Pixel plus took a while to get use to for old black and white films as they seemed too sharp and clear. I suppose you could always turn the option off!

Sound quality and power is great especially with the wireless surround sound.

This TV is now in its 5th year of service for us without a single issue. Still looks and sounds great but I'm afraid I'm about to betray it for a larger plasma, sorry!

The best CRT TV I've ever had. Now to be changed, but... only for a Pioneer Kuro 50" full HD...

The first tube was changed under warranty, the second one outside warranty, but it was sent free by Philips. Overall, electronic things go wrong from time to time, and TV's are not exempt. When the Philips 32PW9527 widescreen TV set works fine it is a fantastic piece of kit, and I do not look forward to buying (being forced to by the market) an LCD set when my Philips will go. Having said that, I might not buy one from Philips though!

I am interested in hearing from any one who has had similar experiences with Philips widescreen TV's, specifically the Philips 32PW9527 TV

Unreliability and faulty tubes and line output transformers.
Any evidence of Tubes or sets being recalled.
Poor performance since tube change.
Details of out of warranty support from Comet or Philips.

Any comments would be most helpful. Many thanks.

I purchased the Philips 32PW9527 over 2 1/2 years ago when the model had not long been introduced. The picture went smaller for a second 2 or 3 times a day. Eventually I had to video the fault before Comet replaced it.

I recall reading in the Sound and Vision magazine not long after this, that Philips were recalling a batch because of a tube fault.

Yesterday I switched it on to find a strange pattern on the screen, and then the TV powered down to flashing standby. It switched on okay after about 5 attempts, but it now takes several attempts to power on.

Recommend? A definite NO!!

We purchased the Philips 32PW9527 widescreen TV set in April 2003. It worked perfectly for 22 months, and the only problem we had was with the remote control operating our digibox as well as the T.V, so we had to replace it for one recommended to work independently.

It first went wrong in February 2005. The picture kept fading until it eventually disappeared completely. It looked like the tube had gone.

We complained to the retailer who took it away, replacing it with a loan set.

The good news, was that it was a faulty line output transformer, but the bad news, was that it was no longer under guarantee and could not be repaired free of charge.

I paid for the repair, but it was suggested that I write to Philips explaining what had happened asking for help with the cost of the repair, as the set was expensive and should be expected to last much longer without going wrong. I did this, and they paid 50% of the cost as a goodwill gesture.

I now know that the retailer was just shirking his responsibilities to me under the sale of goods act 1979 (as amended). Anyway, in April 2005 it went wrong again, and kept switching itself off; So it was repaired again, free of charge this time, and put down to a tarnished tube base cap. (Very suspicious).

Guess what, we are now in December 2005, 9 months on, and it has started switching itself off again.

I telephoned consumer direct for advice. It was conflicting! I was told to send a registered letter to the retailer stating my rights under the sale of goods act 1979 (as amended), claiming a refund for breach of contract.

The retailer replied stating that The Sale of Goods Act does not say that an item must not go wrong, and he has been more than accommodating, and because of the length of time the set was owned, he is not inclined to credit my TV due to the problems I had.

Consumer Advice then told me to let the retailer repair it again. It will be very difficult to get a replacement or refund because of the time scale unless I can prove the set was faulty when I bought it. I may need to get it inspected by an independent TV expert.

The set is being returned this afternoon (22nd December 2005). The retailer cannot find any fault with it. He is sending his engineer to my house to see if it has anything to do with connected appliances or scart leads!

The retailer will not admit that the set is a rogue one.

I Bought a Philips 32PW9527 widescreen TV in November 2002 believing I was buying a product from a reputable manufacturer and retailer. I was wrong!

While Mickey Mouse warranties suit manufactures and retailers, they are dumping rubbish on the consumer. Perhaps a 12 month warranty shows the manufacturers confidence in his product. Mr Philips.

Back to the set...

Throughout its life it would let out cracks with the sound and vision blanking.
Failed October 2004. Bottom of picture folding up.
Failed again in October 2005; this time it was a faulty CRT. Not worth repairing. Contemplating taking Comet to court.

It would be interesting to find out how many other people have had tube faults with this model.

After about 2 and a half years of having my Philips 32PW9527 Widescreen Television (warranty of course was only 1 year), the picture started to go red. I contacted a friend who is a TV repair man, and he said "does it also switch itself into standby from time to time, and have diagonal lines on it". I told him that he was describing it perfectly! Unfortunately, he then told me "it is a known fault with this Philips TV". The cost of repair is too high, so I bought another television. NOT PHILIPS!

Immediately after purchase I heard static discharge noises and occasion picture interruption. Was told this was normal. 28 Months after purchase the picture went red with horizontal lines across it. Engineers said that the tube had gone. 8 weeks with them for repair and eventually told unrepairable. Philips instruct engineers on website that to repair the tubes for this model requires a particular kit but for this model the kit is NOT FEASIBLE and a solution is not yet known. This is under investigation by Philips development dept. DONT BUY THIS TV BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM.

Good news. I left my Philips 32PW9527 unplugged for a couple of months as it was no longer worth watching and my girlfriend plugged it back in.. it now works fine. I can only assume that leaving it on standby keeps it running up a huge amount of static and once it has disapated it's a decent picture again. I unplug it every night and it's fine now! Give it a try - you've got nothing to lose as Philips will give you absolutely no help at all.

Just on 2 years my old screen went red with white horizontal lines. I didn't take out extended warranty as TV's are very reliable (the Panasonic it replaced had an original tube warranty of 5 years). Phoned a repair shop who said that it was most likely a tube, and that the No 1 in his shop for replacements was Philips and especially 32". He advised I contact Philips before spending a lot of money.

Went on google and found this centre - and hey what is featured, my TV. Armed with info from here phoned Philips Customer care. The bloke said that he was not aware of any major problem with this model and that it had been replaced in the natural course of product improvement!! He gave me a log number and suggested I write in with a copy of my invoice and the repair engineers report (I only have a verbal statement).

This I have done today so fingers crossed.

I dont know about UK versions but this Philips 32PW9527 that I have purchased from Australia is fantastic in every way , I recently returned the latest 32 inch Samsung with built in Hard drive ( WS32Z10 ) as it blew up in a week , got my money back & let me tell you this Philips is wicked , it gives almost a 3D appearance , I think its the Pixel Plus function that makes it the best !

I am having same problem with my Philips 32PW9527 but philips told me that i can not have replacement for my widescreen TV....help will be appreciated

Thought we had a really good product with the Philips 32PW9527 except for the occasional static discharge just after switching on which resulted in the screen going blank momentarily. Then just out of the 12 months warranty after another discharge the picture turned red,which having read the other reviews, is the sign of the broken tube which this model suffers from. Philips have agreed to repair for free.

Within 6 months my Philips 32PW9527 went horribly wrong! Every half hour or so, the picture shot half way up the screen...very bizarre! Philips are due to replace it with a 9618 model. I hope this is better.

interested to read about potential batch of faulty tubes fitted to this model. Mine after 8 months suddenly started suffering interference with both picture and tube, and got progressively worse, to the point where the picture 'srunk' to a flickering image about one 10th the size of the full screen, then the TV shut down leaving the standby light blinking red, and the only way to restore an image was to turn off the set at the mains, only for the process to repeat itself
Currys from where it was bought, and Masterplan, their service franchise (if you would call it that) have had the set for a fornight and cannot tell me what is wrong, what is being done about it, nor whether I can have the set replaced under warranty, or a 'courtesy' set provided until they work out what to do next!!! Unbelievable service. Not the sort of performance you look for in a TV costing circa £1300