Philips 42PFL3704D/F7

Color Temperature (6.11)

This test measures how the TV's color temperature changes throughout the greyscale. In our calibration setup, we try to get the TV's color temperature as close as we can to the ideal white, which is 6500K. Even if the TV runs a little warm or cool, as long as that temperature remains consistent, you won't have any problems.

The 42PFL3704D/F7 started out running really hot, about 9381K. Since higher temperatures are more blue, the TV will look 'cooler' than it should. This isn't ideal to begin with, but it's made terrible by the erratic temperature changes throughout the greyscale. Towards the middle of the spectrum, the greys start looking much, much cooler than they should. This is made all the more obvious by the sudden temperature drop towards the darker blacks. Overall, the 42PFL3704D/F7 will have cool-looking middle shades, then suddenly switching to a warm hue for darker shades.

Color Temperature
Compare the Philips 42PFL3704D/F7 to other HDTVs
RCA L40FHD41 40 inches	Panasonic TC-P42S1 42 inches	Sony KDL-40S5100 40 inches

RGB Curves (7.07)

Since red, green, and blue make up every other color the TV displays, we test them separately. In general, the 42PFL3704D/F7 had good enough performance, but it had some significant issues. In the below graph, you can see how each of the three colors is emphasized, from its darkest shade to its brightest. 

RGB Curves

There are a few isues with these curves. First of all, note the jagged-looking lines. These indicate areas where nearby colors aren't differentiated enough, or at all. The TV is being told to produce different shades, but doesn't. This is especially obvious towards the higher intensities, where the TV peaks out and is incapable of producing brighter colors. This poor differentiation between colors means fine details are being lost. These fine details are often what provides depth to an image; images on the 42PFL3704D/F7 will look a bit flatter than they should.

Red Response Comparisons
Ideal Response
Philips 42PFL3704D/F7
RCA L40FHD41
Panasonic TC-P42S1
Sony KDL-40S5100

Green Response Comparisons
Ideal Response
Philips 42PFL3704D/F7
RCA L40FHD41
Panasonic TC-P42S1
Sony KDL-40S5100

Blue Response Comparisons
Ideal Response
Philips 42PFL3704D/F7
RCA L40FHD41
Panasonic TC-P42S1
Sony KDL-40S5100

Color Gamut (4.16)

The colors a TV should display are actually dictated by an international standard, called rec. 709. This standard, in our experience, is followed a bit more loosely than it should be. In this test, we measure the color gamut ourselves, then compare it to rec. 709. The result of this comparison is graphed below.

Color Gamut

As you can see, the red is spot on, but the green, blue, and white points are pretty far off. The greens are oversaturated and pushed a bit towards blue. The blues are oversaturated and ever-so-slightly pushed towards red. The white is very blue, as we discussed in the color temperature section above.

Other Models in the 3000 Series
This is a review of the Philips 42PFL3704D/F7. The other sizes of HDTVs in this series should be similar in terms of performance and usability. For details about any differences, click on the image to jump to the Series Comparison page.
19PFL3504D 19 inches	32PFL3504D 32 inches	47PFL3603D 47 inches	52PFL3704D 52 inches