Anybody Have A Lg 42px5d Plasma Tv?

refLEX · January 17, 2006

Hi,

After loads of research i have opted to buy a LG 42PX5D Plasma TV. It seems to have everything i want like, HD ready, a great picture, decent sound and also has a nice but not essentilal memory card reader. Before i buy i just thought i would put my selection to the masses to see if there was any recommendations or steer clears!

Any advice would be welcome, many thanks

LexAzur · January 17, 2006

Hi reflex,

For the money this plasma costs it is a good unit

You should look at the Hitachi 42 PD 7200, if you can strech to this one it is an excellent picture and HD ready

Hope this is of use

Parthiban · January 17, 2006

It seems a good set, but I did notice it has a resolution of 1024x768, which seems a little odd

Does anyone know what a TV like that would do with a 1280x720 HD signal?

Diapason · January 17, 2006

It seems a good set, but I did notice it has a resolution of 1024x768, which seems a little odd
Does anyone know what a TV like that would do with a 1280x720 HD signal?

Scale it to fit the number of pixels available. This isn't in any way unusual, by the way. A *lot* of plasmas have this resolution.

Si

Brettster · January 17, 2006

its whats known as 720p its what sky will be transmitting in later this year

the next one up is 1920 x 1080 or 1080i

Parthiban · January 17, 2006

Scale it to fit the number of pixels available. This isn't in any way unusual, by the way. A *lot* of plasmas have this resolution.
Si

Hmmm, didn't know that actually, thought most of them were 1366x768, which while being neither of the two HD resolutions, is the correct ratio. Wouldn't this ratio mean a different level of scaling in each direction which might not give the best picture? (dependent on the image processing as well of course)

Diapason · January 18, 2006

Hmmm, didn't know that actually, thought most of them were 1366x768, which while being neither of the two HD resolutions, is the correct ratio. Wouldn't this ratio mean a different level of scaling in each direction which might not give the best picture? (dependent on the image processing as well of course)

1366x768 is common in 50" sets from what I can see, but when I was buying my 43" there were none available at that resolution for that size. That may have changed as things move pretty quickly and I'm no longer up-to-date myself, but I'd be surprised. Of course, 852x480 is still pretty common, which isn't even enough to cover PAL resolution (480 lines is designed for NTSC) so you have to be a bit careful. I would say that 1024x768 is fine for a 42", though.

In many ways, it's the scaling that separates the men from the boys in the world of plasma. Obviously, the glass itself is important, but you'll find that many manufacturers are using the same glass, as there are very few firms making them. The scaling algorithms and all the other innards are what make one plasma look different to another, especially when it comes to motion, etc. Some people buy stand-alone scalars (such as Lumagen) for this exact reason.

However, taking a step back, you can get caught up in specs and resolution and brightness and contrast and number of bits in the processing and all kinds of other stuff. At the end of the day, if you look at the screen and you like what you see that's all that matters. Just make sure you *really* look at it, playing various kinds of programme material. As I said elsewhere, don't just watch Monsters Inc on the shop floor -- that looks good on *every* plasma. If you're going to spend all your time watching footie, for example, that's a whole different ballgame.

Good luck and enjoy it!

Si

LexAzur · January 18, 2006

Scale it to fit the number of pixels available. This isn't in any way unusual, by the way. A *lot* of plasmas have this resolution.

Si

Hmmm, didn't know that actually, thought most of them were 1366x768, which while being neither of the two HD resolutions, is the correct ratio. Wouldn't this ratio mean a different level of scaling in each direction which might not give the best picture? (dependent on the image processing as well of course)

For Hi Def tv you need a mininium of 1024x 768. 720,1080 qnd 1080i refer to the upscaling which was mentioned early, this upscaling is used in dvd players from the likes of Denon, Pioneer Samsung etc.

Sky will launch Hi Def Tv soon and the first decoders will be available with component feeds into the tv and then to follow DVI feed. Only some of the programmes will be available in Hi Def, alot of the american Tv programmes should be available as they have been using Hi def for a while.

Make sure as mentioned before you check the screen using different films etc, do not bother with any animated dvds as these all look good on any screen even the really bad ones thats why the stores use them, use a dvd with fast moving action and watch for blurring and look at the blacks as alot of screens have trouble with blacks.

If you are worried about porformance than bite the bullet, spend the money and buy a Pioneer pdp 436 XDE, this is the best plasma available can be bought around £2300 or second best Panasonic 42 PV 500 around £2000, the Pioneer has a separate tuner box, the Panasonic all the leads go into the back of the TV

Any other Plasma are a compromise and you need to have a look and take your choice, if you can afford buy the Pioneer you will not be disapointed!!!!!! All Hd Tv with 1024X764 res and an HDMI or DVI fitting will be ok to receive Hi Def transmissions>