14 DAY TRIAL // For quite a long time now, the IFA consumer electronics show has been the place where the most important manufacturers in the audio/video segment present their latest developments, which, in some cases, can only be described as breathtaking. And that's also the case with Philips, which has come up this year with the second generation of its famous Aurea series of LCDs, as well as an entirely new family, dubbed Essence, which demonstrates a very minimalist approach to technology.
The new Aurea line (or Aurea II) is available, for the time being, in two different versions, one featuring a 37-inch screen, while the other is a bit larger, at 42 inches. Both of the new models incorporate the latest version of the Perfect Pixel HD Engine, which can process up to five million pixels per second, double the performance of its predecessor. They also feature Philips' brand new Perfect Natural Motion engine, which replaces the previous HD Natural Motion technology.
Additionally, the 100Hz Clear LCD creates extreme motion sharpness for clear and vibrant images even with fast on-screen motion and has a very low response time, of just 2 ms. Another important upgrade can be found in the area of contrast, since the contrast ratio has been bumped up to 30000:1 (compared to 8000:1 in the previous models).
Furthermore, the main selling point of the Aurea (Ambilight Spectra technology) has also been improved, for a smoother surrounding light, while the connectivity options have undergone a slight upgrade process too (integrated digital TV tuner (DVB-T/C MPEG-4), DLNA PC network link, 4HDMI inputs instead of just 3). As usual, no data on the pricing or availability, at least for the time being.
The second interesting announcement from Philips is related to its Essence model. This particular 42-inch LCD HDTV features a slim, minimal design, as all the picture processing electronics have been moved to a separate connectivity hub, which allows it to achieve a minimum thickness of just 38 mm. Additionally, the device features an ultra-thin bezel width of only 21mm and a dedicated 30W sound bar, and it's also interesting to note that, in order to minimize cable clutter, Philips has developed a single cable (including video, power and audio) to connect the screen to the connectivity hub allowing easy placement in a wide radius of a power socket.
Beside the very slim form factor, the new Essence packs some very serious features, namely the same Pixel Perfect HD engine found in the Aurea, as well as several other image-improvement technologies, meant to deliver a complete and truly impressive cinematographic experience. Unfortunately, Philips offers no clues regarding the pricing and availability of this particular product either.
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