The 8404 has Ambilight, Net TV, front facing speakers and even slicker borders.
And, best thing: in the employee shop it's just 50 euro more than the 7404 (and still over 200 euro cheaper than in a regular store). :-)

Whooohoo!!! This morning we've received the new TV! \o/

First overall impression: wow! [mylord]
Second overall impression: wow! [mylord]
Will be performing some serious testing this weekend, which I'll post here along with some videos of the Ambilight in action. [:)]

Do you notice the delay in sound issue?

Nope, not yet. [good]

Perhaps that's because I've already disabled the 100Hz and Pixel Plus HD Natural Motion features (which imho weren't improving the image at all!).

Man, this TV is slick!

One thing though: I did a quick HD test, and I noticed that March of the Penguins (720p) seems a bit grainy in the blue areas...this could be the film grain that is retained when digitizing a film to HD, but I'm not sure.
"Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe" (also 720p) looks a lot less grainy.

-edit-

I've promised to put on a small demo video of this TV, well here it is.
The video shows the Ambilight Spectra effect.
I've removed the audio, so there's nothing wrong with your speakers. [;)]
Remark: The TV is not parallel to the wall behind it in our living room, that's why the ambilight effect seems to be brighter on the right than on the left.
The flickering is caused by the crappy camera I'm using.



Another video impression of this TV:

Since 1 hour the owner of Philips Aurea 42" TV (42PFL9903H)..
Now going to remove the old TV (somebody intressed in a Philips 28" CRT TV 100Hz).. Will post some phots when the TV is installed and in action.

Woooow, that's sure a step up from the 42" 8404 you were considering before! [mylord]
Did you get it at the Myshop? I just checked prices on that TV, and they start at €2997....[nix]
[img]/uploaded/18/2/Philips_Aurea_42PFL9900_42-inch_LCD_Display_Panel_TV_Review.jpg[/img]

I'm looking forward to your first impression and the photos of the thing in action.

TV is installed. HTPC connected... But I got a problem, the HDMI output from the HTPC (NVIDIA Geforce 9400) is only Stereo .....
Have to figure out a solution for this...

But the TV is great, Ambilight is great (can't wait till it gets dark) even my analog signal is good.

[:-/] Have fun with it (and for that HDMI issue, there must be a solution.)

Marcel, How did you connected your PlayOn to the TV, just an HDMI cable are also an S/PDIF coax cable..
Does your TV have an digital out and in connection ??

It's connected with only the HDMI cable. For the audio I use the 'HDMI Raw' option on the PlayOn HD, in other words the full DTS/Dolby Digital signal is put over the HDMI connection.

My TV has no digital audio inputs, except for the HDMI inputs. The only other audio input is a 3.5mm stereo jack and a normal red/white L/R connector.
This also means that the DVD player (which has no HDMI, and is connected over SCART) and the Humax (same) are now stereo only, and no longer provide Dolby Digital or DTS sound to my TV.

Next to the HDMI link, I've connected the optical connection of the Playon HD directly to the receiver, so that I can listen to music when the TV is off. Then I just switch from HDMI Raw to SPDIF Raw on the PlayOn HD.

My TV has given DD to the AVR.. (Only once after, a reboot of the WMC it disappered ..). [:~(][:~(]
I figured out that is has something to do with codec's and downscaling the signal, also a nasty thing is that Windows 7 has 2 version of Media Player ..

A 32 Bits player which is normally started when you play music and a x64 version that is used within Media Center.. And of course the x86 and x64 are different..

Welcome codec helll

Marcel,

The Play!On is given DD 5.1 without any problem. So the TV is capable passing-thu DD 5.1 (no DTS ..). The problem is so located within the MCE setup. Posted my problem on the groenknop.nl

Will return the Play!On tomorrow, its works very easy.

Glad to hear the TV is ok. [:)] Now you just have to fix Windows Media Center....[oO] (Isn't it an idea to go for a different media center while you're at it? XBMC, Mediaportal, and such?)

Our old CRT is dying on us. I am thinking about buying either the 7404 or 8404 on the Philips Myshop. Not so sure about the ambilight....

@MarcelG: how do you like NetTV?

Yosh, you háve to come and have a look...ambilight really kicks ass. Now I've seen it I really do not want a non-ambilight TV anymore.

NetTV : it's nice, but not a dealbreaker.
Some cool features of Net TV: RTL Gemist & Videoland (rent videos from Videoland, just with your remote).
No Uitzendinggemist though...

Yosh,

Go to the Philips Myshop, and see if they have some deals. Parking is free ..
Ambilight, should have had it some years earlier.. its great.

I am thinking about buying a Samsung LED TV instead:
http://www.samsung.com/nl/cons../..l&returnurl=

Also, the Humax iPVR 9200C is only 159 euro at 4Launch.nl.

@MarcelG: do I need anything else apart from the Humax for Ziggo digital TV? I guess I need the smartcard as well, right?

You do know that led tv is just LCD with a led backlight?
Oled and Amoled are the real deal with respect to LED tv, where the actual screen emits light.

For Ziggo; yes all you need is a dvb tuner such as the Humax 9200c and a Ziggo smartcard.

-edit-
I just checked the specs of that Samsung LED TV, and they are pretty disappointing. It has a higher energy consumption compared to the 8404 Philips (60 vs 51 W), no networking features, etc. I hope it's cheaper than €579 as thats the myshop price for the 8404, with ambilight, dlnla, Net TV etc.
However, i saw it's listed at Pricewatch for 674....so thats 100 euro's more than thr 8404 at Myshop...[oO]
Also check this review at Tweakers: http://tweakers.net/reviews/13../..3cm-dik.html

Even worse, the Samsung hasn't even got SCART connectors. None!

With some kind of adapter, you can apparently connect one, but that's it. Not two. Ridiculous.

also ; the LED backlight of that Samsung is only positioned on the edges, which means that selective dimming is not possible.
The only advantage of LED backlighting in that model is that the TV is verrrrry thin (< 3cm). That advantage only makes sense when you put it up on the wall as a "painting".

Ergo: stick with Philips? [:-/]

The other advantage of LED that I see (although I am not sure it is actually true) is that LEDs don't diminish in light strength over time. I heard regular LCD back-lights might do, thus becoming less clear after a few years.

LED are just more stable then fluorescent tubes.

Samsung is out because of the lack of SCART. This Sharp (unexpectedly) looks good, and is available for 729 Euro:
http://www.plasma-discounter.n../..t-115747.htm

I bought the Sharp LC-32LE705E Aquos and a Humax IHDR-5050C at the local store 'Hartholt' in Weert. Great screen and great receiver. Still doubting whether to keep the HD package of Ziggo though.

Slick design! [good]
I'll come over and check it out in real life one of these days.

Regarding the Ziggo HD package: it's in fact just 3 channels, Discovery HD, National Geographic Channel HD and History HD for € 3.95.
The other HD channels are either in the basic plan (Ned 1,2,3, Net 5, Eurosport) or in the Film/Sport plans.