Ask the editor is the spot where we try to answer readers’ questions.
Q: Which TV offers the most cinema like experience?
Simon Rutledge
Philips 21:9 TV Philips 21:9 TV
A. Manufacturers have been trying to replicate the cinematic experience at home for years with varying degrees of success. For sheer size of course you can get closest to the big screen feel with a projector, but in TV terms, the Philips 21:9 series probably comes closer than anything else to replicating what you see in the cinema.
That’s because so far it’s the only TV screen that’s designed with a ratio of 21:9, which matches the widescreen ratio you’ll see in the cinema rather than the 16:9 which is standard for films on disc.
In theory this means that you can watch films as the director intended, without the need for those annoying letterbox black bars at top and bottom.
One problem for Philips however is that as yet no-one is creating DVDs or Blu-ray discs in this format, so films on disc currently still have to go through Philips’ specialist processing technology to get them to fit the screen.
The latest Platinum Edition 58PFL9955 version promised for next year will offer a mammoth 58in screen and come with 3D capability to further enhance the cinematic feel.