs, along with dual component video inputs, S-Video and composite inputs, as well as a digital coaxial audio output. We still have to question Philip's decision to stack the AV1 with component and composite, but chances are you'll have plenty of composite inputs--especially considering that this model features a side composite video, along with a USB port for the viewing of JPEG photos.

This 47-inch model has a sleek, but far from stark, look. The thin black bezel is stylish while maintaining a low-key appearance. Hidden below the screen is the set's speaker bar, and here is about our biggest complaint with this set. While we often find 10-watt speakers to be underpowered for larger sized panels, 8 watts per channel is completely lacking. Fortunately this set can be found online for far less, so you can use the savings to buy a real surround sound system.

Pros: Ambilight system, three HDMI inputs
Cons: 8-watt speakers, Pixel Plus can be a bit too much, expensive, some inaccurate colors

Warranty
1 year, limited