LG 42PW450T 42-inch Widescreen HD Ready 3D 600Hz Plasma TV with Freeview HD

+ Good Value
+ Freeview HD Quality is Great
+ Sound Quality is much better than either the Samsung or Panasonic Plasma i have had.
+ NO Cooling Fans and Very Low Transformer Noise for a Plasma TV
+ Very Good Looking.

- Refelective Screen

Finally bit the HD bullet after 15 years thinking I was very happy with my Sony Trinitrons. I read up endlessly on review websites until I decided it must be worth giving the 42" LG plasma PW450T a go, since after all, it scored 9/10 from users for picture quality and that was all I was interested in, not the 3D or Smart TV bells and whistles, just a crisp sharp picture for watching sport, news and nature/documentary progs.

The LG panel looks very smart and was easy to put together on its stand, and yes, the HD picture is pretty good when hooked up to a Sky HD box especially if you have never before watched HD at home.

However, be warned. Many of your favourite channels may be broadcast only in SD (standard definition) - BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, BBC News24, More4, any +1 channels etc, so buying a HD set can turn out to be a step backwards if it cannot handle SD channels well. This is called upscaling apparently and depends on the sophistication of the screen's circuitry. Clearly with a budget 3D set like this (and you are getting a big heavy beast of a plasma TV for just £400) corners must have been cut somewhere and it isn't just in the set being 720 lines HD Ready rather than the full HD 1028p resolution. SD channels are generally reproduced in a poor way, too often with jagged blurred and sparkly outlines (compared to the crisp sharp outlines produced by this set in HD), depending to an extent on the quality of the original programme broadcast.

Of course, even on an expensive high end HD set, SD channels will seem relatively soft in outline compared to the pin sharp image of HD broadasts, but believe me, you get what you pay for (as I'll explain in a second) and the LG 42PW450T just did not cut it with SD programmes. This was especially noticeable watching any channels with text banners on like BBC News24, Bloomberg, CNBC and such like. But it was not just the text, the presenters faces kept disappearing into a smudge of blurred pixels every time they moved.

As a result I just could not watch this TV after 48hrs of giving it my best shot so had to email the retailer to register a return within the 7 days allowed under Distance Selling regulations.

Worth noting as well that the screen is HIGHLY reflective compared to more expensive sets which use filters to subdue reflections on the glass and unless you are in a very dark room, reflections from furniture, lights etc will interfere with the clarity of the image even when watching HD broadcasts.

Also, I do not believe the review I read that most people will not be able to tell the difference between 720 HD Ready and 1028p full HD. I certainly could, once I had swapped the LG for a full works HD Sony.

One last point, the LG set is a nightmare to try and set up with the contrast/brightness/colour balance that you prefer. The pre-sets are soooo very different for standard tv, film, sport etc (sport was unwatchable with luminous green grass) and the menus to tweak them go on for ever. I found myself wanting to fiddle and try and improve the colour or brightness every time I changed channel.

I came to the conclusion that rather than be constantly irritated by the shortcomings of the LG set, I ought to spend enough to try and guarantee a quality picture in both SD and HD. After all, I might be watching this set for the next 15 years. So being a Sony devotee for the previous 30 years and despite some reviews suggesting Sony is now being overtaken by the likes of Samsung in HD technology (I find Samsung sets aesthetically just a little too 'bling'), I plumped for the Sony 40" HX723 LED panel, which with a 200hz frame refresh rate should have enough frame speed to handle sport well without blur or drag.

OK, it cost 50% more than the LG plasma (although with a fine S380 Sony Blu-ray player included in the package), yet it seemed to be the minimum spend to get an LED set that would handle fast moving sport well and process both SD and HD content in an impressive way.

The difference is chalk and cheese.

The Sony handles everything thrown at it (including sport) with aplomb and HD is stunning. The 'out of the box' picture settings are also much better than the LG set and the menus to tweak changes much simpler. Screen reflection is not an issue and SD channels are brilliant - sharp images, rich colours and deep blacks. Its biggest shortcoming is inevitably the sound which can lack depth due to the shallow panel/speakers, though with 30W it is not as thin and tinny as you might expect, certainly for general TV viewing. I have hooked up my hi-fi amp and speakers to boost the sound when watching films.

So don't be put off by an LED panel if you want to watch sport in HD. It doesn't have to be a plasma and a cheap plasma can too easily be a false economy.

I got this tv to replace a Full HD LCD i`d had for a couple of years, I got it for the 3D features, mainly for 3D Gaming from PS3, I also have an Xbox 360 and PC attached, all work perfectly without problems, Don`t worry about it not been full HD you can`t tell the difference, about the only time you would use 1080p is watching Blu-ray in anycase, All Xbox 360 games are 720p and 95% of PS3 games are 720p and the tv will accept an 1080p signal and just output in 720p, so it plays everything you can throw at it. The built it Freeview HD works great and has a really clear Guide, we have been thru the Digital swithover so you get the Freeview HD Channels BBC One HD, ITV1 HD, Channel 4 HD and BBC HD, as well as all the others and radio channels, and they are all crystal clear. Lets talk 3D, it works great for both Movies and Games, PS3 must be connected via HDMI Cable 1.4 or above for 3D to work, but it auto detects and displays 3D without problems, played Killzone 3 and Gran Turimo 5 in 3D and they blow your mind, Watch a couple of 3D movies and it works great a little blur in super fast action parts, but great other wise. Great sound from a TV with no visible speakers and blows my old TV out of the water. Now the Bad points, Turn off ECO mode or your picture looks dark and dull, and a totally white image, looks alittle washed out, The screen is really reflective, you can see yourself in it. and the biggest pain is the 3D Glasses auto shutoff, They turn off after 10mins if you don`t move your head about, and moving to sip your tea, ain`t enough. So watching a movie mine shutdown about 5 times, lol, You see the light flash in the conner of your eye and quickly press the button to keep them on. If you can live with the minor Issues Buy this TV, no doubt if you had an £1000+ set next to it you would see the difference, But I don`t and I love this TV, and all you need to do is says to your mates you've got a 42" 3D Plasma TV and they all turn Green, Thats why you really brought it in the first place. lol.