Wallet-friendly Viera appears on plasma scene

The past few years has seen plasma prices pleasantly tumble, while quality continues to skyrocket.

Brilliant proof of this comes with the launch of Panasonic’s sub-£800 Viera TH-42PX80 plasma flat panal.

The lowdown
The Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80 is available for well under £800 – but don’t assume that wallet-coddling price tag means it’s a pushover in the style or spec stakes. Okay, so it’s not a 1080p screen (the best HD picture possible), so viewing full 1920 x 1080 pictures isn’t on the cards, but its striking black frame will look sharp in any room, while the trio of HDMI inputs means hooking up multiple bits of hi-def hardware is a piece of cake.

Top talents
HD ready – The TH42PX80 is able to display hi-def material thanks to its 1024 x 768 resolution and HDMI inputs, so you can pair this up with a PlayStation 3, Sky HD box or Blu-ray player and get some seriously stunning pictures.

Freeview – With a built-in digital tuner, you don’t have to worry about the upcoming analogue TV switch-off – just plug in an aerial and the entire Freeview service is at your fingertips.

Viera Link – This means you can use a single remote control to take charge of all your Panasonic AV kit – TV, Blu-ray, DVD and even camcorder, this kit knows how to talk amongst itself.

Best price: £734.51 on 31 March 2008

Closest rivals
Pioneer PDP-4280XD – Pioneer’s plasma screens are the benchmark at the moment, delivering the finest picture quality around, plus premium levels of build quality and features. They don’t come cheap, though.

Samsung LE40F86BDX – This screen is LCD rather than plasma, but as with all Samsungs it delivers a healthy specification and features for the money, not to mention an attractive gloss black design.

LG 50PC55 – Offering a larger 50-inch screen at a similar price, LG’s ageing plasma remains a decent choice, even if its two HDMIs and lack of a full 1920 x 1080 resolution make it a little lacking compared to some new flat screen rivals.

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