Philips 46PFL9706

Design, sharpness, profound black & white, brighter 3D pictures, extended Ambilight effect

High cost, lacklustre Smart TV dimension, speakers are in desktop stand

Stand back Samsung, for here’s an awesome design that deserves to set the tone for its competitors, but there’s a load more to get excited about. Remarkably adept with contrast and brightness in all ambient light conditions, and producing bright active...

Lovely design ; Outstanding 2D picture ; Decent sound quality ; Huge array of features ; Multimedia support ; Ambilight

Expensive ; Tricky to set-up ; Crosstalk with 3D

Its simply phenomenal contrast range helps it deliver a genuine leap forward in LCD picture quality that its hard to imagine any other brands being able to get close to for at least a couple of generations, if their current TVs are anything to go by.

Stunning 2D picture quality; lovely design; massive feature count; good sound quality

Costly for a 46in TV; crosstalk with 3D; take care with the screen

Buying a 46PFL9706 is a bit like adopting a puppy from the RSPCA. Owning one is uniquely rewarding, but requires a lot of effort. The TV’s Ambilight system is terrific, and picture quality can be outstanding, but there are issues regarding the Moth Eye...

Class-leading black levels and contrast, stylish design, pin-sharp images, lots of features and picture options, BBC iPlayer

Unintuitive menus, tricky to set-up, slight motion and 3D issues, expensive

One of the best Philips flatscreens ever, but there’s still room for improvement

Deep black levels ; Excellent contrast performance ; Smooth motion ; Great audio quality ; Attractive looks

Poor 3D performance ; Internet features could be better ; Moth Eye filter may not be practical for some homes ; Lots of picture tweaking needed for the best image quality

This is one of the best TVs we've seen from Philips in a long time. The Moth Eye filter and local dimming technology really do help the screen to produce exceptionally deep black levels and bags of contrast, without compromising brighter areas of the...

Stunning 2D pictures ; Moth-eye filter is awesome ; Beautifully designed and built

Crosstalk with 3D ; It's expensive for a 46in TV ; Care must be taken with TV's processing settings

Overall, the 46PFL970T can be filed under technically adventurous but not entirely practical. That the moth eye filter works is not in doubt, but it clearly comes at a cost. £2,200 is a phenomenal price for a 46in TV, even one capable of blisteringly...