Panasonic TH42PZ85B Full HD Plasma TV
October 6, 2008
Panasonic TH42PZ85B Plasma TV is unique in its own way as it is built with the Intelligent Frame Creation and 24p Real Cinema Technology. Intelligent Frame Creation increases the refresh rates on the screen. Increased refresh rates does not allow flickers to appear to the naked eye. You can enjoy this feature on a widescreen that comes with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It comes with integrated tuners and DVB digital tuners. The screen size of this model is 42 inches with the screen aspect ratio of 16:9. With this aspect ratio, the user can watch programmes with widescreen effect. Moving pictures with high resolution can be achieved with the Intelligent Frame Creation with 50Hz video signal input. Natural frame to frame transitions are formed for displaying smooth motion images that have high resolution. The contrast ratio of this model is 30000:1. Two speakers that come with this model plasma TV produce surround sound with a total output power of 2×10W.
Other important features available in Panasonic TH42PZ85B HDMI Plasma TV are parental control and sleep timer. With the parental control, this TV can be protected from misuse of the children. Sleep timer can be set to turn the TV off at the set time. This product model measures 67.4 cm (H) x 106.4 cm (W) x 9.2 cm (D) and weighs 29.96 kg.
Design
The style of the design is rather distinct from other models with its glossy black finish with silver colour beneath the panel that contains a pair of speakers. Towards the back of the TV you can see five cooling fans just near the top of the panel. Though the fans produce some noise, it is compensated with the normal TV sound when the viewer seats himself at a distance of 6 feet away from the TV. You can also find few hand grips at the bottom of the panel for lift the TV with ease. Panasonic TH42PZ85B Plasma TV has a distinguished style of finish that makes it different from others. It comes with a pedestal stand that can be assembled to the TV.
Connections
You can find three HDMI inputs at the back of Panasonic TH42PZ85B Plasma Television and also on the left side of the compartment that can be accessed well. If a device is plugged in to the HDMI port, it automatically switches the source every time the TV is switched on and off.
Panasonic TH50PZ81B 50” Full HD Plasma TV with Freesat
October 5, 2008
Panasonic TH50PZ81B Plasma TV is a HD Ready TV that has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is designed with loudspeakers and built-in satellite. The contrast ratio of this model is 30000:1. It refers to the ratio of the darkest black and the brightest white. It comes with an integrated tuner apart from a DVB digital tuner. Also, this device is HDTV compatible.
Display
Panasonic TH50PZ81B HD Ready Plasma TV comes with a screen size of 50 inches. The screen aspect ratio of this model is 16:9. The response time of 0.001ms is the time taken by the TV to respond to the given input. The viewing angle is free and hence you can comfortably view programmes from any angle. It also features progressive scan, thereby scanning each line to produce brighter pictures or images. The resolution of this plasma TV is 2,073,600 (1,920 x 1,080) pixels. Clarity of the images depend upon the resolution, which refers to the number of pixels that are produced in both horizontal and vertical angles. Higher the number of pixels, brighter will be the images.
Sound
There are two speakers available with this plasma TV producing a total output power of 20W. It comes with music and speech sound modes.
Terminals
Various terminals that are attached to this television are; SD Memory Card Slot, Common Interface, LAN Port, HDMI Input, HDMI Input 1080p, Composite Video Input, Audio Input (for Video), PC Input , S-Video Input, Component Video Input, Digital Audio Output, Audio Output and Monitor Out.
Features
Panasonic TH50PZ81B HDMI Plasma TV features a child lock, Picture in Picture, Video Noise Reduction and a comb Filter too. It requires a voltage between AC 220 - 240 V and a frequency of 50/60Hz. Panasonic TH50PZ81B Plasma TV can be mounted on the desktop or can be placed on the wall for a comfortable viewing. It comes with a basic remote control and a headphone jack. This model comes with one year warranty. Without stand, it measures 1244.0mm (W) x 790.0mm (H) x 110.0mm (D) in dimensions and weighs 38.0Kg.
Brief Comparison Of Popular 42 Inches Plasma Televisions
October 4, 2008
Walking past a TV store, one’s attention will certainly be captured by the Plasma TVs on display in the window. What a great treat to the eye that would be, to see the TVs, standing elegantly, basking in the admiration of the on-lookers. With the big giants of the plasma market, like LG, Samsung, Pioneer, Philips, Panasonic and Toshiba, constantly striving to bring out the best plasma models, laden with the latest technologies, consumers will always find themselves in great dilemma while making a choice.
A brief comparison of 6 most popular plasma TVs is made below, hoping to help consumers in their decision making process. Our contenders are - Pioneer PDP-428XD plasma TV, Samsung PS42A457 plasma TV, Panasonic TH-42PX80B plasma TV, Philips 42HF7444T plasma TV, LG 42PG3000 plasma TV and Toshiba 42WP46P plasma TV.
| Physical Features Attribute/Name | Pioneer PDP-428XD | Samsung PS42A457 | Panasonic TH-42PX80B | Philips 42HF7444T | LG 42PG3000 | Toshiba 42WP46P |
| Screen diagonal measure (inches) | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
| Dimensions W x H x D (mm) | 1040×679x115 | 1055×667x 96.2 | 1020×727x327 | 1240×680x104 | 1040×674x84 | 1273×710x137 |
| Image Aspect Ratio | 16:9 | 16:9 | 16:9 | Not provided | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Weight (kg) | 30 | 26.8 | 28 | 42 | 25.5 | 25 |
| Display
Attribute/Name |
Pioneer PDP-428XD | Samsung PS42A457 | Panasonic TH-42PX80B | Philips 42HF7444T | LG 42PG3000 | Toshiba 42WP46P |
| Resolution (pixels) | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 | 852 x 480 |
| Screen brightness (cd/?) | Not provided | 1500 | Not provided | 1200 | 1500 | 1000 |
| Image contrast ratio | 16,000:1 | 30,000:1 | 15,000:1 | 10,000:1 | 20,000:1 | 3000:1 |
| Display Formats | 720p | 720p | 720p | 720p | 720p | 480p |
| Connections
Attribute/Name |
Pioneer PDP-428XD | Samsung PS42A457 | Panasonic TH-42PX80B | Philips 42HF7444T | LG 42PG3000 | Toshiba 42WP46P |
| HDMI | 3 (ver 1.3) | 3 (ver 1.2) | 3 | 2 | 3 (ver 1.3) inputs. 1 Port PC Mode - SIMPLINK 1/2 Port | Nil |
| SCART | 3 RGB | 2 | 2 RGB | Nil | 2 (1-Full and 1–Half) | 3 (2-RGB and 1–S-Video) |
| VGA/PC | 1 | 1 D-Sub PC input | 1 | 1 | 1 RGB input and 1 audio | 1 |
| Headphone | Nil | 1 | Nil | 1 | Nil | 1 |
| Composite | 1 | 1 audio + video | 1 | 2 (1–audio + video, 1– video) | Nil | 1 |
| S-Video | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Component | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| RF | Nil | 1 | Nil | Nil | 1 | 1 |
| Audio output | Nil | 1 optical | Nil | Nil | 1 optical | 1 audio line-out |
| Others | 1 USB port, 1 CI slot, RCS audio output | 1 RJ-45 input, 1 RJ-12 input, 1 SmartCard Xpress | 1 RS-232C, CI Slot, USB 2.0 port | 1 Subwoofer output, 2 audio line-in |
Audio
| Pioneer PDP-428XD | Samsung PS42A457 | Panasonic TH-42PX80B | Philips 42HF7444T | LG 42PG3000 | Toshiba 42WP46P |
| 2 stereo SRS; SRS Focus; TruBass with sub woofer | 2 Down-firing SRS TruSurround XT speakers | 2 stereo speakers | 2 Virtual Dolby Surround stereo speakers | 2 SRS TruSurround XT/Clear Voice Speakers, with Dolby Digital Decoder Invisible speakers | 2 integrated NICAM stereo speakers with BBE High Fidelity Sound and Bass Boost |
Colour (Appearance)
| Pioneer PDP-428XD | Samsung PS42A457 | Panasonic TH-42PX80B | Philips 42HF7444T | LG 42PG3000 | Toshiba 42WP46P |
| Black, simple yet stylish | Black with a silver tinge at the bottom | Piano black | Silver frost, Black deco | Black glossy | Black and silver titan |
What’s special about these plasma TVs?
Pioneer PDP-428XD Kuro plasma TV - “Kuro” means “black” in Japanese, and this TV, true to its name, gives rich black levels. Pioneer has implemented the “true matrix imaging with deep waffle rib structure” technology, which plays an important role in producing bright and crisp images, while reducing any blur. The i-CLEAR drive, employed in the plasma TV, enables reproduction of the most subtle colour differences. The in-built Intelligent Brightness Control, automatically adjusts the screen brightness in accordance with room lighting and on-screen lighting. The TV features a Movie Mode as well, that does a good job in displaying lifelike movie images. Also noteworthy, is the menu system of the TV, which is well designed and easy to use. The Kuro Link HDMI CEC feature enables controlling the AV devices connected to the TV with a single remote control. The HD plasma TV also includes Colour Temperature Control, Picture-in-Picture, TeleText, integrated Freeview and Analogue Tuners, a user-friendly Electronic Program Guide and noise and flicker reduction routines.
Samsung PS42A457 plasma TV – This plasma TV incorporates the DNIe+ technology, which enables portray clear pictures with fine details. The Colour and Motion optimizers employed in the TV, produce images that look true to life. Also doing a great job are the Contrast and Detail Enhancers, which create great colour depths. The Filterbright technology implemented in the plasma TV, removes unwanted reflections by absorbing external light that approaches the screen and transmitting its internal light, thus achieving rich contrast levels. There are 3 modes offered, for cinema, sport and games respectively, to make picture quality suitable to the viewing content. Clear, fluid motion pictures are achieved with the 100Hz picture processing technique, that has been employed in the plasma TV. The HDMI CEC functionality called Anynet+ by Samsung, allows easy control of the AV devices connected to the TV, with a single remote control. A wide viewing angle of 175° is presented by the screen. The HD plasma TV also includes a 3D comb filter, digital noise reduction techniques, a clock, sleep timer and anti burn-in technology, all performing their jobs with great fidelity.
Panasonic TH-42PX80B plasma TV – This plasma TV employs techniques like Real Black Drive system, 24p Playback and x.v. Colour standard to achieve great picture quality with brilliant colours. The Real Black Drive system enhances contrast, 24p Playback allows film-like reproduction of pictures and the x.v Colour provides a large palette of colours. A rare feature that this TV provides, is the power on/off button, which could turn out to be a good power saving option. Another rare feature is the SD card slot, for displaying pictures from your digital camera. Like the plasma TVs discussed above, this one too supports HDMI CEC functionality, thus avoiding confusion while handling multiple AV gadgets. The HD plasma TV promises great black levels and very low noise levels. If you are a games freak, then this TV would surely impress you with its judder-free graphics quality. This plasma TV comes with integrated Freeview Tuner and Colour Temperature Control as well.
Philips 42HF7444T plasma TV – Philips too, is no way behind in the race. Philips 42HF7444T plasma TV also incorporates a basket full of features for delivering great picture quality and performance. The Pixel Plus feature focuses on enhancing analogue broadcast signals. Cinema like images are produced by the Digital Crystal Clear technology. Other features like Smart Picture Control, Luminance Transient Improvement, Colour Transient Improvement, Contrast Enhancer and Video Noise reduction techniques contribute to displaying clear images, with good black levels and natural looking colours. This HD plasma TV supports both PAL (2:2 pulldown compensation) as well as NTSC (3:2 pulldown compensation) encoding systems. A 3D comb filter is employed for filtering out the brightness and colour details in the incoming video signals.
LG 42PG3000 plasma TV – Here is a tough contender in the plasma arena. Throwing a glance at the lengthy features list of this plasma TV, we have the 100Hz processing technique, Dual XD Engine, Vivid filter, Colour Temperature Control, TeleText, Clock, Sleep Timer, built-in digital Freeview tuner, 3:2 as well as 2:2 pull down compensations, 3D Noise Reduction techniques and modes like Picture mode, AV mode and Expert mode. Phew!!! The 16 bit panel of the TV enables displaying pictures with large gradation of colours. The HDMI CEC functionality - Simplink, makes way for ease of control of AV devices connected to the TV. An eight day Electronic Program Guide, which is user friendly and well laid out, is also available. The HD plasma TV is also equipped with an integrated Freeview tuner and a 3D comb filter.
Toshiba 42WP46P plasma TV – Toshiba has kept things simple, yet efficient here. This EDTV comes equipped with a digital comb filter, Colour Temperature Control, Video noise reduction methods, Colour Detail Enhancer and built-in digital and analogue tuners. There is a simple to use on-screen menu with options to control various picture quality attributes. Picture-in-Picture, Auto Power off and Teletext are some of the other features that come along with this HD plasma TV. The black levels of the TV are accurate and deep and the picture performance is also good. While Toshiba 42WP46P would prove to be light on your pockets, it definitely does not compromise on performance and quality.
The plasma world will always have tough competitions, with the big brands always striving to reach the top. Pioneer PDP-428XD plasma TV, Samsung PS42A457 plasma TV, Panasonic TH-42PX80B plasma TV, Philips 42HF7444T plasma TV, LG 42PG3000 plasma TV and Toshiba 42WP46P plasma TV are some of the strong players, which are here to stay, perhaps for a long time.
All about Contrast Ratio in Plasma and LCD Screens
October 3, 2008
What is Contrast ratio?
Contrast Ratio is the difference between the light intensity of the darkest black and the brightest white. Quality of the video picture depends greatly on the contrast ratio rendered by the device. Television sets that come with high contrast ratio produce dark scenes with black colour and shadow detail information. And televisions that come with low contrast ratio do not produce black areas over dark scenes, instead they produce grey surface over black areas that makes the pictures look totally flat and dull. Levels of contrast ratio, varies with different manufacturers and thus necessitate the consumers to be cautious, while in the process of choosing a television with such contrast levels.
Plasma TVs are built with better contrast ratio than the LCD TVs. Each pixel in plasma screen emits its own light and thus it becomes necessary for only the brighter parts to be lit making the darker areas more darker, while in the case of an LCD screen, its individual pixels block the back light to darken them. Hence, the pixels fails in reproducing the perfect black. Static Contrast Ratio is defined as the luminosity of the brightest and the darkest colours, the system is capable of producing at any instance of time, simultaneously. And Dynamic Contrast Ratio is defined as the ratio of the luminosity of the darkest and brightest colour, a system is capable of producing over time. Contrast ratio is the capacity of producing the darkest and brightest colour and this is also expressed as light intensities.
Ways of measuring Contrast Ratio
Though, a number of manufacturers adopt their own methods for measuring contrast ratio, many others follow a different method. Some people measure contrast ratio of a television in a room, where the light emitted by the TV does not get reflected by taking into account the time, this light gets completely absorbed.
The two main method of measuring contrast ratio are the ANSI Contrast Ratio measurement and Full On/Off Contrast Ratio measurement. In the latter type, it is the output-ratio of the light of a full white image and the light output of a full black image. This method is mostly practised by the manufactures as it yields typically 25% more, than the former method of measurement; the ANSI contrast measurement.
ANSI Contrast Ratio is a method of measuring the contrast ratio by taking the conditions of the room into consideration. To determine the ANSI Contrast ratio, a pattern of alternate black and white box or a checker board pattern is used. Here, contrast ratio is measured as the average light output from the white boxes divided by the average light output from the black ones. You can also follow this simple method of illuminating the wall behind the screen to make the darker areas appear darker.
Whatever be the method of test followed, there always emerged a sort of disagreement regarding the contrast ratio, because the contrast ratio measured by the manufacturers would, however be slightly different from that of the viewer, when he starts using the TV.
Higher the better
Plasma displays that come with higher contrast ratio produces dark portions that appear darker and bright portions appearing brighter. Plasma TVs that come with a contrast ratio of 5000:1 or higher, provide better viewing experience depending upon the screen size of the TVs. Higher contrast ratio also delivers greater gray values in between pictures. A contrast ratio of 5000:1 determines that the display device is capable of displaying the black level 5000 times darker than the white.
Conclusion
The concept that higher contrast ratios offer better quality may be a bit misleading if it is mentioned in a wrong sense or misused. Big numbers may mislead you by culminating into noise-stricken images with increased details, often more than the desired levels, and hence it is utmost important to be cautious with these ratings.
Samsung PS50A556S Full HD Plasma TV
October 2, 2008
Enjoying programmes on a plasma screen tends to give comprehensive satisfaction to the user only if that product comes packed with a good number of advanced features of the day. With numerous products introduced into the market today, it becomes necessary for one to recognise the right one. One such product, recently introduced by Samsung is the Samsung PS50A556S Widescreen Plasma TV.
Screen
This plasma TV is a HD Ready TV that is designed with a screen size of 50 inches. Brightness comes to 1300cd/m². The standard and dynamic contrast ratio is 20000:1 and 1000000:1 respectively. The picture quality depends on the brightness and contrast ratio of the product model. The response time of this model is practically zero. Response time is the time taken by the TV to respond to a given input. The resolution of this TV amounts to 1920 x 1080 pixels. Resolution refers to the number of pixels that are produced in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. You can watch programmes comfortably at an angle of 175 degrees in both horizontal and vertical angles. The aspect ratio of Samsung PS50A556S Plasma TV is 16:9.
Audio
Speakers that are attached to the plasma TV produce SRS TruSurround sound with a total output power of 20W. Samsung PS50A556S HD Ready Plasma TV features Picture Enhancement DNIePlus noise reduction.
Connectivity and Tuner
Various connectivities of this model are 2 SCART sockets, 3 x HDMI, 1 x USB and 1 x component and Video. The standard tuner of this model is Pal I and that of double tuner is Digital tuner.
Features
Some important features of Samsung PS50A556S Plasma Television are automatic installation, sleep timer and parental control. Accessories that are included in the total package refer to power-accessories and a remote control. This product measures 769.8mm (H) x 1230.3mm (W) x 95mm (D) in dimensions and weighs 41Kg.
