The real slim shady

Life

1 April 2005

Plasma screens are impressive. The large screen, the thin profile — it all adds up to a nice addition to your living room. With a nice price tag, naturally. One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that many of the plasma TVs on offer are quite similar in styling. The Hantarex PD42 Glass TV stands out from the crowd. The 42in plasma TV comes with a glass frame that gives it a sophisticated feel and the black surround is easy on the eye.

The drawback is that the TV weighs 41kg without the base stand, so even getting it set up on the stand will require the help of some strong people, especially if you are planning any wall mounting.
But looks aside, how does the PD42 perform? It was hard to find fault with this TV. The tuner will automatically find and save your TV stations, so you can go do something else and come back when it’s done. The picture is impressive, mainly thanks to the high contrast ratio and brightness level (3000:1 and 100cd/m2 respectively).

Because the TV signal was prone to some disruption (nothing to do with the TV), I found the best way to test the TV was to hook it up to a DVD player. The resulting image showed digital video at its best — a crisp, clear picture with impressive colour reproduction.

I even tried it out with an Xbox games console to see if the TV could cope with the fast moving action of UEFA Euro 2004. In fact, it did a better job than I did (the Republic of Ireland team lost to the Faroe Islands). There was no ghosting in sight and I didn’t notice
any image artefacts.

The built-in stereo speakers are more than adequate to take care of sound, but if you want something a little beefier, you can hook up external speakers to the TV. There are plenty of connections on this TV, including Scart, component, and both digital and analogue PC
connection.It also includes Teletext and a Picture in Picture function.

Hantarex PD42 Glass TV — €6,100

Features:
42in plasma screen;
Internal TV Tuner;
Picture in Picture;
Teletext; 3000:1 Contrast Ratio;
1,000cd/m2 Brightness;
Built In Speakers;
Video/S-Video Stereo Input;
PC Stereo Input;
Line Stereo Output.

Connections:
Video, S-Video, Scart, Analogue RGB [PC]

Dimensions (w x h x d):
1114 x 712 x 122

Weight:
41kg

Contact:
Dubhlinn Hi-Fi 01 4785205

Rating: 4 stars
This sleek slim panel TV will give your living room a certain sophistication — though it will dig a nice hole in your wallet.

18/10/04

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