Philips 42PF9630A HD Plasma - Page 57

Hey guys, I am pretty new to this stuff so sorry if this sounds stupid. I have a Sony progressive scan dvd player hooked up to the Philips via s-video cable. I have setup the DVD player to 16:9 and set the TV to widscreen mode. How come there are still black bars on top and bottom when watching 16:9 DVDs? I thought the reason for 16:9 tv is to get rid of the black bars? The only way to get rid of the bars is to set it to 'expand 16:9' mode but that stretches the image vertically.

1st thing, connect your DVD via Component Cables. You can find decent cable for pretty cheap now. Plus progressive scan only applies to the component connection (or HDMI if available)

2nd, are you sure your DVD is 16:9? Most DVDs aren't actually 16:9, they are wider and you will still get black bars on the top and bottom. Look on the back case of the DVD it should give you the aspect ratio. 1.78:1 is 16:9 (many times anamorphic 1.85:1 will also fill up the entire 16:9 screen) anything larger (2.35:1, 2.78:1) will give you black bars.

So the cables has nothing to do with the black bars and only affects progressive scan? $60 for some Monster component cables decent or $50 for Acoustic Research decent?


1.78 is just 16 divided by 9 right? So the bigger the number (ex. 2.35) the more vertical lines per horizontal lines? You are right, most of my DVDs are bigger than 1.78:1 causing the black bars. Why don't they make 1.78:1 dvds to get rid of the black bars? It's stupid because alot of times, the subtitle aren't even in the black bars but on the picture.

Absolutely Not! There are good ones for a fraction. One online site is Shopjavaco.com. Their best runs about $8.00 for 6'. I'm sure you can find other sites just as inexpensive. They may not have the fancy packaging and hype but I've found them to be more than adequate. That also applies to the HDMI cables I've purchased.

So just picked up my tv today and got a great deal on it! DVDs look awesome and so does over the air HD. My only complaint is that SD looks like complete crap, almost unwatchable. I knew that regular cable would be bad, but this bad?!?!? I have standard cable running into the back of my tv, would getting a digital box help or am is standard def just that bad?

Just posted this in another philips thread, but noticed it wasnt for ambilight...

Well, I have decided to keep the Philips... had been getting the BS issue lately... Anyway, exchanging it for a new one when BB gets it in stock from the warehouse. Now I just have to figure out how to hook my mac up to it like I had planned. (for a screensaver effect only, not using the pc with it)

2 things for you guys with the Philips... does your power button on the tv "click" when you push it, like the way all the others do next to it? Mine doesnt click, it is odd, more like a "hard push". Wondering if thats a bad switch.

Also, which may or may not be a cause, on the ambilight, do you notice the black screen only with the lights on? Or just anytime. Both times I got the BS, my lights were on... Just a thought.

bonehead848 - I just got mine too. Best Buy has it on sale for $1999. I also had a 12% coupon for memorial weekend. Came out to only $1900 w/ tax. My friend bought one for even cheaper on a open box. I agree, DVDs look awsome with the component cables (thanks for the tip flynbw01). Most regular TV channels look like crap. I have it just hooked up to the antanna for now until I move to my new place. I find 'superzoom' mode work very well for 4:3 programming.

epluth - What is this black screen problem you have? Do you get a black screen while watching tv or dvd? Have you tried updating to the latest firmware?

mystic... yeah, the BS issue is well known... and seems to be not fixable with new firmware yet... I just purchased this set 2 weeks ago, and it has the latest firmware. We will be watching tv or dvd, and once in a GREAT while the set will "reset" or turn itself off then on very quickly. I have seen maybe 15 people in the forum have the same thing happen with the ambilight models. Still trying to get to the bottom of it.

Oh, and just wait til you lose the antenna... cable or dish will look great compared to what you are seeing. And HD is amazing on these units.

SD is bearable as long as you use some of the enhancement modes such as setting DNR to medium or max and Pixel Plus 2 to "on". Yeah...it looks like crap when you get right up on it, but if you go look at your 27" TV from 1' away you'll see it looks like crap on it. We have a 50" in the den and sit probably 10' away from the set so SD looks about the same as it did on a regular TV. What's cool is set up your favorites for a SD QAM channel and it's HD QAM mate and then flip back and forth. I was watching the NBA game and it's like night and day going from SD to HD. I just wish there were more HD stations other than locals, discovery, and PBS.

So you don't see any pixelation or false contouring in dimly lit backgrounds (indoors) or on closeup face shots? If my set is the only one that has this problem on HD channels, I will feel comfortable handing it over to the service rep when he finally shows up.

Hey, just had a thought. Could this problem be related to some setting that I've ignored. Thanks for any input.

Philips has got HDMI?

yes mine has 2 rupi

also, noahhadas, wothout reading up, I have the 42" lcd version of the ambilight. I am not an Enthusiast, but am a stickler for nice things...so that said, HD is absolutely stunning. No clay face or anything.

Hi Guys,

I'm in the market for LCD/Plasma at 40" or 42" as well, and am thinking of the 42PF9631D (european version)

I see that this machine only supports 1024x768 as highest resolution from a PC - is there *any way* to do a 1:1 pixel perfect mapping on this machine? I saw the smaller version of this screen and it's outperforming LCD's...

If no 1:1 is possible, can I at least select 1024*768 and tell the computer somehow that it is 16:9 (anamorphic?) so that DVD's and video are played back perfectly? Thanks!

Thanks for all info, you can always PM or if you have more info!

Yes, you can do 1:1 pixel perfect and use zoomplayer or other player capable of adjusting the aspect ratio.

Hey guys, quick question:

I just paid $120 for HDMI cables which I have yet to open the package. I currently have a component hook-up. Is the difference with the HDMI cables worth the extra 100+ bucks? On the one hand, I can return them as I can always use some more cash...on the other hand, after buying a $2500 TV, what' sanother $100 if it makes a difference.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Return that cable and get an hdmi off of monoprice.com for 1/10 of the price.

I have a question that may be dumb but i cant find the answer anywhere. Is there any way i can hook up both regular cable (w/o a box) and an antenna to this tv? And does everyone elses ambilight suck on green? For some reason no matter what setting its on i never get a green light.

Im realitely new to the HDTV game myself but i did a lot of research on this very issue and ultimately went with some cheap cables i brought off ebay. they work extremely well I have no problems with it. A BB salesman told me that all hdmi cables do the same basic job and your paying for the name mainly. if i was going to run longer cablers (30 ft) i'd go with the expensive stuff but since im not running anythign that long. I would buy cheaper HDMI cables and call it the day.

I RECENTLY PURCHASED THE Philips 42PF9630A HD Plasma TV and can someone tell me what are the ideal settings (or the one they think is perfect) that they use in regards to the color, contrast, etc.. etc). i mainly watch dvd's and haven't found that sweet spot of the ideal settings. I understand everyone has their own taste but whatever you can offer would be helpful. thanks

I agree with Bonehead. No need to spend that kind of money. Take them back. I got 10' for $15.99 at Javaco.com. Use the extra cash for other goodies.

Bonehead848, I don't have the answer, but I remember it being talked about earlier in this thread. I think it was a few months ago, but someone was talking about this, and I think they ended up calling Phillips to ask, but I don't remember the outcome, sorry.

man, now that i have noticed this, it is really bugging me. My ambilight never displays green. I know it can because in the settings i can set it to green but when it is in other modes it never does green. Even when the screen is all green it just looks white, other than that it works fine. Does anyone elses tv do this?

I hate to say it but perhaps it is a logic board problem? Have you checked the error codes in the service menu? These codes would tell you if there is a hardware problem. If your TV is part of the recall, you will probably have this problem fixed if you perform the recall since the recall requires the replacement of the entire Ambilight unit.

I would call Philips customer service if your TV is still under warranty.

Since there is only one 75ohm input, i would think you'd have to use an A/B splitter. If you have a Home theater receiver, it may have more than one 75ohm input. You can then output to the TV from that using composite.

In the first 100 hours of use, I ran my Philips at 45% brightness, 55% to 60% contrast, and 45% color. Now, I personally run mine at 50% brightness, 65% contrast, & 47% color.

Also see an earlier posting in this thread on this subject thread: #1553 and #1554.

How do you know if you TV is part of the recall? I just got mine a week ago.

either look at the phillips support website for this tv or just search this thread for recall

I am looking to calibrate my 42" 9630a/37 what is the best way to do this? has anyone here gone with a certified ifs calibrator can this tv allow for each input to be calibrated??? what about grey scale calibration any info very helpful

I checked mine and it does green just fine. I've seen it when the preview screen on a DVD came up (green screen saying this preview has been approved for all audiences...blah...blah...blah) and I've seen it on outside seens with lots of vegetation. My system has been altered to do stereo Ambilight (via service menu), I've got the balance set for center, seperation as max, and using the "action" setting. I've got the 50PF9630A/37.

Man I've been AWOL from this thread for a while thanks to work, but wanted to chime in...

If you're having problems with the greens, time to call customer support. I watched some golf last weekend no problem, lots of rich greens on the wall.

Also, my TV was part of the infamous Ambilight recall. The techs came out and took care of replacing the Ambilight components in about an hour. Pretty painless other than the 11 billion screws that had to be pulled to open the thing up.

Those of you still thinking about this one, jump on it. Great price at Circuit City this week, it almost hurts knowing what I paid for this thing August of last year

Yeah, but while they've been debating, you've had 10 months of enjoyment more than they have.