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Philips Cinema 21:9 Turn over for more‌
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50 Philips Cinema 21:9 ➜ £4,500 Approx ➜ www.philips.co.uk
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evolutionary advances in TV technology are few and far between. The industry generally favours evolutionary steps – as recently illustrated with LED backlighting and faster refresh rates (up to 200Hz on some LCD TVs). But every so often along comes a product that causes you to step back and think ‘Wow!’ The Philips Cinema 21:9 is just such a game-changer. Could it be the most significant display to be launched since the advent of widescreen? It’s not exactly hard to see what’s different about the Philips Cinema 21:9 (or, to use its more cumbersome designation, the 56PFL9954H). It is, quite simply, staring you in the face… And it’s not three-way Ambilight. Say ‘hello’ to the first mass-market screen to offer a truly cinematic aspect ratio. It’s dimensionally 21:9 (in reality, closer to 2.37:1) and is therefore ideal to watch Cinemascope movies on. And as bonkers as it seems initially, it works rather well indeed.
So the Cinemascope telly is a reality. But is it a gimme or just a gimmick? Rik Henderson reveals all…
Now that’s what I call a widescreen... Home Cinema Choice August 2009
Reviews 51
The Cinema 21:9 comes with a picture-frame wall-mount as standard. The desktop plinth will set you back another ÂŁ170
August 2009 Home Cinema Choice
52 Reviews Not what you aspected? We’re all used to 16:9 ratio widescreen TVs. However, a sizeable proportion of DVDs and Blu-ray movie releases are encoded as 2.35:1 or 2.40:1 (actually 2.39:1, but often rounded-up), so a TV with a 21:9 aspect ratio is capable of displaying them perfectly (or as near as, dammit) without black bars top and bottom. Naturally, there’s some upscaling involved, but the result is probably the most immersive experience I’ve had with any TV for modern movie-viewing. There are caveats, but I can safely say that this is the TV real home cinema addicts have been waiting for. Currently, the Cinema 21:9 only comes in one screen size, 56in, but as that’s a diagonal measurement, the width of the glass is closer to that of a 65in TV. However, unlike sets in that category, its height is only the same as a 42in TV, so it takes up less room than its monstersized equivalent, whether you wall-mount or use a tabletop stand. It’s a crafty compromise for those who care about the aesthetics of their setup. It’s also dramatically lighter than a 65in plasma (by about half), so wall-mounting is far easier. To simplify things further, Philips has included a proprietary picture-frame mounting bracket which, when affixed, allows you to swivel the screen left and right to adjust it in much the same way as a painting. Curiously, the tabletop stand is not included in the package; should you want to travel down that route, it’ll cost an extra £170. Maybe that’s further incentive to hang the screen above the fireplace?
➜ Specifications HD Ready: yes up to 1080p24 HDMI: yes 5 x HDMI v1.3a Component: yes 1 x set with progressive scan PC input: 1 x VGA Resolution: 2560 x 1080 Contrast ratio (claimed): 80,000:1 (dynamic)
I would argue that it belongs on a wall for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it
comes with Ambilight Spectra 3 (three-sided) which, joshing aside, is probably more at home on the Cinema 21:9 than with previous
Five of the best ‘Scope Movies… Feed your new Cinema 21:9 TV with some cinematic classics… The Robe ➜ Region A Blu-ray This 1953 Biblical epic was the first film ever shot in CinemaScope 1953. The BD’s PiP mode lets you to compare it with the 1.33:1 version Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ➜ R2 DVD Here, George Lucas filled every inch of the 2.35:1 frame with breathtaking action. Shame there’s no BD release yet Alien ➜ R2 DVD Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi makes excellent use of the wider frame to emphasise the claustrophobia of the spaceship interior WALL-E ➜ Region B Blu-ray One of the most visually-rich CG animations ever, made all the more spectacular by its 2.35:1 framing Die Hard ➜ Region-free Blu-ray Big spaces, big action, big fun. Catch it on Blu-ray for the ultimate hi-def widescreen action experience
Home Cinema Choice August 2009
Dimensions: 1,418(w) x 691(h) x 105(d)mm Weight: 31.9kg Features: 21:9 aspect ratio; USB 2.0 port; Ethernet port; integrated wi-fi; Net TV; DLNA certified; MP3, WMA, JPEG, PNG, GIF, XviD, AVCHD
Philips TVs. When viewing 2.40:1 images in the dark, there’s little visible difference whether there are black bars top and bottom or not – typically you can’t see them, or the bezel, just the images, so a 16:9 screen would suffice. However, with Ambilight on, you can clearly see the outline of that 16:9 frame. It may only be psychological, but it detracts from the cinematic experience. The other reason to wall-mount the TV is actually more negative. Off-axis viewing isn’t great, especially when it’s below your eyeline. All the punch in the picture is lost, particularly with blacks. You really need to be watching the panel straight-on and centrally to see it at its best. I also advise sitting back a bit, as it’s easy to forget that you’re getting a much larger picture than usual. You’ll avoid straining your eyes
compatibility; Ambilight Spectra 3; Perfect Pixel HD; Perfect Natural Motion; 200Hz Clear LCD; 2 x 15W stereo speakers, 2 x subwoofers; Proprietary Smart levelling wall bracket included
if you do and standard-definition pictures, such as with the Freeview tuner, will look somewhat better. Freeview? Well, yes. Initially, I didn’t think many buyers would want to use a Cinema 21:9 for general TV viewing, and suspected that this premium product would be housed in a dedicated cinema room. However, having seen the tuner and, more importantly, the picture scaler in action, I’ve had a change of heart. I really do think this telly can be used as the hub for all types of televisual entertainment. In fact, 16:9 broadcasts expanded to fit the screen look surprisingly natural, a testament to the extraordinary picture processing at work. It’s difficult to spot the image stretching that’s obviously being performed. The end result is certainly no worse than 4:3 transmissions
Reviews 53
Aspect ratios at a glance The evolution of cinematic aspect ratios has been extremely complicated – here’s a rundown the more notable format ratios that have been employed for TV and film… 1.33:1 (aka 4:3) The original aspect ratio used for silent films and the standard 35mm film ratio, 1.33:1 was chosen as the de facto ratio for TV at the format’s inception, due to how closely it matched Hollywood productions of the time.
1.37:1 Adopted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1932, 1.37:1 (or Academy Ratio as it became known) is the picture ratio from 35mm stock with a sound track included on the film. It was almost universally used in filmmaking from 1932-53.
1.43:1 The IMAX format. While IMAX productions use the same 70mm film as traditional movies shot on that format, the ratio is very different as the film is run sideways through the camera and projector, resulting in physically larger area.
1.56:1 (aka 14:9) Primarily used in commercials shot for television, 14:9 was seen as a compromise between 4:3 and 16:9 during the transition between the two TV standards. When shown on a 4:3 TV there are very small letterbox bars at the top and bottom, and when screen on a 16:9 set there are small pillarbox bars at the sides.
1.66:1 The native Super 16mm frame ratio, 1.66:1 was often adopted by European filmmakers, such as Stanley Kubrick, whose Dr Strangelove switches ratios between 1.33:1 and 1.66:1.
1.78:1 (aka 16:9) The current TV and widescreen video standard, designed as a compromise between the original TV aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and wider film formats such as 1.85:1 and 2.40:1.
1.85:1
This screen is surrounded by Ambilight Spectra 3 – three-way LED ambient lighting, top, left and right
expanded to fit a conventional widescreen TV, and, in many ways, the scaling method adopted here is better. Of course, 4:3 pictures stretched to 21:9 look ridiculous, but you’d never view them that way – they’re best restricted to 16:9, and that’s the default. You do get black bars down either side but it’s a small price to pay for progress. The scaling prowess of this TV is considerable. Unlike DVDs, Blu-ray releases are not anamorphic, meaning that the black bars are encoded into the picture at source (rather than added by the player). Therefore, a 2.35:1 BD movie encoded at 1920 x 1080 pixels actually features approximately 1920 x 817 pixels of picture information. The Cinema 21:9 carries a resolution of 2560 x 1080, so the HD image needs to be upscaled to
AV/CV Product: Unique Cinemascope aspect LCD TV, with 200Hz picture processing and Ambilight Position: Right at the top end of Philips’ LCD TV range – a flagship product Peers: At the moment, none
The 35mm widescreen standard for theatrical films and still in common usage today. 1.85:1 films are often shot ‘flat’ (using the full 35mm film frame) but are composed for the wider 1.85:1 ratio and then have the black bars matted in during post-production. DVD and Blu-ray releases of films in this aspect ratio often return to the full ‘open matte’ negative without the bars and are slightly re-composed for a 1.78:1 presentation.
2.35:1 Introduced by Fox in 1953 as a way to compete with TV by offering something consumers couldn’t get at home, the CinemaScope (and subsequently Panavision) 2.35:1 aspect ratio became the standard for anamorphic 35mm film prints up until the early ‘1970s.
2.39:1 (aka 2.40:1, aka 21:9) While most people still refer to it as 2.35:1, the most commonly used 35mm anamorphic ratio from the early ‘70s onwards has been 2.39:1. Still branded as a ‘Scope or Panavision format on many occasions, the format is often rounded up to 2.40:1 by people when discussing it, for the sake of simplicity.
2.55:1 This CinemaScope 55 format was used by Fox to shoot two Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, Carousel and The King and I.
2.59:1 The ratio for Cinerama, an ultra-widescreen process that worked by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronised 35mm projectors onto a huge, curved screen. Filming was done with three synchronized cameras.
2.76:1 AKA MGM Camera 65, this short-lived process involved shooting Panavision-brand 65mm anamorphic lenses, which yielded a 1.25x anamorphic compression and an ultra-wide projected aspect ratio of 2.76:1. The best-known example? Ben-Hur.
4.00:1 This insanely wide ratio was achieved by the simultaneous projection of three reels of film arrayed in a horizontal row. It was used exclusively on Abel Gance’s 1927 silent epic Napoleon. August 2009 Home Cinema Choice
54 Reviews
Pushing the TV envelope Philips’ Danny Tack explains the thinking behind the 21:9 TV New concepts don’t grow on trees, and Philips is brave in bringing the Cinema 21:9 to market at a time when most companies are consolidating their TV ranges. However, Danny Tack is rightly proud of the proprietary product, if not a little nervous... The manufacturer’s Director of Technical Marketing believes that it’s the right time to launch a cinemascope telly, and who’s to argue, considering the buzz it’s generated worldwide? Every man one and his dog has been through the HCC Tech Labs to have an ogle. And they all raised questions. Thankfully, Danny was on hand to provide answers… HCC: Why was a 2560 x 1080 resolution chosen (which is actually 21.33:9)? Danny Tack: ‘If you take the scaling factor of the Cinema 21:9 which is, aspect ratio-wise, 2.39:1, and you say that vertically you have 1080 pixels times 2.39, you come to a horizontal resolution of 2581. Take that 2581 and divide by 1920 (the horizontal resolution of a 16:9), then you have to scale the picture by 1.34427083… etc. Which is a very difficult scaler. But, if you divide 2560 by 1920, you
only need a scaler of 1.3333… to infinity. Basically, every three pixels becomes four pixels, which is easier.’ HCC: What are the differences between the new Perfect Pixel HD engine used on the Cinema 21:9 to that in your previous models? Danny Tack: ‘The new 2009 Perfect Pixel HD engine (third generation) has a hi-def-specific noise meter, so that we can measure the level of artefacts and noise in an HD signal [previous iterations of Perfect Pixel didn’t have the capability to perform this on an HD source]. Therefore, now we give the right amount of noise reduction to the source. Never too much, never too little. ‘Also new is Local Contrast, which is what, commercially, we call Perfect Contrast. We are now able to add more dynamic contrast to the picture. And that’s through processing. It’s not through local dimming or 2D dimming on the display. ‘Then there’s 200Hz, which we do through a combination of 100Hz processing and having the backlight running at 200Hz. It runs at 100Hz with a duty cycle of 50 per cent. That’s different to the 200Hz technologies found on other
manufacturers sets. There are two ways of doing 200Hz: Sony and Samsung refresh the panel, with a constant backlight. Whereas, we refresh the panel at 100Hz and the backlight at 200Hz. LG does it the same way as we do. HCC: There’s no LED backlighting on this set? Danny Tack: ‘Not with this one. That’s planned for the future. The Cinema 21:9 is a great innovation. It’s a new innovation. Nobody else has it. We worked hard on it and we could have added an LED backlight, but then it wouldn’t have shipped in time. We have chosen to introduce this product now, rather than wait for the LED backlight technology. It’s certainly going to come, though.’
Danny Tack is Philips’ Director Technical Marketing Management – which is quite a mouthful
HCC: Will we see future development in this area from Philips, and do you think other manufacturers will follow suit? Danny Tack: ‘I’ve heard rumours. I’ve spoken with colleagues of mine at competitors, and what they’ve openly said to me is that they are going to wait and see how successful we are in this and probably then they will jump on the bandwagon.’
➜ What the rest of the industry thinks... The broadcaster
Andy Quested, Head of Technology BBC HD, and Graham Plumb, Head of Distribution Technology BBC, are doubtful whether 21:9 will ever take off as a broadcast standard: ‘We have no plans to broadcast programmes coded in a wider aspect ratio as these would not be decodable on existing receivers. There are a number of pieces of research that have looked at what dimensions make for the best aspect ratio for TV, including one that was carried out in Japan by NHK in the 1960s. It identified 16:9 as the optimum way to view television in line with a human’s central field of vision from a normal viewing distance.’
The retailer
Retailers are more enthusiastic about the launch of a new TV format. Sevenoaks Sound and Vision’s Richard Burn, National Franchise Manager, and Daniel Marchant, Store Manager of the branch actually in Sevenoaks, are both keen on the concept: ‘We think that there is a Home Cinema Choice August 2009
market out there for a TV that you can watch the majority of your movie collection on without the letterbox effect. We also believe that there is a good chance that there may be more interest shown in this product than the 3D TV products on the horizon. It may well feature strongly in some of our demonstration rooms nationwide. We intend to promote it as a premium product, primarily for viewing Blu-ray and DVD.’
The custom installer
Managing Director of the DSE Group (including home cinema installation company DSE Digital) and contributor to HCC, Dave Slater, is happy to recommend the Cinema 21:9 to prospective buyers: ‘The initial concept of the 21:9 looks really sexy and cool. We love this type of kit when we do installs as it stands out from the crowd. Like most new products to hit the ground, though, the initial customer will be your true movie enthusiast. However, if it was not for the likes of Phillips we would be still be listening to records on our old turntables!’
Reviews 55 21:9? You say...
There are five HDMI v1.3a inputs on the Cinema 21:9
Alebonau: ‘Absolutely love the idea, the future of TV indeed. When can it be made available in Australia?’ Ian Collis: ‘I like the idea, but I don’t think it will catch on. Many people still put their TV in the corner of the room – and it would have to be a really big corner to accommodate this TV...’ Adrian Clarke: ‘I would love one if all HD was in this format, sadly some films and all HD TV is 16:9, and the forced re-shaping sounds a bad idea to me. So no, not practical for now.’ Shaun Rowland: ‘Since it’s likely that you will end up watching far more 4:3 or 1.85:1 films and TV programmes than genuine 2.35:1 stuff, I have to say I think it’s a totally daft idea!’ No Way: ‘Have one on order. I’ve been using an anamorphic lens for a while and it’s no going back to the old 16:9 format. I want to use my screen to the max, with no black and white bars.’ Roger Bailey: ‘Spielberg originally campaigned for the TV widescreen aspect ratio to be 2.39:1. Sadly, the Global standard was set at 16:9. Philips is to be praised for 21:9.’
fit exactly (by roughly an extra 33 per cent). It’d be better to offer direct pixel mapping (not supported by Philips), but until anamorphic Blu-ray releases appear on the shelves, this is really as good as it gets. It’s difficult to see scaling artefacts on all but the most demanding of fine content – they’re there, but I didn’t particularly notice them. Essentially, the resulting images are on a par with the detail presentation on many of its high-end peers, regardless of the scaling. Other than that, it’s business as usual. The TV is capable of displaying 1080p24 content natively (or as native as the upscaling engine will allow) and I would advise turning off the 200Hz Clear LCD processing mode so that you get a presentation as the director intended. Indeed, while I’m a convert of the new generation of Perfect Pixel HD and, especially, the Perfect Colours technology (which provides vibrant, exciting colour reproduction), I also advise switching off another of its features; Perfect Natural Motion makes high-def content look decidedly unnatural. It smoothes motion dramatically, but everything ends up looking as if it’s shot on an HD camcorder, which is not ideal (unless you’re watching a Michael Mann film). Personally, I think the hi-def pictures are good enough without it.
Black hole My only quibble with the Cinema 21:9’s video talents lies in its inability to tender deep blacks. Unfortunately, the CCFL backlight hampers the depth of its pictures, certainly in comparison to other TVs at premium price points – and £4,500 is definitely one of those. Despite an extravagant
claim of 80,000:1 our real world measurements tagged it at a much more modest 844:1. The vivid colourscape and masterful fine detailing do compensate to some degree. However, the backlight itself is definitely uneven, creating a vignette effect (visible only on full black fields). Audio is also an area that disappoints. I won’t dwell on it though, as anybody willing to invest in a product aimed at presenting a cinematic experience will have, or acquire, a 5.1 system at the very least. The set’s stereo abilities are spatially adequate, but even the presence of two sub drivers fails to give audio any oomph. But I can overlook such caveats, partly because I’m impressed with this product per se, but mainly because I have also fallen in love with the concept. While the set includes Net TV (internet access to several online applets, including YouTube and an Operabased net browser); wi-fi connectivity; DLNA certification (to stream MP3s, JPEGs, etc, from a remote PC); a USB 2.0 port that’s DivX/XviD compatible; and five HDMI v1.3a sockets, it’s the bold nature of the panel that ultimately thrills.
Go on, buy one First-gen tech is always expensive, but I guarantee early adopters of Cinema 21:9 will not be disappointed. Hopefully, they won’t just be buying a new if strange addition to AV technology, they’ll also be helping to set the bedrock for the future. I really hope the concept catches on, because the Cinema 21:9 is a revelation for those who want to watch movies the way they were intended
➜ Tech Labs Power consumption: Watts 200
300
100
200 400
100
196 0
300 400
198 500
0
500
White screen: Fed a constant 100IRE white screen, power consumption seems reasonable for the screen size
Powered: Live footage with audio on full volume adds very little consumption, and using Ambilight only adds around 7W
Contrast: ratio
Colour temp: kelvin
Claimed 80,000:1 Actual 844:1 Picture: The gulf between the 80,000:1 claimed dynamic contrast and the measured real-world contrast of 844:1 is remarkable, but luminance is pretty good at 64.92fl
6,485
Presets: Normal and Cool presets are both too hot, but warm was acceptable from the box. Custom mode can deliver a perfect 6,500K Normal: 9,122K Warm: 6,485K Cool: 10,239K
Verdict Philips Cinema 21:9 56PFL9954H £4,500 Approx Price check: www.techradar.com/607940 Highs: Unique, inspired aspect; impressive detail presentation; excellent feature list Lows: Limited black levels; uneven CCFL backlighting; average sound performance Performance: Design: Features:
Overall: August 2009 Home Cinema Choice