Brits suffer 'cinema TV' price hike

Rip-off Britain?

By James Sherwood • Get more from this author

1st June 2009 14:18 GMT

Philips has announced the UK price of its 21:9 cinema-style TV, but buyers would be better off shopping elsewhere in Europe.

Philips cinema telly: a big screen with a price to match

When the TV was first unveiled back in February, Philips said it would set you back a cool €4000 - just under £3500, based on the latest exchange rate.

However, it’s since transpired that only a handful of European countries – including Germany – will now be able to snap up the set for €4000. In the UK, it’ll actually cost you £4500 - the equivalent of €5183.

A Philips spokesman was somewhat hazy about the set’s various prices in different areas of Europe. But he stressed that the UK price does include a five-year warranty and “smart levelling bracket for hassle-free wall mounting”. German customers may not get the bracket bundled.

But, if you’ve got that amount of spare cash floating around in the first place, we’d wager that another £1000 won’t make that much difference.

So here’s a reminder of the technical specs: a 56in full HD screen with a 200Hz refresh rate, five HDMI ports and the firm’s NetTV integrated Wi-Fi system.

UK buyers can snap the set up the TV from 18 June. ®