Great picture, color, sound.

Can't set default screen modes to video inputs. A/V source menu won't roll back around to top. HD input can't accept interlaced input. Only one HD input.

I've been using this TV since Dec. 1999. The picture is bright and very clear. Color is excellent. I have a DX-37 Pioneer prog scan DVD player. The picture on the 30pw9815 is excellent. My biggest complaint is if I happen to watch a movie which only plays in interlaced mode, I have to watch it through s-vhs input to another A/V source on the TV. The HD source will not display the interlaced picture. The other option in this case is to switch the component inputs to AV3, which is the non-interlaced component input source. Philips engineers dropped the ball on this one. What happens when HDTV becomes previlant? Perhaps the ST-box makers will provide component passthrough. Not likely. There may eventually be an after market solution, something like an auto printer sharing switch-box if enough people need it I suppose.

The speakers in my set do produce a very small electrical noise hum, not bothersome though, you can't hear it when the sound is audible. I first noticed it when I hooked up the rear surrounds, since they are quiet most of the time, if I listened I could make it out. I now have HT amp and 5.1 set-up so I dont use the built in sound now.
You dont need progressive scan DVD with this TV as it has it's own line doubler. Through a good interlaced DVD player using component video cables, the picture quality difference to progressive scan is minimal. IMHO. The auto picture options are a nice touch. The 12 PIP is unique.

I like the TV and can recommend it if your in the market for a direct view HD capable set. Especially if you are limited on space but want HDTV or 16:9 aspect. On all these type of sets I've seen, there is alot of extra gee wiz features there that are of limited use. Set makers should cut back on these 'enhancing' features and add more HD inputs, make the menu and A/V-in specific setups user intative etc.

BY THE WAY; the service menu can be accessed from the remote control by pressing 0-6-2-5-9-6-info+. From here there is Geometry settings, similar to a computer monitor, color etc. I suggest writing all the original settings down before changing anything.

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Extreamly sharp picture. Perfect size for smaller room.

Very HEAVY, it took two of us to get it on top of the low cabinet. Speaker quality is poor, even with internal Dolby suround Pro-Logic and six speakers. I hit the mute button to kill the internal speakers when I watch DVD's and use the Sony V333ES for surround sound. Only one component input will accept progressive signal ( and the same input will not accept an interlaced signal.

I wanted to create an intimate, small type extra home theater set up in my home office/den. The Philips 30PW9815 was chosen over the Panasonic because of the sharper picture quality and better color saturation. After tweaking it up under viewing lighting conditions using the Avia and Video Essentials discs the set is performing admirably. I use a Pioneer DV-05 DVD player with it (moved it from the living room when I installed a new Denon DV-2800 progressive scan DVD player on the Elite Pro510HD out there). I did watch the Philips with the Denon DV-2800 connected, the picture looked so clean it was almost liquid. Very impressive. A drawback is that the Philips set only allows a progressive signal at one of the two sets of component inputs, but the same component input won't pass an interlaced signal from the player. You have to move the input cables to the other component input to watch interlace output. This is unfortunate since the Denon DV-2800 offers the ability to switch between both progressive and interlaced outputs from the remote control. If you don't care for a particular aspect ratio in progressive, it's a pain in the neck to have to switch cables to the interlace component input to regain aspect ratio control through the television's remote. Philips should have done this different. My Elite automatically adjusts for the input signals at all its component inputs, a much better idea. That's why the DV-2800 is in the living room and the Pioneer DV-05 is in the office hooked to the Philips. But other than this gripe, I am very pleased with the set and it's high quality picture. I beat 'em up pretty bad on the price, too. Two G's for this unit is a bargain.

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Have Pioneer Elite Pro510HD in living room...REALLY love it!!!

The Philips displays an excellent picture with progressive scan DVD and with broadcast (Standard Definition) TV. The on-screen menu system is intuitive. The remote is well designed and easy to use.

As stated below, only one set of inputs (#4) will accept HD or progressive scan input. This will become a problem when I'm ready to hook up an HDTV decoder.

I started searching for a 16:9 direct view after using a new Sony KV-32HS10 4:3 direct view for a few weeks. The picture quality and features were excellent on the Sony, but I disliked the black bars on the top and bottom of "letterboxed" wide-screen DVD's. Because my home theater system is presently installed in an entertainment center, I was limited to TV's that would fit that particular piece of furniture - about 36" wide. An extensive search of the net yielded only a few direct view 16:9 HDTV's that would fit in the enclosure: a Samsung, a Panasonic 34", and four models by Philips, two of them 30" and two of them 34".

The Philips 34" models fit the entertainment center very tightly and cost a bit more than I wanted to spend ($3200), so it was between the 30" Philips models and the 34" Panasonic. After reading the reviews and comparing the pictures, the Philips got the nod. The Panasonic is also $500 more ($3000 at Best Buy).

The Philips displays an impressive picture with broadcast (Standard Definition) TV, and the selection of aspect ratio modes is very flexible. I find that the Superzoom mode stretches broadcast TV to the full 16:9 screen with virtually no noticeable distortion.

With my Denon DVD-2800 progressive scan DVD, the picture is really outstanding, probably the best I've ever seen on any direct view TV. It's so much better without the "letterboxing" a 4:3 TV would impose. I leave the Denon in progressive mode all the time, so the inability of the input #4 to accept interlaced input isn't a problem for me.

I don't have an HDTV decoder, and I don't plan to install one until HDTV broadcasts become more prevalent, so I can't comment on the HDTV picture. When I do install an HDTV decoder, I hope I can find a unit with component pass-through for the Denon.

I haven't noticed any unwanted noise from the built-in speakers, but I almost never use them, preferring the 5.1 Dolby Digital/DTS output from my B&K Reference 30. I may occasionally use the built-in speakers late at night when everyone else is asleep.

Overall, I've been very pleased with the Philips, and I would buy it again in the same situation. The picture quality is excellent, the price is reasonable, and it fits nicely into limited spaces like entertainment centers - one of the few 16:9's that do. For me, the only serious drawback is the single input that accepts HD or progressive input, but with full-time HDTV broadcasts several years away (according to my best information), that's not a priority at this time.

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Panasonic 34" 16:9 HDTV