which 42" tv
which 42" tv
PANASONIC. They just keep on winning Which mags best buy awards.
TH-42PX80B looks OK and is a "best buy"
Stunning picture quality, coupled with great usability makes this 42-inch Panasonic plasma from its 2008 line-up worthy of consideration. The only real fly in the ointment is below-par sound quality.
We found the clarity, depth and detail of standard definition pictures impressive. A very slight green tint and minor colour banding failed to impact the overall effect. Freeview pictures boasted rich colour and well-defined, natural detail that s difficult to top. The slight jittery feel to fine detail failed to overshadow the excellent high-definition picture. We were also impressed by the excellent contrast ratio, which made the blacks rich, deep and detailed.
Its just such a shame about the sound quality. Our listening panel remarked on the piercing and shouty sound, uncontrolled low frequencies and cabinet resonance that made it quite exhausting to listen to. Fortunately, you can connect it up to a stereo via the phono sockets, but there is no surround-sound output.
Its very easy to use. Both the on-screen menus and electronic programme guide are intuitive to navigate, and the remote features good tactile feedback and large, clear labelling.
The PX80 supports audio description - an additional narrative found on some Freeview programmes that describes significant visual information to aid visually impaired people. It boasts a full array of versatile Scart and HDMI sockets, plus a slot for plugging in a memory card and viewing digital photos on screen - picture quality here is excellent. A VGA socket for connecting to your PC supports all but the highest of computer resolutions. It can be mounted on a wall, but youll need to buy the necessary fittings separately.
Pros: Fantastic picture, easy to use, decent light sensor
Cons: Let-down by dodgy sound quality, high power consumption
The poor sound is corrected by running a 5.1 system, most people do this anyway.
im leaning towards these 2
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/p...oid=-34026
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/p...oid=-34026
aaronabbott im leaning towards these 2
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/p...oid=-34026
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/p...oid=-34026
aaronabbott im leaning towards these 2
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/p...oid=-34026
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/p...oid=-34026
That's why I suggested going into a shop and seeing some demos. e.g. in my local Dixons/Currys they have a rolling demo on an LCD and a plasma, showing various clips of dark/light conrasts, sporting action, videogames etc, so you can compare and see which you prefer.
I have 47" LCD Samsung! 1080 F/HD very nice TV i have to say, and my next one will also be Samsung
One of our TVs is a Samsung LCD and at the time they really were among the best - of recent times they've lost their edge a bit to Sony (joint screens remember) with the 100 and 200Hz stuff which is simply stunning.
Still think plasma has the edge in terms of raw picture quality, but the top end Sony and Samsung LCDs have caught up so much that they do make sense as the marginal difference in PQ is made up for by the lack of screenburn issues and in some ways superior HD performance (clarity on LCD is unbelievable compared to plasma, yet plasma to me still has a more lifelike picture)
I don't think plasma TVs have suffered from screen burn for quite a while now.
I still have an old CRT TV. Was kind of hoping it would go wrong so I could more easily justify a new flat-panel TV but it's been too reliable ! :laugh:
My personal preference is for plasma, and I personally believe that Panasonic make the best plasmas, so that's what I'll go for unless things change.