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.
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.
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.
Samsung PS42Q96HD 42” HD Ready Digital Plasma TV
October 1, 2008
With wide range of new advanced features introduced in every product that is launched in to the market, manufactures need to be very cautious at the time of building a new product. A product becomes successful only when it has all the features and is filled with the capacity of putting away all the competitors from its way. Samsung PS42Q96HD Plasma TV is launched in to the market with the hope of staying ahead in the market. It is built with improved design and technology and comes with new Ultra Filter Bright technology to give the most attractive images that are packed with richest possible colours. The Real Motion Studio Technology eliminates motion judder to produce clear images.
Video
Samsung PS42Q96HD Plasma Television comes with a screen size of 42”. The aspect ratio comes to 16:9. The clarity of the images or pictures depend upon the resolution. Resolution refers to the number of pixels that are produced on the screen both horizontally and vertically. The resolution of this model is 1024 × 768 pixels. The contrast ratio is 15,000:1, which is the ratio of the brightest white and darkest black. The brightness of this model is 1,500cd/m2. Appreciable contrast ratio and brightness produces quality pictures. The horizontal and vertical viewing angle is over 175 degrees. It features 3D Comb Filter, Smart Frame Plus, Low Noise Amplifier and Movie Plus.
Audio
The full range speakers produce SRS TruSurround XT sound output. The total output power of the speakers is 20W.
Feature
Samsung PS42Q96HD Widescreen Plasma TV features Picture in Picture, sleep timer, still picture, clock and on/off timer. It also features teletext feature that comes with a memory of 1000 pages. Panel life time of this product model is 60000 hours. Another important feature is auto power off, which switches off the TV 15minutes after no signal is received.
Dimensions and Accessories
This product measures 1055mm (W) x 700mm (H) x 104mm (D) and weighs 30.6Kg. Accessories that come with this model are power cable, remote control, battery, stand, speaker and user manual.
Connections
Various connections in Samsung PS42Q96HD Plasma TV are composite, HDMI, S-Video, headphone and component.
Power
While in operation, it consumes power of 380W and in standby mode, it consumes power under 1W. It requires a voltage of 220 ~ 240V and a frequency of 50/60Hz to function at a normal stage.
Panasonic TH50PZ80B HD Ready Plasma TV with Freeview
September 30, 2008
Panasonic TH50PZ80B Plasma TV is a HD Ready TV with built-in Freeview. Freeview is a digital service through which you can enjoy Freeview channels, radio channels and many other interactive services using the DVB-T standard. The HDMI interface is useful when you need to transmit high definition images or pictures. The enclosure comes in black colour.
Screen
The screen size of Panasonic TH50PZ80B HDMI Plasma TV is 50 inches. The aspect ratio of this model is 16:9. The contrast ratio of 30000:1 produces sharp pictures. Higher the contrast ratio better will be the picture quality. The response time of this model is 0.001ms and this particular feature allows the user to work continuously without delay as the TV responds to the given input at the fastest rate. The resolution comes to 1920 x 1080 pixels making the pictures look brighter and clearer.
Audio
Speakers produce Nicam stereo sound effect. The total output power of both the speakers is 20W.
Connectivity
Various connectors for this model plasma TV are SCART, component, PC, HDMI. It comes with digital tuners and standard Pal tuner. Digital tuners facilitate you to tune in to Freeview digital channels.
Features
Panasonic TH-50PZ80B High Definition Plasma Television features parental lock, which can be used to prevent children from misusing the TV. This model TV is wall mountable. Other features included are sleep timer, auto install and fastext. Accessories that are included with this model plasma TV are remote control and power supply cord.
Some important features are Video Noise Reduction, Anti Reflective Filter, Game Mode and Deep Colour Technology. It comes with one year warranty.
Dimensions
Panasonic TH50PZ80B Plasma TV measures 790mm (H) x 1244mm (W) x 100mm (D) and weighs about 43Kg. These factors are ideal enough for the user to mount the TV comfortably on the wall.
