With Blu-ray and HD-DVD delivering true high definition content, Philips has come to the party with a true high definition LCD television in the Cineos 37PF9731/69.

While a number of 1080p LCD televisions are hitting the market, the thing that helps the 37PF9731/69 stand out from the crowd is Ambilight - short for Ambient Lighting Technology. Ambilight shines coloured light on to the wall behind the television to match whatever is on the screen, creating a halo of colour around the television that changes with the image. The 37PF9731/69 employs Ambilight Surround, meaning it has three independent light sources coming from the left, right and top side of the screen.

Philips says Ambilight reduces eye strain and enhances the viewing experience by making the screen seem bigger. We say it's a novelty at best and a downright annoyance at worst, but thankfully you can disable it with one push of a button on the remote.

You can't see the actual Ambilight tubes when you're sitting in front of the television, they're hidden behind the bezel and pointing back at the wall. You can however see them if you're standing off to the side. They can get quite bright and create an annoying rainbow effect - meaning when you move your eyes you see the light momentarily blur into red, blue and green. This isn't a problem if the television is wall-mounted in a location where you'll never have to see the lights, such as at the end of a long, narrow room. But if the television is against one of the long side walls, with the Ambilights visible off to the sides, it will give everyone else in the room the irrits very quickly even if it's just in their peripheral vision.

While sitting in the dark may be bad for your eyes, it's a risk we're prepared to take when we sit down to enjoy a movie on the big screen. While you can easily disable the Ambilights, just having them there has forced Philips to make some serious compromises in the design of this television. Firstly, the speakers hang beneath the bottom on the bezel, rather than at the sides, reducing the effectiveness of the stereo speakers. It also spoils the aesthetics of an otherwise attractive gloss black look. Incorporating the Ambilights makes the television larger and thicker - although the 37PF9731/69 only has a 37 inch widescreen display, it's taller than a 40 inch Sony Bravia KDL-40X2000 X Series we had sitting next to it. Unfortunately Ambilight is not optional, it comes standard in the entire Cineos range.

The 37PF9731/69 sports a wide range of inputs, but most of those on the rear and are very hard to get at even though the stand swivels 20 degrees to the left or right. The component video inputs are easy to reach, but the rest are inside a cavity at the bottom of the unit. As if this wasn't bad enough, they're along the top rim of the cavity facing downwards - making them impossible to see. CONTINUED