[Pete Rush]

Damn!


I just about settled the fact that my New Year's present will be 34pw9818 HDTV with dvd963sa DVD/SA player (FLI 2301 chip), and now this!!!! Damn you, Philips!!! Why must you toy with me like this?!?! Aaaahhhh!!!


/regaining composure


Anyway, head to http://www.widescreen.philips.com/pdfs/

It has PDFs of promotional brochures for 2003 products. Matchline has finally arrived in the US! Of particular interest (at least to me):


Direct view HDTVs:

30pw9819 and 34pw9819 (yes, nineteen!) - Pixel Plus, Digital Natural Motion, DVI connector (!!)


DVD players:

DVDQ65 - 13 bit/108 MHz video processor, Multichannel SACD (!) with Advanced Bass Management

DVDQ75 - Digital Crystal Clear, Digital Photo and Music Manager(!), 720p line doubling(!), DVI connector (!!!)


/losing composure

Why?!?! Why do you, Philips, must dangle this in front of my nose when my HDTV dream was so close to be fulfilled?? Why must I spend another month after month staring at 19" TV, while awaiting above equipment to appear "at a Philips authorized dealer near you" real soon now... Why must I pursue the best and the most "future proof", while normal people are happily buying $500 4:3 analog sets (with $69 APEX DVD player on top) at local BestBuy???? Why? WHY?


/completely losing it, turning into whimpering mess

 

[Rooze]

Don't feel bad. You're not the only one watching a 19" TV contemplating which HDTV to buy. This is exactly my situation. I was all set to buy when I read an article in Home Theatre saying not to buy a TV without DVI. That put me on hold because there are no 30" HDTV widescreens with DVI (that I know of). Hopefully, Philips, Panasonic, Sony, or Toshiba will come out with one in 2003.


Question - If this new Philips DVD player with DVI is connected to an HDTV with DVI, can we infer that the Holy Grail (no analog conversion of the signal) has been reached?

 

[dfedders]

Anyone have any idea of the release date for the 34pw9819? I really liked the 18, but it didn't have DVI.


Get a Sony 34xbr800 now, or wait for the 34pw9819... Hmmm...

 

[Pete Rush]

You guesses on detailed specs and availability are as good as mine... I guess we have to wait until CES in mid-January for more details.


In a way my "life" is much easier now: I know _exactly_ what I will get - 34pw9819 and Q75.


There is no sense of buying Sony XBR800 now (unless your old TV suddenly explodes, in which case I would get 9818). I did side-to-side live comparison of 9818 and XBR800 and while HDTV performance was pretty much on par, Philips was significantly better than Sony on regular definition signal. The built-in line doubler in 9818 is supposedly so good, that people are feeding 480i (with Pixel Plus on) to it and often get better results than 480p.


The fact that upcoming Q75 will allegedly output 720p (which is a built-in capability of Genesis-Faroudja FLI2300 series chipset), makes me believe that 9819 will also either display 720p natively or will upconvert it to 1080i, same as XBR800. Throw into the mix DVI connectors on both ends (Q75 may have FLI2310 variant, with built-in digital outputs), and you have a combination that would be hard to beat.


Way to go, Philips!

 

[Rooze]

And I'm leaning towards the 30PW9819 and the Q75. Though I'd like to know how much they are going to cost.


By the way, what are the chances that the Q75 could play a PAL DVD?

 

[dt_dc]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rooze Question - If this new Philips DVD player with DVI is connected to an HDTV with DVI, can we infer that the Holy Grail (no analog conversion of the signal) has been reached?

If the HDTV is CRT (direct view or projection), you've still got D->A conversion in the set.

Quote:

Originally posted by Pete Rush makes me believe that 9819 will also either display 720p natively or will upconvert it to 1080i

Probably the later.

 

[UTSoxFan]

Pete Rush--that's a huge find. I have an update for you. I too have been on the fence between the 9818 and the XBR800. I prefer the Philips, but the lack of DVI input has been holding me back. After seeing your post this morning, I went to the Philips website and got on a chat. I asked when the 9819 will be available, and I was informed it is available NOW. I'm going to try to track down the 9819 locally (Salt Lake City area)--I'll post if I have any luck. Here's a copy of the chat discussion:


Please wait for a consultant to assist you.

jgalloway has arrived to help you!

jgalloway says, "Thank you for contacting Philips Web Chat, this is Joel, how may I help you?"

You say, "I've been on the market for a direct view widescreen HDTV for some time now. I had narrowed my choices to the Sony 34XBR800 and Philips 34PW9818. The only true advantage that I believe the Sony had over your product was its inclusion of DVI inputs, which the 9818 lacks. Well, this morning I stumbled across a Philips HDTV pdf file which advertises the 34PW9819 which has DVI inputs. That would make my decision very easy--Philips for sure. My question is when will the 9819 be available???"

jgalloway says, "It is available now."

jgalloway says, "For this information, you can visit our web site at www.PhilipsUSA.com, click on our "where to buy" option, then insert your zip code. At this point you will be able to see stores in your area that stock this unit.


Or, if you prefer, you can visit any of our top retailers:


Sears

Wal-Mart

Best Buy

Circuit City

Target

Costco

Office Depot

Sam's Wholesale

Comp USA


Unfortunately, we cannot access the inventory systems of our retailers in order to advise on specific product availability at branch level. You will need to call the retailer in question and ask them to check if they have the specific product in stock."

 

[Pete Rush]

UTSoxFan,


This is stupendously excellent news! Please keep us updated on the availability of 9819!!! I will try to find out about this myself. I know at least a dozen of guys, like myself, on this forum who were sitting on the fence waiting for DVI-enabled direct-view Philips.


One word of caution, though. Philips is quite notorious for declaring availability, and then delaying actual introduction for months. Therefore, based on a previous experience I am a little sceptical about this chat. You might have been talking to a chatbot (or, even worse, a real customer support person). Similar incident has been reported with Philips dvd963sa SACD player. See attached thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...light=dvd963sa


As you can see, the content of the chat is essentially the same. I am, however, still waiting for dvd963sa to become available in the US. (You can check the level of excitement on the sister forum when it finally got released in Europe. They hit like 500 messages in two days when 963sa started shipping.) One way to confirm availability is to go to www.p4c.philips.com and look for leaflets (or U.S. manuals) on the above products. As of yesterday, there was nothing there.


Nevertheless, these are great news! Lets hope they can break the trend and accelerate the delivery of 9819 into the stores. Philips stuff is great and well worth waiting for.


Pete Rush

 

[UTSoxFan]

Another update re my encounter with Philips's online customer service. Let me first say that while I am encouraged by Philips' apparent decision to update their digital widescreens to include DVI (hence the 9819), I am very disappointed with their customer service (online anyway). As I posted below, their first rep told me that the 9819 was available NOW. I immediately suspected he misread my posting to mean the 9818, so I sent a follow up question seeking clarification (this was only about one minute later). By this time he was gone. So I returned to the chat and connected to a new rep. This one first told me I had the model number wrong. Then he/she gave me a toll-free number and abruptly disconnected. I went so far as to post the URL for the Philips brochure showing the 9819 (and listing DVI as a feature), but once again the rep disconnected before I was able to send. Not very encouraging for what Philips calls "customer care." I surely hope their post-purchase customer care is better than what I encountered online today.

So, bottom line is that the first rep (see my previous post) seems to have given misinformation. I apologize for repeating that information here, but again, I was only relaying info I personally received from Philips. And, as you can see from my previous post, I clearly identified the "34PW9819" as the model for which I was seeking information.

Finally, I will call the 800 number I received from the second Philips rep and post my findings. Anyone looking for the pdf showing the 9819 can see it at http://www.widescreen.philips.com/pdfs/bro_hdtv.pdf

Later.

 

[dt_dc]

Also, before plunking down $$$ for thse sets ... you should confirm that the DVI connections include HDCP copy protection functionality.


While I would imagine they probably do ... it wouldn't hurt to make sure.


It should be noted that Philips was a bit upset that their own copy protection systems were not included in the CPTWG's list of approved technologies. Philips then pointed out flaws in HDCP and objected to it being included.


Would Philips go so far as to not include HDCP in their new sets? I doubt it ... but I'd check it out before buying.

 

[UTSoxFan]

You make a very good point dt_dc. I called the 800 number for Philips "customer care" to see if I could get any information re the 9819, but once again came up empty. After about a 5 minute wait, I finally got a live person on the line. When I asked for a release date of the 9819, he told me their system didn't show that model. I explained to him where I discovered the model, and he again put me on hold to look further. Unfortunately, he again came back empty, so the quest for knowledge continues.

Since the 9818 is still very new, I wonder how long the wait for the 9819 will be. My guess is that Philips learned pretty quickly after releasing the 9818 that they were losing sales to Sony due to their lack of DVI. I can't imagine a firmware update to include the new input was a major engineering challenge. Based on the limited info available in the pdf brochure, there seems little or no improvement other than the DVI. Hopefully these will start rolling in soon (and hopefully Philips will take the time to at least educate their own customer service reps).

 

[Action]

Seriously, if you can read the manuals that Philips has on-line, you know more than any rep there. This includes the managers, etc. I have spent many, many hours on the phone trying to determine simple things like number of S-video inputs on some of their tube TVs, native resolutions, differences between sets, and all they do is read directly from a cheat sheet (which I know is incorrect from several sources on this forum that happen to own these TVs). They have never seen the products, nor do any of the customer service reps or managers have access to the products. They will not return phone calls (7 times they said that they would call back, they have never done so, nor apologized when I had to call them back after a 48hr wait), they have absolutely no method of getting any information about units if it is not included in the users manual. I have never experienced any company so utterly uninterested in selling a $2K product, undoubtedly Philips has the worst trained customer service reps of the major manufacturers.


If you are depending upon Philips 'customer care' to provide you with truly accurate and timely information on any product, I've got some bridges to sell you...

 

[UTSoxFan]

I suspect that the only source who might be able to offer information re the upcoming 34PW9819 would be a Philips sales rep. Anyone in this forum an authorized Philips dealer (or at least know one) who would be willing to contact their Philips rep and request information re the 9819's??? Personally, I would be interested in knowing (1) when it will become available in the US, (2) and what changes (if any) have been made other than to include a DVI input, and (3) whether the DVI includes HDCP. Thanks everyone.

 

[Rackon]

For $1550 delivered, the 9818 was fine for me, even sans DVI.


With the 9818's PQ, I don't think the DVI/HDCP is an issue for me. Not on a 34" set.


I'm betting it will be end of Quarter 1, or more likely Q2, before we see a 9819. I'm almost ready to get the 963SA from Europe!

 

[ZR]

Pete,


Like you, I am excited about the Q75. However, when I consulted my "insider" in Philips, they laughed and said it is just vapourware. Seem like this will not come anytime soon, it may not even come at all!


Meanwhile, my 963sa is giving great picture and sound. Good to hear that my investment will still be best in class for some time

 

[JCW]

Yeah, when I check around, somebody told me there will be a Q99 with a multi scaler that can do 1080p or what ever you set it to, multi channel SACD, DVD-A, Blu-Ray, video input for use as a external scaler, CD up sampling, PCM digital input as external up sampler, digital volume, room correction system..... and they told me to wait till year 2010....!

 

[Pete Rush]

JCW, Robert Whitehead:


I understand everybody's scepticism. I am very sceptical myself. I doubt it is vaporware, though. Why Philips would otherwise go to the lenghts of preparing nice-looking brochures, with relatively detailed description of the models, then posting it on its website, if it is only vaporware? I do not have any Philips insider info, just what I saw on its website. I would wait for CES...


As to availability, I would suspect 3rd or 4th quarter 2003. I would also suspect something with DVI-out coming from Sony (they already have satellite box with DVI-out.) Philips should not far behind.


P.S. Try Google for "34pw9819", it worked for me this worning

 

[NorthJersey]

Anyone know of any new info for the release date of the 34PW9819? I'll be looking to buy an HDTV-compatible tv this year, and would like to have the options of the Philips model to compare to the new Sony model (34xbr910?) that's coming out in July.

 

[dt_dc]

No ... Philips has not issued a release date (or any other 34PW9819 information). Kind of odd that that they did not announce the 34PW9819 at CES either. At this rate, it could be a while ...

 

[Pete Rush]

First sign of projected availability for 34pw9819. Go to www.twice.com and search for "9819". You will get one hit.


In the article by Greg Tarr dated 1/27/03, which describes Philips 2003 digital TV plans there is the following line:


"In direct view, Philips will add in the second quarter its 9819 MatchLine Series featuring the 30W- and 34W-inch screen sizes, both with Pixel Plus technology."


Article forgets to mention that both 9819's will feature DVI connectors.


So it looks like second quarter, which should roughly coincide with the release of Sony's 34XBR910. It would be interesting to see how Sony with its increased aperture pitch will stack up against PixelPlus. I am rooting for Philips.