T3 Top Ten: Plasma TVs
Plasma-luscious.
Sit back and relax and let us guide you through the top tech touting plasma's for your pound of gold.
Samsung seems the brand du jour for anyone seeking out a cheap HD television, and this plasma shows just why: it's a 50-inch model with a full 1920 x 1080 resolution, and yet costs a mere smidgeon over a grand.
With 50-inch plasma TVs now available for well under a grand, how on earth can Pioneer justify this onyx-clad gogglebox's £2,500 price tag? By making it the best 50-inch TV ever, that's how.
Panasonic's last stab at a 42-inch plasma panel was a rather good one, garnering a T3 Gold award when we drooled over it in issue 92. But plasma tellies have moved on a great deal since the blithe, carefree days of late 2003 - we've since been lavished with a superb range of digital video-supporting (DVI and HDMI) high-definition screens from the likes of Pioneer and Hitachi.
4. NEC 61XR3
Wow! If you want a telly that blocks out the sun and can double as a supporting wall in the event of a natural disaster, this is the puppy.
It's not often that we see a new twist as weird as Philips' Ambilight feature. Why so zany? Well, it consists of a pair of narrow lights that are mounted at the rear of the company's gorgeous new plasma TV.
If there's one thing flat TVs slip up on, it's making blacks look black. Atom-sharp detail's no problem, but giving Batman's cape the correct ebony sheen has all too often been too much for 'em. Well, not any more. Pioneer's new 50-inch plasma boasts the best black levels we've ever seen on a flat TV.
7. JVC PD-42B50
Lounging atop its cone-tastic Italian designer stand, this elegant plasma screen is sure to have your friends and neighbours cooing with appreciation and barely concealed jealousy.
Attention, Scrooge-loving film fans - we may well have found the ideal plasma telly for you! Okay, so you're still going to need to stump up nigh on two grand - not the sort of cash you find just lying behind the sofa - but for a 42-incher such as this, that ain't a whole lot.
While we'd all love a nice big plasma telly to whack on the living room wall, scraping together enough of the folding stuff to buy a half-decent model is another matter entirely. But the times they are a-changin': take a gander at this new Toshiba, because you may just be able to afford it without taking out a second mortgage or sticking poor old granny on eBay.
This plasma contains integrated analogue tuners plus digital terrestrial DVB-T tuners and digital satellite tuners. 'Round the back, they contain four HDMI inputs plus the usual integrated KURO LINK for operating several different compatible devices via the remote control. Bootiful.
Related links:
Posted by Rhiain Morgan on 2008-10-03
User Comments
You need to Login or Register in order to post comments
