Panasonic TH-58PZ700U Plasma TV Review
May 25, 2007
Panasonic TH-58PZ700U Plasma TV is a full 1080p Plasma TV which provides you the world’s finest HDTV viewing experience with its 58 inches wide screen. The beautiful screen is surrounded by a rectangular, black frame with 4-way speakers placed on the side panel of the TV, making this wide screen TV look a bit wider. This TV has come with Anti-Reflective Coating on its glossy screens to ensure glare-free display in ambient conditions. You also get built in gallery player and an useful SD card memory slot with this TV. Main Features:
- 58� screen size
- 16:9 aspect ratio
- Native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Five aspect ratios for HDTV
- Compatible with 480p/720p/1080i/1080p
- Can display up to 29 billion colours.
- Contrast ratio up to 5000:1
- 2 HDMI inputs
- NTSC, ATSC and QAM tuners
- Built-in SD Card
- Three S-video inputs
- Two Component Video Input
- 4-way Speakers of 31W output
The full HDTV resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels of this plasma TV enhances its capabilities to produce an incredible 1080p HD display capability. This means this Plasma TV provides twice the number of pixels as 720p HDTV displays for superior details and outstanding HDTV reproduction. However, it is also compatible with and can accept SDTV, DVD and all HDTV formats (480p/720p/1080i/1080p) and make them to fit the screen by its scaling techniques. You have various aspect ratios settings available in this unit for viewing both HDTV and non-HDTV video materials. There are various options available with regard to tuning the contrast, brightness and other picture settings. In addition, you can choose the best out of the colour-temperature presets available with this unit. The 2:3 pull down feature reduces the artifacts and the fast movements on the screen have some remarkable quality. The larger versions of Panasonic plasma TVs usually come with numerous input options and this Plasma TV have a plenty. There are 2 HDMI inputs for connecting DVD or HDTV channels and you have 3 S-video inputs. You have a NTSC tuner to access SDTV analog signals while the in-built ATSC/QAM tuners process SDTV or HDTV signals to present you high quality pictures. You can also download and view digital photos by using the built-in SD card slot. The 4-way speakers and the audio features of Trusurround system are quite impressive in this unit. You are also provided with a noise reduction feature that enables better and smoother display when you play any bright pictures.
Panasonic TH-50PF9 Plasma TV Review
May 23, 2007
Panasonic TH-50PF9UK 50″ full HD Plasma TV provides superb image quality combined with a multitude of features. In its full 1080p HD resolution, the pictures look breathtakingly beautiful and so natural that you become oblivion of everything around you. With its advanced panel of 2.07 million pixels and deep, rich black levels and outstanding 4,096 steps of color gradation, this wide-screen Plasma TV provides you an unforgettable TV viewing experience. What’s more, the highly sophisticated color management systems and the new Super Cinema mode depict pictures with a truer, film-like appearance. Main Features:
- Screen size 50�
- Native resolution 1920 x 1080
- Aspect ratio 16:9
- Contrast ratio 5000:1
- Viewing angle more than 160 degrees
- New Black Creation technology
- 16-bit video processing
- HDMI inputs
- 15 pin RGB enabled PC input
- Serial Control Input
- Component Video inputs
- 2-way speakers
The built-in feature in this unit like Real Black Creation technology enables this unit to achieve a contrast level of 5,000:1. Deep blacks and high contrast ratio are in a sense analogus and very important to produce precise and true-to-life colours with as much details as possible. The shadow details when darker images are displayed on the screen appear with unrivalled clarity and depth thanks to its higher levels of black performance and contrast ratio. In addition, this unit also eliminates unwanted graying which you can notice while watching DVD movies. Similarly, the colour reproduction is faultless, as this Plasma TV incorporates an advanced system that can process each color separately to produce crisper, more natural-looking images. The 16-bit video processing technology combined with 4,096 equivalent steps of gradation ensure the picture quality so you get pictures which are uniformly clear, sharp and more-detailed even across the entire screen surface. In Super Cinema mode which is provided in this unit, the pictures look excellent with precise light and delicate shading due to proper white balance and automatic gamma correction of the images This Plasma TV also handles fast-motion pictures in real time without the motion blur or lag. Moreover, the advanced video processing technology enhances sharpness of images by adjusting each pattern area independently to produce razor sharp images.
Pioneer PDP-4270HD Plasma TV Review
May 21, 2007
Pioneer PDP-4270HD Plasma TV is a 42â€? plasma panel which produces high-quality pictures with improved brightness, image accuracy and deeper black levels. Its panel carries New Dielectric Layer for improved light management and over-all performance. Combining its ACE IV (Advanced Continuous Emission) technology with its Advanced Pure Cinema 3:3 pull down feature, this plasma TV produces billions of smooth, true-to-life colours to depict the real world on the screen. Another important feature of this TV is its numerous input options which enable you to access multiple video sources like SDTV, HDTV and DVD. Although the native resolution of this plasma TV is 1024 x 768, this support can support 1080p resolution. This is noticeable when you watch true HD materials like a movie on Blue-ray Disc or HDTV of 720p and above. This unit has an image scaler which enhances the pictures that don’t meet the HDTV standard, received from SDTV or such sources.The picture quality is spectacular with dazzling colours and stunning sharpness.
Main Features:
- 42″ screen size
- 16:9 Aspect Ratio
- Native resolution 1024 x 768
- Viewing angle of 160 degrees
- 10-bit Digital Video Processing
- Three Color Temperature Adjustment settings
- Four Noise Reduction Settings
- Dual NTSC and ATSC Tuner with CableCARd Interface
- Three Component inputs
- Four Composite sockets
- Two S-Video inputs
- One USB port
- One PC input
- 2-Way Stereo Speakers with 13 Watt Stereo Amplifier
- SRS TruBass Surround Sound Audio system
Another important feature of this display is the naturalness of the colours. Its Pure Color Filter enhances contrast, color and reduction in light reflection on screen. This Plasma TV succeeds in achieving true black levels thanks to its Crystal Emissive Layer technology. The pictures look great with better details in darker scenes. When you make proper adjustments of the colour adjustments, you get the finest colour quality which recreates the world before your eyes. We should mention that its wide viewing angle (more than 160) ensures that pictures don’t suffer from color shift or picture distortion. This Plasma TV succeeds in achieving true black levels. The pictures look great with better details in darker scenes. To get the optimum performance from this TV, you can meddle with the preset pictures modes provided in this unit. In addition, there are three colour temperature settings which you can change in accordance with the environment. Similarly, there are four noise reduction settings with this TV. All you have to do is to simply tweak these settings to get the best picture quality from this Plasma TV. The response time of this TV is also excellent and fast movements displayed on the screen are free from artifacts.
How does a Plasma TV work?
May 18, 2007
Both Plasma TV and the conventional CRT-type display use phosphors to produce the display. The screen of these display systems is made up of tiny spots known as pixels which have a phosphor coat on their back.
We can also compare a Plasma TV with a fluorescent lamp although on a superficial level. Not only they use the luminous properties of phosphors, they also use inert gases like argon, neon, xenon which in a plasma state, emit invisible, ultra-violet photons. In a fluorescent bulb, these emitted photons strike the phosphorous coating of the inner wall of the bulb resulting in a radiant glow, which fills our rooms.
However, a Plasma TV, which works on the same principle, has innumerable tiny fluorescent lamps, which are called pixels. Each Pixel, in its turn, has three tiny sub-pixels coated with red phosphor, green phosphor and blue phosphor. The pixels or cells are filled with rare gases like neon and xenon and the entire network of pixels is placed between two sheets of glass.
Two sets of electrodes address electrodes and display electrodes form two separate grids, one along the rear glass plate and another along the front glass plate. Once electric current is passed between the electrodes, it excites the noble gases to release the electrons thereby producing ions and free flowing electrons in the mixture. These charged particles rush towards electrically opposite charged electrodes, collide with each other and emit invisible, ultra violet photons. These photons react with the colored phosphors (RGB) in the sub-pixels and give visible light.
The overall shade of the pixel depends on the intensity of each sub-pixel which is proportionate with the level of electricity passing though it. To show a gamut colors, these three basic colors, RGB, are blended in different combinations by varying the intensity of each color. Plasma display Panels have a special feature, PCM (pulse code modulation) which modulates the electric pulse at a rapid rate and enable the production of more than 17 million colours.
HDTV guide for Plasma TV buyers
May 17, 2007
High Definition Television is the new buzzword in the world of television. More often, the word HDTV is in a sense analogous to higher resolution. As a result, we indulge in a simple calculation: the greater the resolution, the better the picture quality will be. As a result, we go for flat panels which have high native resolution like 720p or 1080p. But, is the resolution only one criteria for judging the picture quality of a display? It is true that the higher resolution ensures sharper pictures. However, there are also other features like colour reproduction, brightness and contrast which are equally, may be, more important than resolution as the over-all picture quality is the hybrid of all these features.
While you go through plasma reviews, the specification of the TV often provides you with essential information like resolution, contrast ratio, response time etc. If you are already familiar with these terms, you may often find yourself in a better position to choose the best Plasma TV to suit your taste. It is also a good idea to navigate through the features listed in the review. Double check, whether the plasma TV which lures your attention with its stylish design and excellent specs, has been provided with anti-glare technology as the plasma screens have a natural tendency to reflect light in ambient conditions. Especially, when you plan to install your plasma tv in a bright room, this feature is often useful.
Well, how to evaluate the performance of a plasma TV? As a thumb of rule, branded Plasma TVs often render great pictures. However there is a maze of specification which may often bewilder you if you are not so familiar with. Fortunately, it is not be- all and end-all.
You may still become a better judge of plasma TV than a reviewer using these simple techniques:
• Check how the colours look on the screen. Do they look natural and accurate? How is the colour saturation? How do the nearest hues appear distinct?
• Next important consideration is the black levels achieved by the TV. Play a DVD and watch dark scenes on the screen. You should be able to see the darkest objects without graying. It is a good idea to test this feature in a little dark room instead of bright room.
• Test the sharpness the pictures by reducing the brightness settings as the maximum brightness may often hide the flaws. Reducing the brightness and contrast to 50 % of their original settings often help you to judge the picture quality.
• Most Plasma TVs boast of their HDTV capabilities. It is wise to put them under a test before you invest money. If the retailers cannot provide HDTV broadcast, a Blue ray disc or a DVD often makes best video material to test the performance of the TV.
• Be familiarized with the remote and meddle with all the pre-sets which modify how the images look on the screen. Some of the Plasma TVs have come up with a myriad of useful presets which may add greater value to your money
