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With Christmas draining your bank account and the January sales rolling in, I thought it worthwhile today to take a look at what appears to be a bargain of gargantuan proportions, at least on paper. In fact, LG’s 47LH3000 is gigantic in every way. That’s because its LCD screen expands to a movie-loving 47 inches, and its bezel extends a few inches beyond that.

Of course, with some brands, a bezel as chunky as that on the 47LH3000 would look amateurish and unattractive. But typically, LG has actually used some subtle curves and an ultra-high-gloss finish to make its TV’s size seem like a stylish difference rather than a budgetary compromise.

Needless to say, not everyone is going to love the design, especially when they’re trying to fit the largest screen into a small space. But I definitely like it anyway. And it certainly fits with my dear old granny’s theory that getting what you pay for should have at least as much to do with quantity as with quality!

Speaking of which you get what you pay for it reminds me that I haven’t mentioned the price yet, having opened the review by saying what a bargain the 47LH3000 is. So there we go: we spotted it in the shop at Richer Sounds for pennies under £600. Insane.

In fact, it’s so insane that when I received the TV I couldn’t help but fear the worst in terms of the 47LH3000’s capabilities. Surely even the budget maestro LG couldn’t deliver real quality at this price point?

However, as I shifted my attention from the bold front of the set to the back, I was pleasantly surprised to find a really solid set of connections. The three HDMIs, for example, should be convenient enough to meet the digital HD needs of the typical budget-conscious TV buyer, while a PC connection is available for people wanting to double the 47LH3000 as a PC monitor.

I think it’s a shame that there aren’t any multimedia options beyond the PC socket. The USB port provided is only for support service upgrade instead of playing your photo and music files on TV. But instead of getting maudlin about it, I’ll just refer you back to the price of the 47LH3000 and move on quickly.

Examination of the spec sheet of the 47LH3000 shows that it is far from the overly basic model you would imagine for the money. First off, it’s Full HD resolution – something that, even now, can’t be considered a dead certificate given the 47LH3000’s kind of money.

It also features a dynamic backlight engine capable of producing a totally respectable 50,000:1 contrast ratio, LG’s solid and improved XD Engine with its multi-faceted video processing engine, and even a special Real Cinema processing mode for playback from 24p Blu-ray sources.

There’s no 100Hz processing, but even the most perennial optimist couldn’t really have expected to find this on a £600, 47-inch TV.

Other good news concerns the 47LH3000’s on-screen menus. Because these use the same bold, graphics-heavy approach as LG’s premium models, and the result is one of the easiest-to-use TVs we’ve come across.

This is despite the fact that the menus actually contain a fairly large list of functions. Particularly intriguing is the discovery of the ISF presets, proving that the TV was deemed flexible enough by the Imaging Science Foundation to be professionally calibrated by one of their engineers.

Some of the tweaks that anyone who calibrates the 47LH3000’s images will likely tinker with include dynamic color and contrast systems, gamma adjustment, noise reduction routines and various tricks aimed at boosting black levels.

If you’re keen on calibrating the device yourself but are a little scared, LG has got your back, courtesy of a built-in picture wizard – meaning a series of test signals, complete with brief explanations of how to use them to enhance your images to make it look better exactly. Provided, of course, accuracy is what you really like about your video images!

Running on a typical selection of HD games and Blu-rays, the 47LH3000 unsurprisingly falls short of the picture richness reported by one or two higher-end LG sets we’ve reviewed recently. But before you get too downhearted, I can also say that the 47LH3000 produces pictures far, far above anything else that offers the same sort of screen size for just £600.

LG has long had an uncanny knack for instantly winning your AV hearts with aggressive brightness and color presentations on its LCD TVs. And that strong approach extends to the 47LH3000, which instantly sidesteps the familiar dull, muted look of so many mega-budget rivals.

This should prove very helpful for the 47LH3000 in a store environment as it will help the screen hold its own in terms of raw AV ‘charisma’ against screens that sell for a lot more. But of course, what’s good for a shop in terms of image characteristics is rarely, if ever, good for a darker home environment. So it’s good that the 47LH3000 offers just enough flexibility in its options to allow images to look punchy without having to tolerate too much overly aggressive tones or too little black level response.

The 47LH3000 also outperforms its price class when it comes to the sharpness of its HD images. There’s plenty of evidence of the kind of picture minutiae that even now sometimes inspires a sigh of satisfaction from AV lovers, and crucially, despite the lack of motion blur, the picture doesn’t succumb to nearly as much as I would have expected from the 100Hz processing.

I’m not saying there is “no” motion blur. But what there is is fairly easy to live with and is certainly a million miles away from the sleazy mess often seen on other budget TVs.

Another common budget TV that’s largely adeptly sidestepped by the 47LH3000 is weak black level response. Because while its dark scenes certainly look a touch grayer and less detailed than on high-end TVs from LG and others, they’re deep enough to make everyday images look dynamic, while predominantly dark scenes look miles more natural than they’re typical of entry prices.

As you’ve probably – hopefully – realized by now, the 47LH3000’s accomplishments are comparative rather than earth-shattering. Also, it has other issues that I haven’t mentioned yet, such as: B. a fairly limited viewing angle, slight stuttering when watching Blu-rays despite the 24p mode, and a slightly noisy appearance on all but the highest quality standard definition sources.

Yet since the 47LH3000 also uses its considerable bulk to produce a well-rounded audio performance (complete with – shock, horror! – a decent amount of bass), the bottom line is that no matter how critical you try to look at it, the 47LH3000 is almost a budget triumph.

“‘Verdict”‘

The 47LH3000 can currently be found as the definition of ‘bargain’ in the Oxford English Dictionary. Take a look for yourself if you don’t believe me.

How we test televisions

We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to properly compare features. We will always tell you what we find. We never accept money to rate a product.

Learn more about how we test in our Ethics Policy.

Used as the main TV during the period

Tested over a week

Tested with industry calibrated tools, discs and real world use

Tested with broadcast content (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs

points in detail

• functions 8

• value 9

• picture quality 8

• design 8

• sound quality 8

characteristics

Talk about extremes. Back in July we tested an LED projector – the H109080FD – from new (for the UK) projection brand Vivitek, which cost a cool 11 grand. But here we are today looking at a Vivitek projector that can be yours for the princely sum of £849. Including VAT.

Most brands don’t have anywhere near this level of price differentials in their range and frankly the mind is amazed at the difference in performance levels I could expect to find between the two models. Which is a fancy way of saying that I can’t help but worry that the entry-level H1080FD will turn out to be as bad as the H9080FD was excellent…

Unsurprisingly, the H1080FD doesn’t deliver nearly as much pure product volume for your buck as its famous flagship sibling. Its dimensions of 335 x 102 x 256mm are fully in line with the sort of coffee-table-friendly fare seen in competing ultra-budget models like the InFocus, Optoma and, more recently, Panasonic.

The H1080FD is also reasonably elegantly dressed for such a cheap device, with a clean white finish and tastefully rounded edges. The only thing that looks a little off aesthetically is the lens. It’s a very small affair – just over an inch in diameter – but it’s been unceremoniously shoved into a barrel that looks like it was designed for a much larger lens array, with a rather cheap-looking black one being one Plastic “shield” is used to hold the lens in place.

The connectivity of the H1080FD is excellent for its money. Two HDMIs get the ball rolling, although I’d really expect only one for a device this affordable. But notably, the projector also has a USB port, an RS-232C control port, a D-Sub PC port and even a 12V trigger output that lets you automatically start a motorized screen.

It’s a bit disappointing to realize that the USB port is for service only and I can’t play my digital photos through it. But such a disappointment is hardly unfair when you’re talking about a projector as cheap as the H1080FD.

As for the projector’s innards, firstly the H1080FD, unsurprisingly for its money, ditched the H9080FD’s LED lighting in favor of a simple 0.65-inch single-chip DLP/230W lamp assembly Has.

Impressive for the price though, this chipset’s resolution is a native Full HD 1,920 x 1,080. In addition, the lamp is said to put out a high maximum of 1,800 lumens, while the projector’s full on/off contrast ratio is said to be a respectable (for this market level) 4,000:1.

The only concern I have with these numbers is whether the brightness is actually too high, which suggests PC-biased picture performance rather than something appropriate for movies, which tend to have a strong black level response versus brightness to prefer.

Setting up the H1080FD is a fairly simple process. There are screw-on legs at the rear of the projector and a fold-down leg at the front to help you position the image correctly on your screen, while the zoom/focus rings are easily accessible via a hole in the top of the projector.

However, there are inevitably limitations. For starters, the optical zoom on offer isn’t exactly spectacular, with a throw ratio of 1.6-1.92. The lens is also designed for short throw distances – to some extent a sensible move given the occasional ‘living room’ use for which it is probably most likely to be bought. But it made the H1080FD the first projector I’ve tested in quite a while that had me lifting my butt – outrageous! – and move my projector stand forward from its usual position at the very back of my 5m test room.

The other annoying setup flaw is the lack of any vertical or horizontal optical image shift. This means many people have to use the projector’s built-in digital keystone correction feature to get the sides of their image looking straight, with all the potential for corrupting the image that any sort of digital stupidity always brings.

Stepping into the H1080FD’s surprisingly well-presented on-screen menus (via a decently organized and impressively backlit remote control), I found a respectable number of functions that helped me calibrate images to my liking. Highlights include a color management system that lets you adjust hue, saturation, and gain for the red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow color components, surprisingly flexible gamma adjustment, and a fleshtone tweaker.

The projector offers three memory banks in which you can save your own preferred settings, as well as three pre-programmed presets: Movie, Normal and Bright.

It’s perhaps a shame that Vivitek couldn’t add presets for sports, and games in particular, to this list, but it doesn’t take long to set up proper presets for these types of sources yourself.

However, if you’re into fine-tuning the images, I highly recommend you always use Film mode as a starting point, as to be honest, the Normal and Bright presets are both pretty dodgy. Indeed, when you first see the H1080FD with one of these latter modes selected, the gray wash hanging over it all, along with some seriously unconvincing colours, are both quite alarming.

Movie mode miraculously and instantly makes colors appear much more believable, while elevating black levels from a disappointment to actually quite respectable levels, at least for movies.

In fact, the infamous torture sequence with knotted ropes and dangling chunks from “Casino Royale” looks far more graphic and compelling in movie mode, with its pitch-black background, tricky skin tones and stylized lighting, than it typically does at a projector priced under a grand.

Do not get me wrong. I’m not talking about colors enjoying the kind of subtlety of mix and tone that characterizes decent projectors further up the price structure – especially when it comes to deep greens. And black levels still look dull enough to hide shadow detail, making dark scenes look a little flat. But at the risk of working on a screamingly obvious point, the H1080FD really doesn’t do a bad job with color or contrast for its money.

Especially since it has another very unexpected chord to its arc: astonishingly good fine detail. HD movies look as textured and sharp on the H1080FD as they do on many projectors four times the price, while displaying all the image detail that distinguishes HD from its standard definition counterpart with amazing confidence. You even get a good sense of the cinematic grain so loved by most Blu-ray authoring houses these days.

It’s also worth noting how dynamic the H1080FD’s images tend to look, as the high brightness output ensures images have plenty of punch without looking anywhere near as washed out as I would have expected. This is especially true if you’re using the Boost lamp output mode (something at least worth trying as it doesn’t distort black levels as much as similar systems on some competing models).

However, there are inevitable signs of the H1080FD’s budget nature beyond the occasional rogue hue and crushed black level.

First of all, images – especially very dark ones or shots with clear blue skies – sometimes look a bit noisy. Next, “medium light” images with a mix of light and dark content sometimes look a bit muted compared to more universal dark or light images.

In very dark scenes, it also seemed to me that there was a slight variation in hue in different parts of the image – although this is only noticeable with content that is almost entirely black.

Elsewhere, I found “Halo 3 ODST” feeds from my Xbox 360 not looking as rich in black levels as regular video feeds – a situation seen recently with Samsung’s LED LCD TVs. However, the H1080FD doesn’t have the HDMI black level adjustment solution that the Samsung TVs offered.

Another odd discovery is that the H1080FD doesn’t seem happy playing 1080p/24 Blu-ray outputs. The weirdness started when my Pioneer LX91 Blu-ray deck’s HDMI “handshake” with the projector resulted in a standard 720p output – despite the projector being a native Full HD resolution. Then, when I forced the Blu-ray output to 1080p/24, the saturation levels and overall hue of the projector changed in a really quite distracting way. Still, 1080p/60 worked absolutely fine, so I don’t see the 1080p/24 issue as a major disruption to the H1080FD’s casual audience.

One thing I predicted when I found out the H1080FD used DLP technology that could certainly be a big problem: the rainbow effect.

This phenomenon, caused by the single-chip DLP color wheel, shows streaks of pure red, green, and blue that momentarily dart into your peripheral vision as you move your eyes across the image. In fact, the H1080FD’s problem is severe enough to be easily visible over very bright parts of the image without having to move your eyes – especially when panning. It should be emphasized here that not everyone sees the rainbow effect. But while I’m generally not as affected by it as some of my friends, I’ve noticed it regularly with the H1080FD.

A couple of other issues I have with the H1080FD are a) it runs a bit louder than I’d like, especially in Boost Lamp mode, and b) the vents are on the sides of the projector and the rather clumsy lens design both let a lot of light into your room.

Normally, when the H1080FD’s picture judging is complete, I would pass judgment at this point. But to make it even more user-friendly for plug-and-play audiences, it has a built-in 5W mono speaker so you can accompany your images with sound without having to upgrade a separate audio system.

Of course, this solution is hardly ideal for movie watching, partly because of the inevitable lack of raw audio performance, but also because the sound is produced at such a distance from the image it’s supposed to accompany. In fact, in my room setup, the projector is behind my viewing position, so the audio/video offset couldn’t be more extreme!

To be fair, the audio quality produced by the speaker really isn’t bad; Decent volumes can be achieved and the mix is ​​clearer than I would expect from a mono speaker. So I would definitely say the sound is good enough to work for a casual gaming session or sporting event.

“‘Verdict”‘

While there are clear indications of the H1080FD’s budget nature in its build quality and some aspects of its performance, it’s still good enough to warrant at least an audition if you’re looking for an amazingly affordable “part-time” projector in the market.

points in detail

• value 9

• functions 7

• picture quality 7

• draft 6

Call it drab, call it boring, call it frugal and conservative, but releasing the PS3 Slim is easily the most sensible move Sony has made in its donkey years. Where it limits the functionality of the original PS3, it does so in ways that don’t really matter, and where it improves on the original console, it does so in ways that offer real, tangible benefits. It’s not a major upgrade for existing PS3 owners, but neither should it ever be. Instead, this is a machine aimed squarely at those trying to decide between the Microsoft and Sony consoles. Sony knows this is the only big chance to get back into the current-gen console wars. Under these conditions, I would call the PS3 Slim a success.

Let’s start with the biggest change: the physical design. The PS3 Slim, which sits alongside the old PlayStation 3, is actually around 15mm lower than the original, but a good 40mm narrower and – most importantly – just over 20mm thinner, giving it a nice low profile under your TV gives. It’s not a bold statement like the original PS3, but rather a more understated box that goes well with the rest of your AV kit. Gone is the beautiful glossy finish. Gone is the Spider-Man font, replaced with a plain PS3 logo.

Those smooth, touch-sensitive power and eject buttons have also been replaced with a pair of flat, circular buttons with little travel, although these still glow nicely when pressed. I know some (Hugo) have called the Slim “simple” while others (Gordon) have even called it “naff,” but in the flesh it’s just a little quiet and understated. Importantly, while the new PS3 may look cheaper than the old one, it doesn’t necessarily feel cheap. In fact, I’d say it feels more solid and sturdy than my Xbox 360 Elite, although it’s actually a bit lighter. The only downside to the new look? Without the overpriced tripod accessories, it’s not quite as stable when it’s on its side.

HDMI 1.3a, S/PDIF and standard PlayStation A/V ports on the back still handle the output to your TV and sound system, while we’ve got Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11g Wi-Fi to connect to your router and the get internet. On the front we’re limited to two USB ports – although that was also the case on the 40GB and later 80GB PS3 – and the multi-card reader seems to be going into the dustbin of history, but I can’t do that either say is a real disaster for gamers. You can still connect a camera or MP3 player via USB, and how many of us have really taken the memory card off our camera and plugged it straight into the PS3? As with removing the old option to install a Linux distro, the point is to remove features that the majority of users won’t miss and focus on those that they will. I know some of us are still mourning the end of backwards compatibility, but I guess we’ll just have to get used to it as it hasn’t returned with the PS3 Slim.

Two other factors make a big difference in the average living room. First, the combination of the new 45nm Cell processor, a smaller nVidia RSX GPU, and a host of efficiency improvements mean the PS3 Slim uses around 50 percent of the power of the old model in every situation (under 100W when gaming and less than 1W in standby, as opposed to over 200W and almost 2W on the old PS3). This actually makes it a less juice-hungry console than the Xbox 360 Elite (around 120W in gameplay, under 2W in standby). Over the console’s lifecycle, this will significantly reduce your electricity bills, and that’s presumably one reason why the new console uses a smaller, tape-deck-style power cord instead of the larger kettles used by its predecessor and (in modified form) the Xbox 360

The other benefit of the new Cell and RSX processors is that the PS3 Slim runs cooler than the old PS3. That inevitably makes it quieter. If you thought the existing PS3 was quiet, prepare for a shock: the new model is eerily lacking in noise. It’s not quiet, but I’d put it on par with, say, a basic idle laptop or a quiet PVR. Even when accessing a game or a Blu-ray disc, the volume remains low, meaning the PS3 Slim doesn’t have the irritating disc hiss of the Wii. Whether I was playing Flower, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5, or the Uncharted 2 multiplayer beta, I couldn’t get the volume up to the level of my old PS3, let alone the windy young hooligan Falcon-powered Xbox 360 Elite. Well, I might only have one super-quiet model, but if you’re looking to buy a console that doubles as a media player then that’s a real benefit of the PS3.

The other, of course, is Blu-ray playback. There are many cheaper Blu-ray players on the market today and a range of connected media players you can have for well under £100. Nevertheless, the PS3 performs well in both respects. While I can’t say I’ve seen a huge range of Blu-ray players to compare the PS3 to, it’s fairly quick when loading discs and the playback quality is at least as good as other budget decks, that I’ve looked at. Additionally, the Slim now streams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreams to a receiver via HDMI, which is good news if you have the appropriate home theater kit – although the old PS3 still supports both standards, but instead the decoding takes place in the console and outputs multi-channel PCM.

Meanwhile, the PS3 itself has become an increasingly capable media player with every firmware upgrade, and of course that follows with the PS3 Slim. As much as I love the Xbox 360’s NXE interface, I have to say that Sony’s XMB remains a better interface for browsing and viewing different types of media, and I was surprised at how quickly, seamlessly and non-intrusively the PS3 Slim picked up this media waiting on my Windows 7 PC (and the same should be true for any DNLA compliant server). Format support is a bit conservative, but H.264, MPEG-2, AVCHD, DivX, and WMV video are all handled with ease, along with MP3 and WMA audio. The PS3 also has no trouble streaming unprotected iTunes Plus files directly from my PC.

Video and audio playback quality is excellent, with the Cell processor upscaling and enhancing low-resolution files. Best of all, the latest version 3.0 of the PS3’s firmware has added native support for BBC iPlayer; You can stream shows straight from the BBC in near SD broadcast quality – and even the Nintendo Wii can’t claim that!

Of course, there’s one area where Sony lags behind Microsoft: movie downloads. While Microsoft has been offering HD and SD rentals on the Xbox Live Marketplace for a number of years, PS3 owners in the UK are still waiting for Sony’s European movie download service to launch. Luckily the wait should be over in November. Whether we then get the 12,000 TV episodes and 2,200 movies to delight our American cousins ​​is undoubtedly a licensing issue, but if we do, it may not be an advantage Microsoft enjoys for long.

In terms of usability and built-in functionality, the PS3 Slim scores highly. There are still some quibbles – I’d still say the Dual Shock 3 lags behind the 360 ​​controller in terms of comfort and accuracy, while its motion-sensitive properties are severely underutilized – but it really is a great piece of hardware. Unfortunately, the hardware was never the PS3’s problem – it was always the cost and the games. On the latter side, the PS3 has yet to deliver on what it promises. When I think of exclusive titles on both machines, only a handful on PS3 – Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, Infamous, Killzone 2 – come to mind that rival the best on Microsoft’s platform. I still can’t see any real long-term appeal in the much-hyped PS3 virtual home world, and we still have a situation where most cross-platform games look and run better on the theoretically inferior machine (although most of us now accept that the strengths of the 360’s GPU versus the PS3’s RSX outweigh any difference in CPU performance).

”'(Middle)Uncharted 2 could be reason enough to get a PS3 Slim(/Middle)“’

But this picture could change. This is the first year the two consoles have evened in the run-up to Christmas, with Uncharted 2 and Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time on the PS3 beating out Forza 3 and Left 4 Dead 2 on the 360. Sony has MAG, Gran Turismo 5 and God of War III early next year to take on Mass Effect 2, Crackdown 2 and Alan Wake. After that, things get more interesting with Sony’s motion controller and Microsoft’s more ambitious Project Natal, but there’s a real sense that Sony has finally rediscovered the storyline it lost around E3 2006. I think it’s high time we ditched the idea that the PS3 is going to give us better, more technically advanced games in the long run while Microsoft is abandoning the 360 ​​- both companies are keen to maintain a long lifecycle of this generation – but I definitely think it will give us our share of great ones. That’s enough.

Cost is still an issue. We all cheered when Sony announced a reasonable price of £249 for the PS3 Slim, but Microsoft’s drop of the Elite to £199 was a very effective spoiler. However, as Hugo mentioned, it’s worth remembering the long-term cost of ownership. You get 802.11g Wi-Fi in the box (although media streamers would have preferred Sony to match Microsoft’s forthcoming 802.11n adapter), and you don’t pay for Xbox Live Gold membership either. I don’t think anyone outside of Sony is under the illusion that PSN is an equally good service, but it works well enough and the revamped PSN Store is constantly being improved. It’s also worth noting that many retailers are already bundling the €249 PS3 Slim with a free game, and you can expect more deals in the run up to Christmas.

Overall, the PS3 Slim feels like the console Sony needed to release at the time. I suspect most gamers who just want to play games will still opt for the cheaper, hardcore-focused 360, but with its quiet Blu-ray playback and media-savvy UI, the Slim is a solid choice for the mainstream user. When making car analogies I was talking about the PS3 as a BMW to the Ford Focus of the Xbox 360. The PS3 Slim is more of a VW Golf and at this stage of the game that’s exactly what Sony needs and a more realistic choice for them Majority.

“‘Verdict”‘

A more focused, affordable and surprisingly quiet PS3. This is the hardware Sony needs to win over the hearts and minds of the mainstream. Now only the software is missing.

There are a number of printers at the entry-level end of the inkjet market, but few at the price point of HP’s new Deskjet D1660. You can pick one up for well under £30 from internet providers like Amazon, so what do you get for that kind of money?

Few printer manufacturers give a thought to how difficult it is to photograph a printer clad entirely in glossy black plastic that reflects everything in its immediate vicinity, showing every fingerprint and particle of dust. The Deskjet D1660 does both, but we accept that neither will cause problems for the average customer.

As you would expect, the printer’s design is fairly simple. It has an average width for an A4 printer, but is considerably less deep than most. It uses HP’s proprietary print path, which in this case takes paper from a fold-down tray at the front and feeds it back out at the top of the input stack. There’s no output tray as such, but the tech is cheap and cheery and works surprisingly well. Since the sheets of paper don’t have a cover, you’ll probably want to remove them and store them when you’re not printing, which is a bit fiddly.

There is no control panel on the machine and a single power button with an inset green LED indicates when the machine is active. A single USB port on the back is the only way to get data into the printer, and a small, black block power supply provides low-voltage power.

Pull down a small cover at the front and the two ink and head cartridges move to the center of the carriage for replacement. There’s a black and a tri-color cartridge that snap into place in a jiffy. The software is basic but sufficient, and includes the HP Solution Center and drivers for Windows and OS X. Given its simplicity, installation takes a while.

HP claims speeds of 20 pages per minute for black and white printing and 16 pages per minute for color, both in draft mode. We always test in Normal mode, as we believe few people use draft on a regular basis, and we measured a speed of 4.41 pages per minute on our five-page black text print.

It can take up to 18 seconds for the printer to start printing the first page of a multi-page job, so it’s not surprising that with a 20-page document, where initial processing accounts for a smaller percentage of the whole, print speed increases, in this case to 5.36 ppm.

Our black-color graphics test, another five-page document, returned a speed of 2.56 pages per minute. Neither of these speeds are spectacular, but subjectively the machine is reasonably snappy and for the occasional print they’re aimed at – the quoted monthly duty cycle is just 750 pages – long wait times are unlikely.

The print quality of the machine is very good. Black text is remarkably clean for an entry-level inkjet printer, with little ink bleeding into the paper, resulting in crisp and legible text down to small point sizes.

Color graphics are good too, with solid fill colors, light tones, and good registration of black text over colored backgrounds. Finally, photo prints on HP Advanced Photo Paper vary depending on the print mode selected. Some noticeable banding and jitter patterns are visible in large solid areas in Normal mode.

In the best mode, which takes a little longer – 1:19 for a 15 x 10cm print – these disappear and the reproduction is closer to what you would expect from an HP inkjet printer. It must be said that this device is not primarily intended for photo printing, but in the “Best” mode the colors are natural and there is a lot of detail in both brightly lit and shadowed areas of the image.

The Deskjet D1660 uses the HP 300 and 300XL cartridges, which are freely available at great discount prices. The standard cartridges are fairly small in capacity, but this reflects the type of intermittent use that many customers will have from the machine. The XL cartridges have a higher capacity and are intended for those who print more regularly.

Using the XL versions gives a page cost of 4.30p for ISO black pages and 10.25p for ISO color pages, both including 0.7p for paper. While this cost may seem high, it actually holds up pretty well with inkjet printers that cost 2 to 4 times as much. We’d expect printing costs to be higher from cheap machines than more expensive ones, but there really isn’t much of a downside here.

verdict

This is a pretty good printer for the money. It is very easy to use and in most cases just gets on with the job. The setup is basic, but it’s quite fast for its class and delivers quality results. Printing costs are high but will likely go down and will always be slightly higher when the asking price is low. If money is tight, the Deskjet D1660 is a great way to spend it.

points in detail

• print speed 8

• functions 5

• value 10

• print quality 9

To press

While LG’s 32LH7000 is remarkably cheap for an unusually well-equipped 32-inch TV, it doesn’t really make the best first impression.

First off, when you first take it out of the box, a large sticky tag on one side of the TV proudly proclaims in big letters that the TV is ‘Perfect Slim 39.7mm’. Oh that’s pretty cool I thought.

It was only then that I noticed, in small letters underneath, an apologetic explanation that the Perfect Slim design is only for the 42-inch LH7000 set. The 32LH7000 is actually almost twice as deep as 39.7mm. uh oh

After moving on from this disappointment, I quickly picked up another one. Because while the 32LH7000’s design is typically (for LG) a high-concept and stylish affair, it’s also quite large by today’s 32-inch standards. The bezel extends further on all sides than most TVs, a design decision taken to the extreme with the bottom edge lifting the screen a good five to six inches off the glossy desktop stand.

It’s important to stress that this clunky approach is no clumsy accident by LG. The 32LH7000’s clean, minimalist finish on the bezel, the dramatically large and illuminated power indicator “circle” below the screen, and a bottom edge that’s curved, transparent, and infused with a sort of orange hue show that the TV’s aesthetics are fully conscious .

But while similar chassis-heavy designs have worked reasonably well on larger-screen LG TVs, it all looks too cumbersome for my liking when wrapped around a mere 32-inch screen.

The last bad first impression comes shockingly from the pictures of the 32LH7000. For using the out-of-the-box Vivid picture preset, which LG has chosen as its preferred shipping option, the pictures look depressingly bad. I hope I can salvage them later when I get around to properly calibrating the TV.

Thankfully, things start looking up from here. First of all, the connectivity of the 32LH7000 is really excellent for such an affordable model. Four HDMIs catch the eye first, as does a USB port hidden directly above. This USB is also unusually talented in that it can play DivX videos alongside MP3 and JPEG files – including DivX HD. In other words, it’s every internet geek’s dream come true.

More geek love is likely inspired by another connection you can’t actually see: Bluetooth. This allows you to a) wirelessly transfer pictures and music files from a Bluetooth phone to the TV or b) listen to the TV sound via Bluetooth headphones.

A final jack of note is an RS-232C port, allowing the TV to be controlled over a remote AV network.

When you call up the 32LH7000’s on-screen menus to improve picture quality, the now-familiar LG on-screen menu system becomes visible, with its attractive combination of large icons and clear text.

The menus are also impressively crammed with tweaks and options – so much so that the Imaging Science Foundation endorsed the TV, resulting in two ISF setting modes under the TV’s presets. If you feel like it – which you probably won’t do with a 32-inch TV, to be honest – you can pay an ISF technician to come out and professionally calibrate the TV to match your specific living room environment.

Among the most interesting of the tweaks found in the menus are separate backlight and brightness settings, a multi-level dynamic contrast system, a dynamic color enhancer, a multi-level noise reduction system, a multi-level gamma setting, a wide color space setting, and perhaps most important of all, a 100Hz system .

Given that 100Hz systems can sometimes produce processing side effects, it’s nice to see that LG has provided low or high settings for its 100Hz feature – as well as the option to turn it off entirely if you are really dissatisfied with the way it works with any particular source.

Of course I chose to calibrate the 32LH7000 with my own set of test signals and discs. But it’s worth adding here that LG has carefully outfitted the TV with a Picture Wizard tool that allows even the most tech-savvy user to improve the picture quality of the device by following a few simple built-in test signals and accompanying explanations.

And that brings me to the big question: did I manage to turn the sow’s ear, which is the factory Vivid image of the 32LH7000 by default, into the imaging equivalent of a silk handbag?

Sort of. But man, was that hard work. And boy, was I frustrated when my probably slightly buggy review unit inexplicably automatically switched back to the awful Vivid preset every few minutes…

Anyhow, the main things I had to do to get images on track were to choose a different, more comfortable starting point for the image preset – I ended up choosing Natural mode – and then backlighting , sharply reducing the device’s contrast and brightness and sharpness settings, while also gently toning down the color saturation levels.

I would also strongly recommend the following: the noise reduction circuitry is never set higher than ‘Low’ and is completely disabled for HD and even DVD playback. the gamma setting is never set higher than medium; and the TruMotion 100Hz system is never set higher than Low.

Once you’ve completed your calibration work, you’re suddenly free to appreciate the very personable hues of the set. These remain extremely vibrant through even the worst excesses of Vivid mode, but also look extremely natural 90 to 95 per cent of the time.

The recalibrated 32LH7000 also gets a chance to show how well the 100Hz system reduces stuttering, even when it’s only set to ‘Low’. A combination of high brightness performance and respectable, if not exactly stunning, black levels allows images to look winningly dynamic even in mostly dark scenes that give LCD screens such a headache.

Initially, I didn’t feel that the 32LH7000 delivered HD sources with as much “snap” as I would ideally have liked. But when you think about it, there’s something endearingly natural about the set’s medium-sharp approach to HD’s added detail and clarity – especially as the 100Hz system ensures HD scenes are rarely subject to LCD’s motion blur and judder problems.

However, despite its low price, exceptional number of features and occasionally superb images, I can’t count on giving the 32LH7000 a TrustedReviews award.

Part of the reason is that the 100Hz system isn’t quite as “transparent” as I’d like. In other words, even when using the Low setting, the extra fluidity and clarity that comes with motion is accompanied by some noticeable processing artifacts, such as: B. twitchy edges on fast camera pans and a slightly stuttering approach on some action-packed shots.

The 32LH7000’s rescaling of standard definition footage isn’t quite as clever as we’ve seen from some competing brands either, with tones losing a bit of accuracy from really inferior sources and a hint of motion blur creeping into the process.

The 32LH7000’s audio, meanwhile, is a bit hit and miss. On the downside, the speakers can get loud and are great for bringing out subtle details in a good movie or drama mix. However, the set also pushes the high end of the audio spectrum too aggressively, causing loud scenes to sometimes sound harsh and many voices – male and female – sound slightly hissing.

“‘Verdict”‘

While not quite worthy of an unqualified TrustedReviews recommendation, the 32LH7000’s healthy spec sheet and aggressive price point certainly make it impossible to ignore.

How we test televisions

We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to properly compare features. We will always tell you what we find. We never accept money to rate a product.

Learn more about how we test in our Ethics Policy.

Used as the main TV during the period

Tested over a week

Tested with industry calibrated tools, discs and real world use

Tested with broadcast content (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs

points in detail

• functions 9

• value 9

• picture quality 8

• design 8

• sound quality 7

characteristics

All-in-ones for small offices and home offices are becoming more sophisticated and better suited to the needs of remote workers. This latest HP offering includes photo printing, full faxing, duplex printing and wireless connectivity. HP has also taken a step to lower printing costs, a long-term bugbear for many inkjet customers, claiming that prints from the OfficeJet 6500 wireless can cost up to 40 percent less than from an equivalent color laser printer. Given that there aren’t many color lasers that cost under £180, least of all multifunction devices like this, it probably makes sense.

Featuring HP’s new black and white business inkjet finish, the OfficeJet 6500 Wireless certainly looks functional. Its nearly flat 30-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) has a sweeping quill at the end of the input tray, and a mix of textured and high-gloss black gives the machine character.

The comparably small and therefore all the busier control panel still includes separate functional areas for scan, photo, copy and fax and there’s a full number pad for fax dialing as well as 100 speed dials, which should be enough for most SOHO customers.

Although there is no color LCD display, the two-line, backlit, mono LCD provides sufficient feedback for most applications. HP scrolls a variety of different status and instructional messages through the screen to provide feedback. Below the control panel is the machine’s single input tray, which can hold up to 250 sheets of plain paper or, alternatively, glossy paper for photo prints.

As usual with HP devices, the output tray fits directly over the input tray and, when fully extended, protrudes far forward from the front of the device, as it must be when printing. There are two memory card slots on the lower left of the front, but these are no longer suitable for CompactFlash cards, only for MemoryCard, SD and xD. There’s also no USB socket on the front, which is a shame as they can now often be used to print from and scan directly to USB drives.

The rear has ports for USB, Ethernet, and a fax cord and optional handset, but many customers will opt for the wireless connection, and the OfficeJet 6500 Wireless is remarkably easy to set up. Although you’ll need to temporarily connect the device to a PC via USB – there’s a cable in the box – once you’ve selected wireless connection, the whole setup is completed automatically. You won’t even be asked for your WEP key. We are still considering whether this is an advantage for usability or a disadvantage for network security.

The device uses a plug-in printhead with four ink cartridges that plug into the head itself. This arrangement and the appearance of the cartridges themselves suggest that either HP took a good look at Canon’s cartridge design or that Canon is making the supplies for this device. It’s obvious that Canon has been making HP laser machines for years, so perhaps the collaboration will now extend to inkjet printers as well.

The standard software package you would expect from a modern HP all-in-one, including basic OCR and management of scanning and printing, is provided and the device can be connected to versions of Windows 2000 or later, or OS X 10.4 and higher will . Using Linux is supported by HPLIP and is known to work with versions of SuSE, Fedora, Ubuntu and Debian.

The ISO standard for speed tests seems to have made some impression on the silly numbers often given for print speeds. HP specifies a much more rational 8.2 ppm for black and white printing and 5.4 ppm for color in normal printing mode. Our five-page text print delivered a real speed of 4.17ppm, but when we increased the document length to 20ppm, it was 8.96ppm, more than half appm faster than the rated speed.

Our black text and color graphics print returned 3.90ppm, a bit slower than claimed but not bad overall. However, it has to be said that the device fiddles around a lot with its ink cartridges before printing. This wasted 15 to 38 seconds per job during testing, presumably depending on what needed charging.

Photo print speeds, on the other hand, are pretty amazing for a machine that doesn’t specialize in image printing. A 15 x 10 cm photo print from the PC onto A4 paper took just 51 seconds, and when we were printing from an SD card onto a 15 x 10 cm blank the time reduced to 41 seconds.

You might expect quality to suffer when printing at these speeds, but our results were up to HP’s usual high standards. Color transitions are smooth and while there is some loss of shadow detail, it should be relatively easy to compensate.

The print quality on plain paper is also fine. While it doesn’t match HP’s claimed laser quality, it’s still very clean, with minimal ink bleed. The only place this isn’t true is when copying black text. Printing, while still adequate, is a little blurrier, and bold headings look particularly overcolored. Color printing on plain paper is good, with vibrant colors and accurate registration.

One set of color cartridges is available for this device, although two black cartridges are available. The higher yield XL set offers 700 color pages and 1,200 black and white pages, putting it at the lower end of the laser printer world. Cartridge prices are pretty reasonable too, giving a cost per page of 2.28p for black and white and 5.41p for color, both including 0.7p for paper, as we always do.

This cost is more than comparable to entry-level color laser printers. In fact, HP’s claim of a 40 percent saving, especially when you factor in color printing costs, looks conservative.

verdict

The OfficeJet 6500 Wireless is a well-equipped SOHO all-in-one, and HP has obviously gone to great lengths to reduce the cost of ownership. Print speeds are actually close to what the manufacturer claims, and unexpectedly fast in the case of photo prints. The only missing feature we could wish for is that USB socket on the front, but maybe that’s unkind.

points in detail

• print speed 8

• functions 9

• value 9

• print quality 8

characteristics

To press

to scan

Today I have to admit that I feel a bit girly. In touch with my feminine side. Or at least not quite as butch and muscle-pumping macho as usual (stop laughing, Riyad!).

The reason behind this oddly feminine turn of events is LG’s 22LU5000: a small “designer” LCD TV that perfectly complements the Lady of the house is matched stand-up collar and last but not least rear and outer paneling in bold orange.

To your average grumpy man, with his penchant for black metallic finishes and sharp angular lines, this description of the 22LU5000 probably sounds as sympathetic as a Tupperware party. But that’s what they (probably) said about the Apple iPod when it first came out. And I’m not ashamed – just a little worried – to say that I actually enjoy looking at the 22LU5000, despite being happily married and even managing to conceive a child. Imagine that.

But what makes the 22LU5000 special is that it thoughtfully offers a man a high-tech excuse to like him in the form of a full HD resolution. Yes, despite LG only having a 22-inch screen, LG has managed to squeeze 1,920 x 1,080 pixels into the 22LU5000, giving it a head start over the 22LU4000 I was looking at a few weeks ago and making it the smallest Full HD screen I’ve seen. wowza

While that sounds great on paper, I think there’s a pretty good argument that a Full HD resolution on a 22-inch screen is just an almighty waste of time. I mean, some 26″ TVs have a hard time convincingly showing the relatively simple difference between HD and standard definition, so it’s hard to believe that a 22″ TV can show the much finer difference between an HD Ready and a Full – HD picture can show.

But hey – I’m meant to test this TV, not prejudge it, so I’ll shut up on this topic for now and hope I’ll be proven wrong later.

Less controversial is the 22LU5000’s connectivity, which is decent enough with two HDMI ports, a component video input and a PC connection. I was also initially pleased to see a USB port, but like the 22LU4000, this port is for system update data only. In other words, you cannot view your photos with it.

In addition to the Full HD resolution, the TV’s Picture Wizard function offers us more than most 22-inch TVs. This conveniently presents you with a set of well-designed test signals, along with explanations of how you should use them to optimize the TV’s picture quality.

Again, I guess you could argue that this is a bit “overkill” for a 22″ TV, but personally, I always appreciate someone helping me get the most out of ANY TV, no matter how small it may be .

Even more good early news notes that the 22LU5000 boasts an astonishingly high (for the sub-26in market) contrast ratio of 20,000:1, suggesting this TV might actually have a decent black level response.

Other notable little things include: a power saving mode that lets you adjust the TV’s operating power or even turn off the screen entirely when you’re watching something you only need the sound for; a dynamic adjustment of the backlight; and even an Advanced Control picture menu with such subtleties as a dynamic contrast system, a dynamic color enhancer, a multi-level noise reduction circuit, a gamma adjustment, a black level enhancer, an edge enhancement circuit and an eye protection mode that compresses the dynamic range of the picture and reduces retinal stress.

And so to the moment of truth. Does the 22LU5000’s Full HD resolution really take its performance to a different level than the significantly (£100 at least) cheaper 22LU4000?

Actually, it’s pretty hard to say. Because although the 22LU5000’s images look better than the 22LU4000’s, I’m not entirely convinced that this is due to the extra pixels.

The 22LU5000 certainly looks sympathetically sharp with HD, but I didn’t feel that it was obviously sharper and more detailed than the ‘just’ HD Ready 22LU4000 – at least from any reasonable viewing distance.

Put your face right up to the screen and set the TV’s aspect ratio to “Only” pixel by pixel, no overscanning mode, and I think it’s possible that Blu-rays will look marginally cleaner. But even then, it’s a very small thing.

Much more impressive is how much brighter and more dynamic the images from the 22LU5000 appear. The 22LU4000 did indeed impress on both counts compared to the typically boring, flat pictures of most small LCD TVs we see, but the 22LU5000 takes it a step further.

Light fare, such as you’d find watching daytime TV – probably the most common source this “second room” TV will entertain – looks strikingly vibrant and punchy, with a relatively high light output and some rich but also natural colors to make up for it ensuring that the image is present easily compete with the sun-drenched surroundings of a sun lounge or conservatory.

I was also mostly impressed with the 22LU5000’s black level response. This key part of any picture performance is all but ignored by many 35mm TVs, but dark scenes on the 22LU5000 look surprisingly believable, with impressively little of the usual gray haze hanging over everything.

There is a price to pay for this black level performance in the form of lacking enough shadow detail to make really dark parts of the image look a bit blank. And there are also subtle and mercifully thin strips of inconsistent backlighting along the left and right edges of the screen. But none of these issues are really serious, and so it’s the positive aspects of the screen’s black levels that you end up taking with you.

The 22LU5000 also surprised me by handling standard definition images really well for a Full HD TV and upscaling them to the screen’s native resolution without introducing the smoothness and noise that we still often find in affordable Full HD – Watch TV.

Overall, the 22LU5000’s pictures are tremendous for a 22-inch LCD TV. But inevitably, the TV isn’t really perfect.

That’s because, alongside the minor black level issues already mentioned, the TV predictably suffers from motion blur and judder, and even more predictably delivers slightly unassuming audio. There is virtually no bass at all, making the highs at times overpowering and wincingly harsh and tinny, while the vocals tend to sound “breathy” and therefore unconvincing.

“‘Verdict”‘

While I can’t bring myself to fully recommend a second room TV with stunning sound, the 22LU5000 certainly deserves praise for its amazingly decent pictures and eye-catching – as long as you like that kind of thing! – Design.

The extra brightness and dynamism of the set makes the less expensive 22LU4000 a superior option for use in a conservatory or possibly a kitchen. However, given that the benefits of the 22LU5000’s extra resolution aren’t particularly pronounced over the HD Ready 22LU4000, if you’re looking for a TV for a reasonably dark study or bedroom you might want to save up a few bobs as well and go for it instead the cheaper model.

How we test televisions

We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to properly compare features. We will always tell you what we find. We never accept money to rate a product.

Learn more about how we test in our Ethics Policy.

Used as the main TV during the period

Tested over a week

Tested with industry calibrated tools, discs and real world use

Tested with broadcast content (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs

points in detail

• functions 8

• value 8

• picture quality 8

• draft 9

• sound quality 5

characteristics

It’s a testament to the sheer size of Panasonic’s 2009 TV range that, despite testing what feels like dozens of the brand’s models over the past few months, we still managed to get our hands on a range today get that we haven’t dealt with before. This series is the G15 range, with two models: the 46-inch TX-P46G15 and the 42-inch TX-P42G15, which is now on my test bench.

Probably the most helpful way to start this review is to describe the key differences between the P42G15 and the stripped down Viera P42G10, which we looked at about a month ago.

One obvious difference is immediately apparent, as the P42G15’s desktop stand sports an attractive glossy silver finish, as opposed to the black of the P42G10. Otherwise, the TVs appear to be aesthetically identical, with glossy black bezels saved from monotony by a small arch and a splash of silvery white at the bottom edge. For my money, the P42G15’s silver stand definitely gives it a style edge over its cheaper sibling.

The P42G15 also outperforms the P42G10 in terms of connections, providing four HDMIs instead of three – one on the side and three on the back. In addition, the P42G15’s SD card slot can play MPEG2 and DivX files, as well as AVCHD and JPEG still images supported by the P42G10.

It also turns out that the LAN port hidden on the back of the P42G15 isn’t just there for future Freesat functionality like the P42G10’s corresponding socket is. Because the LAN socket of the P42G15 can also be used to access files stored on a connected, DLNA-capable PC or Panasonic’s online service VieraCast.

VieraCast, as discussed at length in our recent Panasonic P46Z1B review, is actually a pretty decent performance. Early demonstrations of the system had led me to expect precious little interesting British content, but actually the three main providers currently on offer – Eurosport, YouTube and Picasa – make for a fairly satisfactory package. The presentation is top notch too, and there’s always the potential – even the likelihood – that other service providers will show up on VieraCast at some point in the future.

Having covered the key differences between the P42G15 and P42G10, I can put the comparisons behind and remain isolated to just the P42G15.

If you’re not reading, you probably noticed I mentioned Freesat back there. As with all models in the top half of Panasonic’s range, the plasma-based P42G15 comes with a built-in Freesat tuner, including the ability to receive the digital satellite platform’s HD services. Panasonic is still one of only two brands to offer Freesat TVs so far – the other being LG. The TV also carries Freeview and analogue tuners and supports separate electronic program guides for its two digital broadcast providers.

Another potential key feature of the P42G15 is its 600Hz sub-field system, in which the TV calculates and inserts enough additional, new frames of image data to match the 200Hz systems now appearing on some LCD TVs. to blush with obvious inferiority. However, the reality is that all this talk about different Hz numbers needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, as once you get past 100Hz the different systems tend to operate in different ways and even to some extent achieve different goals.

The one thing we can certainly look forward to from the 600Hz system is significantly less judder on pans – particularly on HD cameras – than lower-Hz Panasonic screens.

Other key specs to know about the P42G15 are that it has Full HD resolution – still a rarity in the 42-inch plasma world – and enjoys one of those “infinite” dynamic contrast ratios, of which Panasonic likes to talk. Although just below the infinity logo used to advertise this fact, a slightly more prosaic – albeit still huge – odds of 2,000,000:1 is displayed.

Rounding out the P42G15’s rich feature set are a handful of helpful user tweaks in the on-screen menus, including a simple on/off color management system; an Eco mode that adjusts picture settings based on the lighting conditions in your room; a no-fuss noise reduction system; and last but not least, the option to toggle the set’s Intelligent Frame Creation technology on or off – the system that creates the extra image frames that lead to the 600Hz claims.

In fact, in evaluating the images of the P42G15, I came back to the P42G10 model I was referring to at the beginning of this review. Because as far as my eyes can tell, the pictures of P42G15 and P42G10 are peas from the same pod.

Of course, that’s not a bad thing considering the P42G10 received a 9 for image quality. And it’s pretty much as we’d expect, as the P42G15 uses one of Panasonic’s new NeoPDP plasma panels, rather than ‘just’ the latest version of Panasonic’s previous plasma technology.

What’s particularly striking, as with all Panasonic’s NeoPDP screens to date, is how bright the images can look compared to the brand’s non-NeoPDP designs. Using the set’s dynamic preset – with contrast curbed a little to tame the noise – gives you an image that looks almost as aggressively bright as a typical LCD screen.

It’s also worth noting that the NeoPDP panels allow you to sacrifice much of that new brightness in favor of greatly reduced power consumption if your room is fairly dark and/or you’re into green themes. However, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been too busy trying to get the thrill out of the extra brightness to really bother with the screen’s eco-potential. We’re sorry…

But what’s most important about the P42G15’s brightness is the way it achieves it without – at all – sacrificing the black level capabilities that have long been associated with Panasonic plasma TVs. This means your average dark movie scene can enjoy a truly spectacular level of dynamics, as bright whites and rich colors can sit side-by-side in the same frame as deep, rich blacks seen only on the best LED competitor or Pioneer’s last KURO plasma.

Again, I’d like to point out that since the P42G15 is a plasma screen, when viewed from the side it doesn’t drop in contrast nearly as much as the vast majority of LCD TVs.

The P42G15 also gets a lot out of its 600 Hz system. Whether you’re watching Wimbledon in HD or standard definition, or watching a Blu-ray or DVD action movie, the images combine excellent motion sharpness with much less judder than we normally see from Panasonic. The difference between the P42G15 and Panasonic’s 400Hz S10 models is also clear in this crucial respect.

I was initially surprised to see Panasonic’s latest TV ad campaign focusing so heavily on the motion clarity of its 600Hz sets, but while I believe there’s room for further improvement in terms of motion fluidity, there isn’t Doubt you have a much better chance of catching a Federer forehand on a Panasonic 600Hz plasma TV than on any regular LCD TV we can think of.

It’s also worth noting that the P42G15’s 600Hz engine does an impressive job with little or no unwanted side effects such as flickering or edge flicker. I was also impressed with the HD detail and texture the P42G15 can pull up from favorite Blu-rays, and the lack of noise in the set’s rescaled Standard Def sources.

However, once that standard def point has been reached, there are TVs that manage to make standard definition look a bit sharper. And it must also be said that the dynamic picture preset, which I love so much in HD, can make some standard definition colors look far too exaggerated, resulting in much more contrast reduction than is required in HD pictures. For this reason, I would strongly advise anyone buying a P42G15 to spend some time calibrating the TV’s settings using a simple setup aid such as the Digital Video Essentials HD Basics Blu-ray Disc.

Other negatives find a shade or two of green that looks a bit off-balance and unsubtle compared to other colors in the TV’s palette, and a little more color banding than some other Full HD TVs.

But the P42G15’s pictures, once well calibrated, are still significantly better than most 42-inch TVs. And as they’re accompanied by a mostly clear, clean, reasonably strong, and well-distributed soundstage that’s just a little bass shy of being truly impressive, the P42G15 no doubt adds even more ammunition to our belief that the NeoPDP Panasonic screens are better than the brand’s budget models.

“‘Verdict”‘

While it takes a bit of initial work to get the most out of the P42G15, we wish Panasonic had put a little more effort into its picture presets, but it’s still quite capable of being an excellent TV.

Given that its picture quality doesn’t seem to differ from that of the cheaper (by a couple hundred pounds or so) P42G10, I have to say that this might be the model that’s ahead of the P42G15 if you’re bothered not at the latter model’s additional HDMI and multimedia/online talents. But this is a personal decision to be made by yourself, and no reason for me to downgrade the set’s grades.

How we test televisions

We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to properly compare features. We will always tell you what we find. We never accept money to rate a product.

Learn more about how we test in our Ethics Policy.

Used as the main TV during the period

Tested over a week

Tested with industry calibrated tools, discs and real world use

Tested with broadcast content (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs

points in detail

• functions 9

• value 8

• picture quality 9

• draft 6

• sound quality 8

characteristics