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Hitachi P42T01U Review |
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Reviewed: 22 September 2007
Design
The Hitachi P42T01U is available in a choice of two finishes, either in gloss black or matte black with a silver trim. Curiously, we thought the identical styling looked much better on the P42T01 than on this screens bigger brother the P50T01 which seemed a little dated and clunky.
This unit has got a trick up its sleeve that will leave owners of other Plasma's a little envious. A remote swiveling stand offers movement of 30 degrees in both directions.
Features
Don't be confused by the P42T01's resolution (1,024 x 1,080), its not taller than it is wide, and neither unfortunately is it Full HD. To achieve this unique resolution, the pixels on this screen are actually squeezed closer together.
Screen size & shape: 42in 16:9 Tuner: Digital and Analogue Sound system: Nicam Stereo Resolution: 1,280x1,080 pixels HD Ready: Yes Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1 Brightness: 1500cd/m2 OTHER FEATURES: Picture Master FHD, 3D comb filter, Black enhancement, colour management. SOCKETS: 2 HDMI (1 Side), 3 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, S-video, PC input.
The unusual screen format accommodates ALiS (Alternating Lighting of Surfaces), which uses an interlaced approach, lighting even and odd lines every 1/60th of a second, doubling the vertical resolution.
The picture processing core of the P42T01U is Hitachi's Picture Master FHD Processing which has been optimized for the 1,024 lines. With 16-bit colour recognition, it has designed to reduce video 'noise', improve colour saturations, detailing and the tone of colour.
The P42T01 offers a range of acoustic features which include SRS WOW and TruBass.
Finally, the Hitachi P42T01 has good rather than outstanding connectivity with 2 HDMI, 3 Scart sockets, Component, Composite and S-video inputs. One of the HDMI's is located at the front of the screen under a flip panel. This may appeal primarily to gamers, but will ultimately annoy the rest of us who have to put up with a cable poking out if the front of the TV. The screen also sports analogue and digital tuners with seven-day EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) along with USB and CI slot for pay TV.
Performance
The Hitachi P42T01U is an excellent High Definition (HD) performer. With HD DVD the picture looks superb, with a level of detail and sharpness that competes with the best. Subtle detailing is immaculate, and colours are reproduced faultlessly and with a subtlety that makes skin tones look supremely realistic.
Moving to Sky HD very little of this performance is lost. While colours are not quite as rich and vibrant as HD DVD, they are a match for all but the best LCD or Plasma TV's.
Another big plus point with the P42T01 is Standard Definition (SD) performance which came as a pleasant surprise. The screen displays a commendable lack of video noise, with a little shimmering visible only with the fastest motion scenes. Again, coming as quite a surprise, there is little degradation when moving to terrestrial Freeview. The picture isn't perfect, but it is certainly one of the better budget SD large screen performers we have seen.
It is because of the P42T01's great performance with SD as well as HD material that the black level performance came as such a disappointment.
With darker scenes, like its bigger brother, the Hitachi's P42T01U shows signs of greyness where there should be pure black. The problem doesn't detract too much from viewing pleasure, its just that other Plasma screens are better in this respect, and far more enjoyable as a result.
Acoustically, the Hitachi P42T01 cannot live up to the big screen performance. Lack of base is the main concern, and as many of you may consider this screen as an all rounder (rather than as the centre-piece of a budget home cinema system) this could be a problem.
Conclusion
Hitachi's P42T01U is a great all round performer, and if it wasn't for the mediocre black levels it would be an absolute bargain. Still a great budget buy.
