Philips 21:9 Cinema HDTV

It’s perhaps the most radical development in home television since High Definition and Widescreen, Philips’ ground breaking 21:9 ‘Cinema’ promises to bring true cinema aspect ratios to our living rooms. Yet amongst all this excitement what are the reasons to be cautious?

The preamble: My cult and contentious reviews’ system. Designed as a time saver to highlight the potential deal breakers in a product before you commit to reading lengthy reviews on your favourites sites and/or magazines. For a more detailed description please read: the Rules

Just the Bad Points Review: Philips 21:9 Cinema

• While pixel mapping does support 16:9, 4:3 content inevitably has very thick vertical bars
• 21:9 name is mathematical approximation which may just further confuse public
• Will the industry support it? Currently only 60 per cent of DVDs and Blu-rays have a 21:9 mode
• At 20cm deep it’s not particularly slim
• Not LED backlit, it’s limited to CCFL
• 56in is only size on offer for now
• Ambilight Spectra implementation is sadly only three sided, not four
• Asking Price (4,000 euros)
• Launch not until June (time to save up?!)
• Rivals are expected to follow suit with 21:9 models of their own, so is it better to wait?
• Is it rarely wise to buy the first generation of anything…

Looking for more? My Philips 21:9 Cinema preview can be found at my usual TrustedReviews stomping ground.