Panasonic TH-42PWD7UY 42-Inch EDTV-Ready Flat Panel Plasma TV
This is the best EDTV around !
It is almost 2 weeks since I have had this TV & I love it every bit. <br /> <br />Performance <br />As claimed by the manufacturer, this TV truly brings to life, all imaginable colors.  Many times, I just want to freeze the frame to enjoy the picture postcard like scenes. <br /> <br />This unit is exceptionally quiet.  Contrast is awesome & so is the brightness. It is more than you need. In fact, I had to reduce the brightness to below default value.  While watching Wide Screen DVDs, it is guaranteed to give you a Cinema like experience. <br /> <br />Watching conventional channels (analog & digital), this TV offers the best value for your money.  While I do not subscribe to HDTV programming, I have watched HDTV on a similar Panasonic EDTV TV at a friend's place & I may I add - the clarity was breath taking.   Features such as \\"Side bar Adjust\\" allow you to watch non-wide screen programs in \\"Normal\\" view without worrying about the over-sensitized \\"burn-in\\" issue by constantly refreshing the side bands. <br /> <br />Bottomline - Is it worth paying an extra $1000 for a HDTV unit when this EDTV can come so close.  Answer - Not unless you want to piss your $$$ away. <br /> <br />Design <br />Simple & sleek is how many of my envious pals described this TV. I spent an extra $600 to buy an Italian design Bello PVS-4260 stand which matches perfectly with this design. Hence, I did not have to deal with cumbersome wall mounts or other ugly TV stands that take away appeal of the Plasma. <br /> <br />Connections <br />I have an Onkyo home theatre receiver, a DVD player, Replay TV, Analog cable, Satellite Dish receiver & an Xbox.  I feed my analog cable & satellite to my Replay TV. The combined output from Replay TV is fed as one of the component video (RYB) inputs to Onkyo.  I connect my DVD player to Onkyo through the other component video input.  Now, the component output from Onkyo is fed to the Plasma display's Video 1. I had to buy 3 BNC connectors & as many component videocables from RadioShack to make this connection.  Finally, my Xbox uses S-Video of Video 2 of the Plasma.  Across the board, for audio, I used Red-White cables from my audio sources to Onkyo. <br />Finally, since this model lacks a built-in TV tuner, I was wondering about how to hook up my analog cable (over the wall).   I even contemplated buying an external TV tuner. Luckily, I did not have to do that as realized that my Replay TV was capable of tuning  <br />analog channels. <br /> <br /> <br />Drawbacks <br />* Analog cable signal might not have the best clarity.  Recommend you to get a cable box or a satellite receiver to enjoy this Plasma. <br />* Very few input ports to connect display.  Problem solved if you have a good home theatre receiver already. <br />