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• Plasma TV picture is at the best setting right from the box – what the consumer really needs to do is find the picture settings that are best for their particular home.  Just like the lighting in two different homes is going to be different, the proper settings for that individual will be different too, based on the lights in the home or in the room the television will be in.
• An installation tech is needed to install your plasma television – it is not necessary to mount your plasma on the wall, though advertisements sometimes show otherwise.  You can mount it to a television stand if you desire.  Even if you do want it attached to the wall, the ease of the mounting is something most people can do on their own without the help of an install tech.

Continue tuning in for more in the series “Plasma TV Misconceptions.”

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•  Plasma TVs need to be routinely serviced or have their plasma replaced – although you may hear this touted by warranty companies, there really is no truth to this.  Especially with the continuous improvements that television manufacturers make on TVs, this myth really should be put to rest.
• Higher resolution = Better picture – on the surface it may seem like this MUST be true.  It’s not.  Unless you have Blu Ray media, you probably won’t notice much of a difference.  In addition, you might have a 1080p television, but if you do not have a signal to accommodate it, it will not make a difference.
• The plasma television has a short life span – as was mentioned in the first “misconception,” this, especially as each year passes, is far from true!  By turning down the contrast you can extend the life span of your plasma a great deal.  Because the life span is already at 60,000 hours or so, this should not make much of a difference, but it will help to turn it down, especially since the higher contrast is really not usually needed.

Stay tuned because in the next several posts we will continue looking at some of the misconceptions.

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With the TH50PZ85U plasma TV, Panasonic has achieved picture quality that’s sure to blow you away. The increased native contrast ratio of 30,000:1 ensures exceptionally rich blacks and stunning whites. An anti-reflective filter keeps unwanted reflections to a minimum. The result is arguably the most detailed plasma TV in the world. The TH50PZ85U includes a built-in NTSC/ATSC/QAM digital tuner to receive standard definition, high definition, and digital cable content. The set includes 3 HDMI connections, which enables the transfer of high definition video and audio via a single cable. That means you can enjoy HD entertainment without the inconvenience of numerous tangled cables. 

And speaking of less inconvenience, how about Panasonic’s VIERA Link®. You can operate (through HDMI connections) all your home theater components by pressing one button on the TV remote. An HDMI cable carries not only digital video and audio signals, but control signals too. For example, use your VIERA remote to control a recording operation with your DVD recorder or to start and stop playback of scenes from a video camera. With VIERA, extra ease and convenience are part of the entertainment package.

Features

• 1920 x 1080 Resolution

• 1000000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for the Brightest whites and darkest blacks

• 4096 Shades of Gradation for spectacular Color Reproduction

• Viera LinK™ HDAVI Control lets you operate all of your home theater components by pressing a single button on your TV’s remote control

• GalleryPlayer allows you to enjoy the world’s finest high definition art and photography on your Panasonic HD plasma TV

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• Never leave static images on the unit.  Make sure static images do not stay on the screen from longer than 10 minutes.  This can cause the plasma TV to “wash out” with use.
• Use brightness and contrast levels that are necessary for viewing, but not excessive.  There is no need to use the display on 100% contrast.  Tweak the settings once you install the TV as manufacture settings are generally at about 80%-100%.
• Keep the monitor/TV in a well-ventilated area.  This will ensure the cooling system will not have to work as hard.
• Buy a good brand.  First tier brands are generally built better.
• Turn the plasma off when not in use.  This tip should be pretty self-explanatory.
• Keep the unit out of reach of small children.  Children can alter the settings and obviously unintentionally break the plasma TV.
• Do not mount the unit face down from the ceiling.

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There are three main characteristics that are cited as why there has been an improvement in plasma TVs.

1.  Green phosphors
2. Lower power usage
3. Motion adaptive anti burn-in technology

These days, manufacturers make claims of a lifespan of 60,000 hours.  Since Americans average around five hours of television per day, this leads to a life of roughly 33 years.  Whether the manufacturer claims are accurate or not are disputable.  However, even at half of that, it would seem that the television would outlive the individual’s desire to have it, as people have a tendency to continually upgrade as new technologies become available.

Hopefully the point has been made that the buyer can rest assured that they will generally not need to recycle their new plasma TV any faster than their own taste dictates.  In the next post, we will look at ways you can do your part to lengthen the life of your plasma TV.

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To define contrast ratio in simple terms, it is basically the spectrum of white to black that the television will demonstrate.  Manufacturers are also boasting not only the normal contrast ratio, but also what they call Dynamic Contrast.  According to Wiley, “manufacturer’s normal contrast ratio is worthless and the Dynamic Contrast ratio is doubly so.”

Wiley goes on to state that there is no relationship between the contrast ratio that one might read in the manufacturer’s specification area in an owner’s manual and the contrast the television owner would view while watching the plasma TV.  Although the white levels look good in a store’s showroom, they are not going to add a great deal of dimension once the television is set up in a living room. 

Credit is given, however, to the betterment that has been seen in plasma TVs over the years.  All of this being said, it would seem that, although there is a great deal of hype when it comes to contrast ratio, it plays no relevance in the enjoyment experience of the viewer.

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• Determine the right screen size based on the floor plan of your home-entertainment room.  You don’t want to purchase a 56” plasma television that’s going to go into a 10’ by 10’ area.  Although it may seem cool to show off your big screen to your friends, take my word for it – this is not the statement you’ll want to make.
• The right distance depends on the size of your TV.  When attempting to figure out the size of TV to purchase, measure the distance between where you’ll be sitting and where you’ll be putting the TV.  Use the following as a guideline:
  • For 32 to 37-inch TVs, sit back 6 to 10 feet from the screen.
  • For 42 to 46-inch TVs, sit back 10 to 14 feet from the screen.
  • For 50-inch plasma displays, sit back 12 to 16 feet from the screen.
  • For larger than 60 inches, sit back at least 15 feet from the screen.
• Decide if you want HDTV.  HD enhanced TVs are more pricey than their EDTV counterparts.  Because many cable company’s now provide HD programming, you’ll have to decide if the HDTV feature is important to you.
• Determine where you’re going to locate your plasma.  Do you plan to mount it on the wall?  If so, you have the option of flat wall mounts and tilt wall mounts.  There are also table stands and plasma TV carts if you’d rather do it that way.

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The bad:
Nondefeatable edge enhancement; inaccurate color temperature presets; less compact than some 42-inch flat panels.

The bottom line:
The Vizio L42 HDTV leads the affordable big-screen LCD charge while managing to produce a perfectly acceptable picture.

The plummeting prices of flat-panel HDTVs has been big news for the last couple of years, and in 2006, the latest downward price trend is among flat-panel LCDs in the 40- and 42-inch size range. Vizio, that popular purveyor of price-savvy panels, is once again surging to the bottom with its entrants, the 42-inch L42 HDTV and its slightly more-expensive and arguably better-looking brother, the G42L HDTV. Both have nearly identical feature sets and picture quality, but we’ll deal with the G42L HDTV separately. This review is of the Vizio L42 HDTV, which at the time of this writing sells for $1,599 online and even less in select stores. Its price alone makes it a great value, but unlike many cut-rate HDTVs, the L42 HDTV also boasts enough features for just about anybody, as well as picture quality that will leave most viewers believing–rightly–that they got a great bargain.

Design
We thought the Vizio L42 HDTV looked stylish enough but not stunningly attractive. It consists of a black frame surrounding the 42-inch-diagonal screen that’s in turn mounted above silver speakers. In this case, the frame is thick and glossy black, and despite appearing detachable the speakers are indeed fixed. Aside from prominent HDMI and Vizio logos, there aren’t many features on the set’s front.

Atop the included silver stand, the L42 measures about 41.3 by 29.8 by 11.4 inches (WHD)–a bit bigger than some 42-inch flat panels–and weighs 73.3 pounds. Like all flat-panel HDTVs, it can be wall-mounted with a special kit such as one available directly from Vizio.

The company includes its standard, nonbacklit remote, which we’ve always found to be too busy, with too many keys that don’t have enough differentiation. We did appreciate the direct-access keys for different inputs, however, and the fact that the clicker can command three other pieces of gear. Hitting Menu brings up a typically drab-looking array of options, but Vizio covered all of the basics.

Features
Once again, Vizio has included enough features to satisfy just about everybody without missing anything major. The Picture section of the L42 HDTV’s menu offers three presets that cannot be adjusted, as well as a fourth Custom mode that’s independent for each input. You can choose from three color-temperature presets or adjust red, green, and blue gain yourself in a fourth custom mode. We appreciated the last option, since the L42 HDTV’s three color-temperature presets were really far from the standard (see Performance). There’s also an adjustable backlight control that allows you to turn the intensity of the lamp behind the screen up or down. It’s worth noting that backlight and color-temperature settings are global and cannot be saved individually for each input.

Other features include picture-in-picture, which offers a side-by-side option, too. There’s also a freeze mode that’s handy for catching quick information, such as the fine-print of disclaimers in drug ads. Vizio’s selection of aspect-ratio controls is average: three for high-def sources and four for standard-def. And as its name indicates, the L42 HDTV is in fact a full HDTV, meaning that it includes an ATSC tuner for grabbing over-the-air high-def and digital stations.

Around back, you’ll find a healthy selection of inputs, including the requisite pair of HDMI jacks. Other inputs include two component-video, one A/V input with composite and S-Video, one A/V input with only composite video, and one VGA-style RGB computer input. There’s also a single RF input for connecting an antenna or cable, an analog audio output, and an optical digital audio output for passing surround soundtracks from over-the-air HD sources.

Performance
In sum, the Vizio L42 HDTV’s image quality was very good for the price, with relatively deep blacks, accurate primary colors, and solid standard-def reproduction. It did exhibit some murky shadow detail, and its out-of-the-box color temperature definitely needs adjustment, so videophiles will probably want to consider paying a bit more for a better-performing set.

To evaluate the L42 HDTV’s picture, we first adjusted the picture parameters for viewing in our dark lab. We quickly realized that the preset color temperature modes–Warm, Cool, Normal, and Custom–were all very different, and surprisingly, only Cool anywhere near the standard (see Before in the Geek box below). Typically Cool is the least accurate, but in the Vizio L42 HDTV’s case, that dubious honor went to Warm, which tinged the picture with an unacceptable amount of green. Fortunately, the set does offer adjustments to RGB gain in its Custom settings, and after we adjusted their values appropriately, the color temperature was much improved. See the Tips & Help tab above for those adjustments, as well as our complete dark-room settings.

When we settled back to watch a movie–in this case, Syriana on HD-DVD via the Toshiba HD-A1–we mostly liked what we saw. In darker scenes such as Jimmy Pope’s fireside chat with Bennett Holiday, the depth of black in dark areas was fairly good for an LCD; not quite as deep as some we’ve seen, such as the Samsung LN-S4051D’s or the Sharp LC-37D90U’s, but still pretty dark. We had a couple of more-expensive like-size LCDs onhand to compare–namely the Vizio’s step-up brother, the G42L HDTV, the Philips 42PF9831, and the extremely expensive Sony KDL-40XBR2–and the Vizio L42 HDTV’s depth of black was just slightly brighter than that of the Sony and the other Vizio, and significantly darker (better) than the Philips’s.

The Vizio L42’s shadow detail was a bit worse than that of the Sony, however. During the next scene with CIA agent Bob Barnes, the chairs and stools under the bar appeared slightly murkier with less of their legs and seats visible in the shadows. We also noticed a bit more false-contouring on the Vizio than on the Sony. During Barnes’s interview with Hezbollah, for example, we saw the faintest lines in the shadows on the wall behind the leader as they faded from light to dark. It’s worth stressing, however, that contouring overall with the Vizio was minimal–far less than the aforementioned Samsung’s, for example, and most viewers won’t fine it objectionable at all.

We did notice a few somewhat brighter areas in the screen, especially when it faded to black, such as immediately after Barnes is tortured. In the case of our review sample, the upper-right corner and the edge immediately below appeared lighter than other areas, as did a few areas along the top edge. These lighter spots will vary from sample to sample, although it’s worth noting that the Sony, unlike the other Vizio and the Philips, was consistently black across the screen. The Vizio L42 HDTV’s image became more washed out starting at about 45 degrees from dead center, which is average among LCDs we’ve seen, but not spectacular. It’s worth noting that plasmas look good from extreme off-angles, while on the flipside, their glass screens reflect more light than matte LCDs.

After we’d adjusted color temperature as described above, the L42 HDTV exhibited commendably accurate color for an LCD. There was no trace of red push in skin tones, such as the face of Julie Woodman as she argues with her husband in the park. We did see a bit more yellow than we’d like to in green areas, such as the grass through which Mazar and Shahid walk on their way to see the shaped-charge device, but it wasn’t too much worse than many LCDs we’ve seen.

Likewise, details were as good as we’d expect for an LCD of 1,366×768 resolution. On the HD-DVD, the blades of grass and trees looked sharp and lifelike, and we could discern the mesh in the Mazar’s white cap. We did notice a few signs of edge enhancement that couldn’t be removed despite reducing sharpness to zero. In an overhead shot of Barnes after the torture, for example, we saw slightly unnatural-looking brighter edges along the black grid of the tiled floor. Again, the effects were subtle.

With standard-def sources, the Vizio L42 HDTV did a solid job, although we do wish it had some kind of noise reduction. During the noisy shots of skies and sunsets from the HQV Benchmark DVD, for example, the snowy video noise was relatively prevalent, although not overwhelming. We did appreciate the quick engagement of 2:3 pulldown detection, and the Vizio did an above-average job of smoothing out jagged edges in diagonal lines. Via component-, composite-, and S-Video, we did notice that some images appeared a bit softer than they should have, but not terribly so.

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The bad:
Nondefeatable edge enhancement; inaccurate color-temperature presets; less compact than some 42-inch flat-panels.

The bottom line:
With picture quality decent enough to satisfy most viewers, the affordable, fully featured Vizio GV42L HDTV is one of the best values among big-screen LCDs.

Let’s get this out of the way right now: The Vizio GV42L HDTV is a virtual clone of the Vizio L42 HDTV. They’re both 42-inch flat-panel LCDs, they have nearly identical feature sets, their image quality is basically the same, and the difference in cost is $100 as of the time of this review; the GV42L HDTV will currently run you $1,699 online while the L42 HDTV costs $1,599. The two TVs even scored the exact same rating. The differences? The more-expensive GV42L has slightly more sophisticated styling, detachable speakers, an extra “advanced” picture control menu (which doesn’t do much of anything useful), and a backlit remote. That’s just about it. So if you’re in the aisle at Costco wavering between these two extremely inexpensive Vizios, feel free to choose on external appearance, or gut feeling, or the fact that one has a light-up Vizio logo and the other does not. Either way, they’re both among the best values available in the 42-inch flat-panel HDTV category.

Design
As the first model Vizio has sub-branded Gallevia, the GV42L HDTV represents the company’s opening dive into the murky waters of Lake Step-up, meaning that it attempts to milk a few extra bucks based on a couple of nebulous improvements–in this case, most of them have to do with design. Compared to the run of today’s flat-panel HDTVs, the GV42L HDTV is somewhat stylish without being nearly as eye-catching as many name-brand models. Compared to the step-down L42 HDTV, the Gallevia has a narrower stand, curvier silver speakers along the bottom of the same glossy-black frame, and an illuminated Vizio in the center. The light-up logo glows orange until the TV is turned on, after which it flashes white, then quickly fades to a very dim white. We like the dimness, especially considering that you can’t turn off the illuminated logo completely.

Including its matching silver stand, the GV42L HDTV measures about 42.3 by 29.8 by 11.4 inches (WHD)–a bit bigger than some 42-inch flat panels and slightly wider than the L42–and weighs 73.5 pounds. Like all flat-panel HDTVs, it can be wall-mounted with a special kit such as one available directly from Vizio. Unlike many flat-panel TVs, and unlike the L42, the GV42L’s speakers are detachable, which cuts 2.9 inches off the panel’s height.

Another difference between the GV42L and its step-down brother is that the keys on its remote are backlit–all 51 of them. That makes finding a certain key in the dark less tiresome than it would be otherwise, but what we’d really like to see is better differentiation among the many buttons. We did appreciate the direct-access keys for different inputs, however, and the fact that the clicker can command three other pieces of gear. Hitting Menu brings up a typically drab-looking array of options, but Vizio covered all of the basics.

Features
The Vizio GV42L HDTV sports enough features to satisfy just about everybody without missing anything major. The Picture section of the menu offers three presets that cannot be adjusted, as well as a fourth custom mode that’s independent for each input. You can choose from three color-temperature presets or adjust red, green, and blue gain yourself in a fourth custom mode. We appreciated the last option, since the GV42L HDTV’s three color temperature presets were really far from the standard (see Performance). There’s also an adjustable backlight control that allows you to turn the intensity of the lamp behind the screen up or down. It’s worth noting that backlight and color temperature settings are global and cannot be saved individually for each input.

Unlike the L42, the Gallevia has a secondary picture menu labeled Advanced, and like most such menus, its options are often best left in the Off position. One exception is the digital noise reduction feature, which did clean up noisy standard-def images (see Performance). There are controls labeled Black Level Extender and White Peak Limiter, but they didn’t seem to do anything with HDMI or componsnt-video sources. According to the manual, a control called CTI (for Color Transient Intensity) is said to “adjust the picture for color errors caused by fast-changing scenes,” but we couldn’t discern any effect. Flesh Tone destroys the GV42L’s fine color decoding, making skin tones appear redder, among other effects. Adaptive Luma adjusted the black-and-white levels according to picture content; the effect was subtle, but we did prefer to leave it off. Dynamic Contrast took over the backlight control, seemingly pegging it near the maximum; it made black levels too bright, so we left it off.

Aside from the advanced menu controls, the GV42L HDTV has a feature set that’s identical to the L42’s. Conveniences include picture-in-picture, which offers a side-by-side option too. There’s also a freeze mode that’s handy for catching quick information, such as the 3/4-screen of fine print under automobile financing offers. Vizio’s selection of aspect ratio controls is average: three for high-def sources and four for standard-def. And as its name indicates, the GV42L HDTV is, in fact, a full HDTV, meaning that it includes an ATSC tuner for grabbing over-the-air high-def and digital stations.

Around back you’ll find a healthy selection of inputs, including the requisite pair of HDMI jacks. Other inputs include two component-video, one A/V input with composite and S-Video, one A/V input with composite video only, and one VGA-style RGB computer input. There’s also a single RF input for connecting an antenna or cable, an analog audio output, and an optical digital audio output for passing surround soundtracks from over-the-air HD sources.

Performance
The image quality of the Vizio GV42L HDTV impressed us overall, especially given its relatively low price. Its picture is essentially identical to that of the Vizio L42 HDTV, with a couple of exceptions as noted below. Black-level performance and color accuracy, at least after calibration, were very good, while a slight lack of details in shadows and the prevalence of edge enhancement deserve minor knocks.

For our performance testing, we tweaked the GV42L HDTV’s user menu controls for our darkened room and set it up next to three other like-size–albeit differently priced–LCDs: the aforementioned Vizio L42 HDTV, the extremely expensive Sony KDL-40XBR2, and the still-costly Philips 42PF9831D. Given the other similarities we saw between the two Vizios’ pictures, we were surprised to discover that, among the GV42L’s four available color-temperature settings, Normal came closest to the standard; with the L42, it was Cool. Normal was still fairly inaccurate, especially in darker areas, which tended toward blue, so we took advantage of the Custom mode’s adjustments to get closer (see the Geek box below). To see the complete dark room settings we used, click the Tips & Help tab above.

After getting the controls to our liking, we popped in The Last Samurai on HD-DVD. Dark scenes, such as when Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) huddles in the dark room with the DTs, looked better than we expected, with relatively deep blacks and good, but by no means great, shadow detail. We saw more folds and patterns in his blanket and kimono on the Sony, for example, although the difference wasn’t drastic.

Compared to the other Vizio, the GV42L’s spec sheet claims twice the contrast ratio, but we couldn’t see much to support that claim in either program material or test patterns. Black levels were nearly identical, although the GV42L did get a tiny bit darker, and its peak brightness was likewise a tad higher–but not enough to lend credence to the contrast-ratio claims.

We were likewise impressed by the Vizio GV42L’s color reproduction after we’d made the adjustments mentioned above to its Custom color temperature mode. During the close-up on Taka’s face, for example, as she hears Algren’s moaning, her delicate skin looked natural and not too reddish as long as we kept the Flesh Tone control turned off. Primary colors were accurate with the exception of green, which was tinged a bit too yellow. We saw the effect, among other places, in the verdant hillside when Algren’s shout of despair echoes forth.

Like many LCDs, the GV42L HDTV’s uniformity across the screen was imperfect. Our review sample evinced slightly brighter areas in the upper-left corner and in a small irregular shape in the center of a completely black field; the brighter areas invisible otherwise. More noticeable was the GV42L HDTV’s tendency to get washed out when seen from greater than about 45 degrees from dead center, which is average among LCDs we’ve seen but not spectacular. It’s worth noting that plasmas look good from extreme off-angles, while on the flipside, their glass screens reflect more light than matte LCDs.

We noticed some signs of edge enhancement on the Gallevia, which appeared mostly as exaggerated whitish borders along lines. As Algren steps out of Taka’s house, for example, the vertical slats and the edge of the silent guard’s face appeared just a bit too sharp. Otherwise, details looked very good on this excellent disc, as evinced by the definition of the trees and hillocks on the distant mountainsides, the fine thatch in the village’s rooftops, and the hairs on Algren’s unshaven face. As we saw with the L42, there was a tiny bit more false contouring than on the Sony, but it was by no means objectionable.

Like its stablemate, the L42, the GV42L did a solid job with standard-def sources. There was one notable difference, however: the GV42L has a noise-reduction control. When set in the Off position, the noisy shots of skies and sunsets from the HQV disc looked awful, with inordinately high numbers of moving dots and motes of snowy noise. Turning the noise reduction to any of the other three positions cleaned up these images considerably in comparison (although not as much as some oher NR circuits we’ve tested), but at the cost of some image sharpness. In fact, it seems as if the GV42L’s NR Low setting was about equivalent to the L42, which doesn’t have adjustable NR at all. Despite the trade-off, we always prefer to have the option. We appreciated the quick engagement of 2:3 pull-down detection, and the Vizio did an above-average job of smoothing out jagged edges in diagonal lines.

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