LCD HDTVs

Shiny, super slim and environmentally friendly, the Philips 42PFL5603D 42” LCD HD Ready digital television utilises Pixel Plus HD technology to produce magnificent natural pictures. Pixel Plus HD offers the unique combination of ultimate sharpness, natural detail, increased depth, vivid colours and smooth and natural motion from standard TV, high definition signals and multimedia sources. An ultra speedy response time of 5ms and Digital Natural Motion also make sure images are smooth moving and not blurred.

The Philips 42PFL5603D Full HD screen displays realistic images that are incredibly fluid, it brings out a generous dynamic contrast ratio of 30000:1 ensuring deeper blacks and whiter whites. And thanks to full support for 1080p, when you connect a compatible Blu-ray DVD player the images this TV produces will continue to amaze you time and time again. 1080p is the purest form of high definition that a television can display. This leads to a smoother, more film-like image, which will please sports and movie lovers alike. With a 1080p signal, the information that makes up an image is displayed “progressively” or all at once, rather than in an “interlaced” fashion.

With several power conserving features you’ll definitely save your money. For example, a built-in sensor automatically example the lighting in the room and adjusts the television's backlight for power efficiency, all without compromising the picture quality.

You’ll also enjoy impressive incredible surround sound, for a cinema-like audio experience. And you won’t know where the sound’s coming from either, thanks to the invisible integral loudspeakers.

Its integrated digital tuner means you’ll enjoy a wide selection of Freeview channels without the need of an additional receiver. And planning what you want to watch is easy with the electronic programme guide.

This television is HD-ready (High Definition Ready) which means it will have the function to display high definition signals with the addition of a separate HD receiver. High Definition Television will be the highest quality of digital television available. It increases the amount of scan lines to provide clearer and more detailed images than those available on regular digital or equivalent televisions.

The Panasonic TH-50PF9UK 50" 1080p HD Professional Series plasma display incorporates advanced technology to reproduce beautiful, natural-looking images with exceptional, full 1080p HD resolution. With 2.07 million pixels, twice as many as standard HD models, the TH-50PF9UK features Real Black Creation technology for deep, rich blacks delivering a high contrast ratio of up to 5,000:1 and 16-bit processing for an outstanding 4,096 steps of color gradation. With new phosphors providing reproducing the entire color range specified in the standard for HDTV color gamut coupled with advanced color management systems and the new Super Cinema mode, the 1080p plasma display reproduces images with a truer, film-like ambiance.

Perfect for TV studio/video production, corporate boardrooms, exhibits and more, the TH-50PF9UK comes standard with hi-res capable DVI-D Input, PC Input (15pinHD), Audio Input (for PC), Serial Control (RS-232C) Input, BNC Component Video/RGB Input + Audio Input. The modular architecture provides an additional expansion slot for another optional terminal board, or you can remove the standard boards and mount up to three optional boards.

The major selling point of this plasma TV is its 1080p native resolution, which translates to 1,920x1,080 pixels. That's more than twice as many as most 50-inch plasmas, and it allows the Panasonic to display every detail of the highest-resolution HDTV formats, 1080i and 1080p, as well as handle very high-resolution computer signals. All other input signals, as usual, are converted to match the native resolution.

The Panasonic TH-50PF9UK does have several picture-enhancing features worth mentioning. First off, 2:3 pull-down is available in the video processing but must be engaged for all inputs individually in the setup menu, as Off is the default setting. The setup menu is also where you'll find the noise reduction control. Selectable color temperatures are on tap and include Warm (the closest to the broadcast standard of 6,500K), Normal, and Cool. Panasonic also gives you its typical three picture mode choices: Dynamic, Standard, and Cinema, and adds a fourth called Super Cinema. Independent memory per input allows you to use any mode you wish at any input and still be able to make changes to the picture controls (with the consumer models such as the TH-50PX60U, you must assign a picture mode to an input in order to set it up independently of other inputs).

Panasonic’s TH-50PF9UK is definitely a keeper, as I stated at the beginning of this review. It has a very CRT-like image when set up correctly and takes full advantage of its 1920x1080 pixel matrix. Image quality is good enough to use as a reference monitor for many applications, such as exposure and gamma correction. Overall, the Panasonic TH-50PF9UK delivers excellent picture quality that's solidly in the tradition of its lower-resolution commercial-model predecessors. Its black levels remain among the best seen for any plasma, color are mostly accurate, and details, as expected from a TV of this resolution, are superb. Tweaks to signal bandwidth through the analog inputs and higher saturation in the green channel would help for color grading and correction, particularly for content that will wind up in a digital cinema application. For public display and signage modes, the low power consumption will be appealing, as will the expansion slots and network/PC interfaces.

Like most 50-inch plasma TVs, the Pioneer PDP-5080HD has a native resolution of 1,366x768 pixels. That's not as many as competing - and usually more expensive - 1080p models, but at the 50-inch screen size, the benefits of 1080p are dubious for most sources. As always, all sources, be they HDTV, DVD, standard-def, or computer, are scaled to fit the native resolution.

The Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080 HD is a 50 inch Plasma TV that gives very deep blacks and great shadow detail, very good clean images and very little noise. The smooth video processing technology means that judders are not present. It comes with a removable speaker and 4 HDMI inputs, 1 PC Input, works with cablecards and TV Guide EPG. On the downside is its price, it has a issue with green and a user interface to fine tune color temperatures. Overall the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080 gives off the best blacks you will find so a very good purchase. A Star Buy.

When you look for a LCD Tv or a Plasma screen, it's the capability to produce blacks which is the most important to many people. When watching films, this alone can give off an atmosphere which if not produced properly can definatly make a difference to the enjoyment which can also make the colours richer and give the satisfaction you chose that particular LCD TV or Plasma. The Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080 gives off the best black ever tested on LCD TVs. The issues above in the summary are so minor and even if they were not,the blacks this TV give off make you realise they are not even worth mentioning but we did for your benefit.

Black-level performance is one of the most important aspects of picture quality. When a display can produce a deep shade of black, it not only improves the realism and the punch of dark scenes, it also makes colors look richer and more saturated. This 50-inch plasma produces the deepest shade of black and thus one of the best pictures of all HDTV tv. It also offers a "smooth" video-processing mode that works relatively well, one of the best antireflective screens we've tested, and numerous picture controls. We do complain about its less-than-perfect color accuracy and its incomplete color temperature controls, but those issues don't prevent it from earning our highest praise. The only real kink in the works is its high price compared to that of other similar resolution plasmas on the market. If you can stomach the extra payout, the Pioneer PDP-5080HD delivers a jaw-dropping home theater picture.

The Tv comes with a range of picture effecting features and picture memory slots and modes such as edge enhancement, DRE Picture, Black Level, CRI and ACL so more than any tv geek needs to play with. As we mentioned above there was no option to change the color temperature but a minor point. Pioneer have said its to top notch for non Elite Pioneer's.

The company framed the PDP-5080HD's 50-inch screen in glossy black with a minimum of adornments aside from the Pioneer logo. There's a band of silver along the sides, top, and bottom of the panel, but from the front only black is visible. The set includes a matching stand, and it allows the speaker bar below the panel to be completely removed, in case you want to use an external audio system exclusively. With speaker and stand attached, the panel measures about 48.2 inches wide by 31.8 inches high by 9.3 inches deep and weighs 88 pounds. Remove the stand and speakers and the panel measures 48.2 by 28.2 by 4.5 inches and weighs 76.7 pounds.

The hefty remote control is admirably laid out, with a central cursor key ringed by different size buttons that we found easy to navigate by feel. Although the buttons aren't backlit, they do glow in the dark, but that's not much help when trying to differentiate between the grid of similarly sized keys at the top of the wand. That group includes buttons for aspect ratio selection and picture mode, along with direct access to each of the TV's inputs - a great addition. The clicker can command three other pieces of gear.

What is a drawback is its price, but for a TV which produces what it does then we doubt that would be a factor for many people. Definatly a TV which will give a picture you will be astounded by.