AVReview Group test: 42in plasma screens

[Marcel_T.]

By John Archer

All the buzz right now seems to be about LCD technology. But to be honest, we're not entirely sure why. After all, while LCD might be all well and good - and affordable - at relatively small screen sizes, if you fancy heading north of 32in, we reckon older plasma technology still has the most to offer in terms of value and performance quality.

To (hopefully!) prove our point, we've gathered together a collection of four 42in plasma TVs, all currently selling for comfortably under £3,000, and tested their worthiness with both today's standard definition and tomorrow's high definition pictures...


LG 42PX5D
Panasonic TH-42PV500
Philips 42PF7520D
Pioneer PDP-436XDE


Group test verdict
Despite all having prices that would have been unthinkably cheap only a year ago, three of the four TVs here have the capability to serve you extremely well both now and in the high definition-obsessed future.
The only one that we can't really recommend is Philips' 42PF7520D. This may carry Pixel Plus processing and a digital tuner, but it doesn't have the basic picture quality to compete with the other three models, and is annoyingly stingy with its high definition sockets.

In third place is LG's impressive 42PX5D. This set's pictures might not be as profoundly good as those of the other two sets we've looked at, but you have to look at them in the context of the eye-catching sub-£2k price tag. Put in this value context, the pictures are actually very good, and the set's feature's count outstanding.

It's perhaps not surprising though, that comfortably the best performers here are the two most expensive models. On any other day Panasonic's sensational 42PV500 would surely have romped home as the group test winner with its combination of lovely design, potent sonics and outstanding, unusually flexible pictures.

But it had the misfortune today to come up against something really remarkably - almost revolutionary, we'd say - in the shape of Pioneer's irresistible PDP-436XDE. This set simply doesn't appear to have any apparent Achilles Heel, making it instantly the new benchmark for rivals to aspire to.

Bron: http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/623/v/1/sp/634163444837222730492

[YOY]

Bedankt voor de link. Jammer dat ze de 42PV500 in de test hebben en niet de 60.