Ask most people what sort of flat TV they're intending to buy in the near future, and they'll probably say LCD. Which is absolutely fine, of course; there are plenty of outstanding LCD TVs in the marketplace today. But at the same time we'd urge anyone to at least spare a thought for plasma.
The gas-based technology has suffered a bit of a battering in recent times, thanks initially to some ridiculous stories about its lack of reliability (seemingly instigated by shop assistants trying to persuade people to fork out on exorbitant extended warranties), and then to some canny marketing by LCD-only juggernaut brands like Sony and Toshiba. Even politicians are getting in on the plasma bashing act now, with a recent Conservative think tank declaring - with scant regard for the actual facts of the matter - that we shouldn't buy plasma TVs because they're way more wasteful of power than LCD.
The reality is that if done well, a plasma TV should last every bit as long as an LCD one, will probably use no more power than an LCD, and in our opinion can still deliver a superior performance, at least when it comes to watching films. So before you head unthinkingly for the LCD department, you surely owe it to yourself to at least have a look at some of the four 50in plasma models featured below.
LG 50PB65
(http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/images/LG_50PB65_240x162.jpg)
NEC PX-50XR6
(http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/images/NEC_PX-50XR6_240x143.jpg)
Pioneer PDP-508XD
(http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/images/Pioneer_PDP-508XD_240x144.jpg)
Samsung PS50Q97HD
(http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/images/Samsung_PS50Q97HD_240x180.jpg)
(http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/images/Pioneer_PDP-508XD_winner.jpg)
Final verdict
We've long argued that plasma technology has at least as much going for it as LCD in the flat TV marketplace - and this group of TVs confims that argument with knobs on.
For the simple facts of the matter are that any one of the four 50in plasma TVs here would make a great home cinema centrepiece. And a couple of them would do so for remarkably little money compared to what a similarly sized LCD would cost.
Thoroughly likeable though they all are though, it's definitely possible to pick out a pretty clear pecking order. A pecking order which finds the LG 50PB65 in last position. To be fair this was our toughest decision, since while its pictures certainly aren't quite as good as any of the other contenders, it's much cheaper than our third placed set, NEC's 50XR6, and is also a fully fledged TV rather than just a screen. But in the end our taste for quality above all else swayed the decision.
NEC's screen benefits hugely from the brand's new Pioneer connection, with by far the best picture quality that NEC has yet produced. But our other two screens are better still - a fact which, along with the NEC's lack of connections and basic TV features, makes its price look too steep for comfort.
In second place is Samsung's remarkable PS50Q97HD. Quite how the Korean brand has managed to deliver so much genuine picture quality and so many genuinely useful features for just £1,200 is simply beyond us.
In fact, Samsung can count itself very unlucky not to be taking the gold medal today. But it had the misfortune of coming up against a set, the Pioneer 508XD, that quite simply takes flat TV performance to a whole new level.
Lees de complete review hier:
http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/1405/v/3/sp/
Vreemd dat hier niet eens over panasonic gesproken wordt ???
Inderdaad zeer vreemd ???