HDTV Reviews

If you are looking for a great 42-inch plasma HDTV, PC world have come up with their top five sets.

1) Visio P42HDTV: This Vizio comes in first as the best buy for its great image quality at a great price that is hard to beat.

2) LG 42PC1DA: The 42PC1DA has superior image and sound quality beyond most plasmas but will also set you back some more cash.

3) Philips 42PF9631D: The 42PF9631D is a great looking set with solid performance at a reasonable price.
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AOC may not be a name you have heard of before, but does it mean AOC can’t make a good HDTV?. The AOC A42HD84 is a stylish black 42-inch plasma HDTV at an affordable price, PC World has a review of the A42HD84 and says the A42HD84 did a respectable job of showing details on our HDTV tests, but many jurors found its colors–reds and greens in particular–weak and off-putting. Many jurors also complained of a soft, pale picture on most tests. These three trends continued on our DVD tests, particularly with the minute details and colours of racing jerseys in Seabiscuit. The A42HD84’s weakest point was its rendering of standard-definition content, which produced ghostly skin tones.

With its ease of use, so-so TV image quality and DVI input, the A42HD84 seems better suited to a conference room than to a living room. Read more

Maxent, which is probably an unknown brand to most people sell the MX-5020HPM, which is an 50-inch plasma HDTV at a very competitive price, Cnet let us know if it is worth saving the cash or not.
The panel sports the standard 50-inch plasma native resolution of 1,366×768 pixels, which should allow it to resolve every detail of 720p sources. All sources, whether HDTV, DVD, computer, or standard TV, are scaled to fit the pixels.

Whereas most 50-inch plasmas on the market, notably the Vizio P50HDTV, offer an ATSC tuner to grab over-the-air TV stations, the Maxent MX-5020HPM has no tuner at all. That technically makes it a monitor, and to watch TV–high-def or otherwise–you’ll have to connect it to a TV source, such as a cable or satellite box.

The Maxent MX-5020HPM’s picture quality left a lot to be desired. Its ability to produce a deep shade of black was spoiled by lack of shadow detail, forcing a compromise that was less-than Read more

The Loewe Modus L 42 is a 42-inch plasma set from the german brand who once said it would stick to making only LCDs. So lets see what they can do with a plasma!. Unfortunately there is only one HDMI input on this set which is becoming increasingly uncommon as two or three inputs are becoming the norm, plus component, two scarts and VGA PC input. TrustedReviews have a review of the L 42. The L 42 also boasts Loewe’s Image+ picture processing engine, developed entirely in-house to improve the TV’s handling of contrast, colour tone, colour saturations, and fine detail levels, while simultaneously tackling video noise. Image+ has worked pretty well on Loewe’s LCD sets, so hopefully it will make the transition to plasma without things going awry.
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Bang & Olufsen’s BV9 is a new 50-inch plasma HDTV. As you can see from the picture the BV9 is of an interesting design. Right now there is not too much info on the HDTV but we believe it to be of 1080i, have 4 x HDMI and component inputs (very nice indeed), and priced in line with the Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. The BV9 has a built in media center, can control multiple sound stages and non B&O equipment.
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As a jumping off point for an assessment of the TH-50PX600′s other features, let’s go over the things that make the PX600 range Panasonic’s current flagship ahead of the its PX60 models. One we’ve actually already covered; the SD card slot. Another is the provision on the PX600s of full picture in picture facilities. And the last one is a beefed up audio system that replaces the standard speakers of the PX60s with units equipped with twin passive radiator woofers to boost bass output and deliver more clarity and raw power.

Naturally the 50PX600 is HD Ready, with a native resolution of 1,366 x 768, while other specs of interest include a really remarkably high 10000:1 claimed contrast ratio, and a purported 29 billion colour count achieved via some fancy 11.5-bit video processing.

As revealed by the CI slot mentioned earlier, the 50PX600 has a built-in digital tuner. And this is backed up by 7-day electronic programme guide support. Read more

Pioneer have announced a few more HDTVs that they have shown off at CEDIA. The new PureVision Elite plasma line comes in three sizes, 42-inch, 50-inch, and 60-inch, the PRO-940HD, PRO-1140HD, and PRO-1540HD, respectively.
All sets include built in NTSC/ATSC tuners, twin HDMI inputs, component inputs, VGA inputs, USB and ethernet ports. The all supports Pioneer’s Home Media Gallery which lets you stream content via the usb or ethernet ports from a PC. You can play Microsoft PlaysForSure DRM, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, WMV9 codecs.

Hitachi Director’s Series (HDX99) line represents unparalleled television engineering, technology and design, brought together to deliver the most cinematic picture available for home theater. The new models include the UltraVision(R) CineForm(TM) Director’s Series(TM) Plasma HDX99 in 42- and 55-inch screen sizes, and the 37-inch UltraVision(R) CineForm(TM) Director’s Series(TM) LCD Flat Panel HLX99.

“The world’s first 1080 line 42-inch plasma and 120Hz high speed double refresh drive LCD HDTVs are the result of Hitachi’s investments into core plasma and LCD technologies,” said Daniel Lee, vice president of marketing, Hitachi America, Ltd., Ubiquitous Platform Systems, Consumer Group. “The Director’s Series(TM) is designed to target consumers addressed by the AV specialty distribution channel. Every element is optimized for the highest-quality picture and best-in-class home theater experience.”

Hitachi’s top-of-the-line UltraVision(R) CineForm(TM) Director’s Series(TM) models for 2006 include the 42-inch 42HDX99 and 55-inch 55HDX99 plasma HDTVs. Both models feature a new Deep-Black Natural Color Filter that effectively absorbs ambient room light, reducing reflections for richer blacks and vibrant color.

The 42HDX99 and 55HDX99 are currently shipping for the suggested list prices of $3,099 and $4,999, respectively, with a two-year parts and labor warranty.

If your looking for a very attractive large plasma set, the Samsung PS50Q7HD could be considered a king in that respect. With it’s smooth black finish and slim line frame the PS50Q7HD is not just all looks, it also has some great specs to back it up.

Remarkably the digital tuner of the PS50Q7HD is far from the only eye-catching feature of this cut-price plasma. For starters it’s also HD Ready thanks to: the inclusion of component video jacks alongside the HDMI; a sufficiently high native resolution of 1,366 x 768; and full compatibility with the necessary 720p and 1080i HD formats. (There’s no 1080p support, though.)

Also startling is a claimed contrast ratio of 10000:1, an outlandish figure that promises black level talents that at least rival those of plasma superstars like the latest models from Panasonic and Pioneer.
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Loewe have announced the Modus L42 to their product line, the Modus L42 is an HD ready 42-inch Plasma set.

The L42 has a resolution of 1024×1024, although this seems a little strange as it supposedly supports 720p which has a resolution of 1280×720 so maybe there is some stretching of the image involved?

It comes with a built in tuner, and looks great, judging from preview Loewe models the sound should be good also.