LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

Review by StevenJ for LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
Rating:
Let me start by saying that I am not a videophile, but when it comes to purchasing a television I can be very picky. I went through the whole LCD vs. Plasma dilemma 3 years ago when I bought my Samsung 5084 (one of the best non-Pioneer plasmas at the time). That said, I was ready to supplement that unit this year with a ‘smaller’ LCD for the bedroom (didn’t want to sweat IR, horizontal line bleed, etc). Needless to say, LCD options in the ‘budget’ range lack features that alleviate some of their drawbacks, forcing you to suffer through motion blur, clouding, and terrible black levels if you choose a set for ~$800).

Enter the 42″ plasmas. For the sake of comparison, I decided to investigate the plasma alternative once again. This essentially brought me to the Samsung C450 due to my positive experience with the 5084 and glowing reviews for the C450. Unfortunately, users reported an audible buzzing noise from the Samsung (a noise I know full well from the 5084 and did not want to deal with on a bedroom set).

Enter the PJ350. I only became aware of this set after seeing it next to the Samsung at the store. From a design perspective, it tops the Samsung with an ultra thin bezel, very thin chassis, and no ‘touch of red’. Furthermore, I heard no buzzing from the LG floor model, while the Samsung sounded like someone was digging honey out of a beehive. Since it is a brand new model I had no reviews to rely on, but I took the plunge.

Picture quality from this unit is superb for any sub-$1k TV, much less one at this price point. This 720p set rivals my 1080p plasma in most respects, most notably black levels. I have only had it for a few days now, but setting the TV on ‘cinema’ mode at 70 contrast and 50 brightness is really impressive (I recommend switching those two numbers for several weeks to break in the unit). If you place your head behind the unit, you can hear the typical plasma ‘buzz’, but this is completely inaudible at any reasonable viewing distance. While this goes without saying, all the benefits of plasma are apparent with this TV: cinematic quality motion (none of that chincy 120hz movement), 24p bluray playback, consistent backlighting, etc. I have noticed a tiny amount of false contouring, but less than my Samsung – hardly an annoyance. OTA video quality is, of course, superb. The reviewer who stated that colors are not as vivid clearly didn’t recognize that picture settings are independently adjustable for each input. This TV does offer a settings wizard to help set the picture based on your unit and environment, but I prefer manual adjustment to suit my personal tastes.

If you’re worried about not having 1080p, don’t be. At this size, you will not detect a difference anywhere outside 4′ from the unit. The screen is quite reflective, but if glare is your primary concern then you surely can settle for the inferior picture quality of a cheap LCD. While I have limited experience with my LG, I can honestly say that I am very pleased thus far.

Review by Joey in RaChaCha for LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
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Strengths: Many different inputs (including VGA), easy-to-use menus, good remote, thin design, very sleek looks.

Weaknesses: No native 1080p HD resolution (but it will display 1080p content as either 1080i or 720p), and no S-Video input.

Have owned this unit for 3 weeks and I love it!! Granted it is my first flat panel HD-TV, but LG makes good TVs and the price was very affordable. The picture quality is great, and that’s what we are all looking for, right? There are plenty of every type of input (except S-Video), and even SD-TV content looks great from any source or input. Sound quality is very acceptable from built-in speakers, although I have a 5.1 surround receiver setup also. I love the fact that the bezel (frame around the screen) is so thin — makes the TV look like it’s just the screen itself. And the unit is so thin front-to-back, it’s almost as thin as the new LED TVs! After viewing many TVs in stores and friend’s homes, I prefer Plasma over LCD for the contrast, better blacks and shadow detail. Also, even with contrast and brightness set to moderate levels (i.e. 65% — you shorten the life of any flat-panel display by running it at 100% all the time), the picture is still very crisp, very bright, and the colors and detail just blow me away. I would recommend this TV to anyone!!

Review by Juan Jose Gotera Añez for LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
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Hi. I’m from Venezuela, and since, over more than 1 year i was planning and wishing to buy a HDTV. It was almost like one of my dreams, one of those that thanks to god i could accomplish. My search was really minucious and extensive, i have analized every detail of my future HDTV; Details such as: HDTV type… Plasma, LCD? Size…42, 46 o 50? Resolution… 720p, 1080p? Brand… Panasonic, Sony, Lg, Samsung? Contrast, Aesthetic aspect, and so many factors that i will not surely mention here because may be ill forgot.

Im i mechanical engineer, and one of my hobbies is watching movies… so, i was really exited about having a HDTV, where i could play trough my pc, several hi-def movies that i have already downloaded, at least until i can buy my media player (Patriot Box Media Player). As i mentioned, one of my labors as engineer, if not the most important, is to choose the best quality at the best price; in order words… the best quality-price relationship! In your english terms, it would be BBB (the best bang for the buck), so i have analized and determined, over 6 months of research that…

1) I live into an aparment, where my living room is about 10 feet x 25 feet, but im going to watch my tv from 7 to 12 feet aproximatedly, so, my ideal tv size was 46, because 50 was like toooo big, and 42 slightly small, but acceptable. Then, it was 46 or 42? we’ll see later…

2) HDTV type… Plasma or LCD? That was quite simple! Which has a better image quality for movies and sports? Which has deeper black levels? Which has a 0.00006 ms answer time? Which has a higher contrast ratio? For me, personally, and having seen several lcd tvs in other stores, the plasma tv beats totally the image quality on a LCD TV, its just amazingly better in every aspect, obviating the natural reflection of a plasma screen (glare). So, considering that actually almost all the Plasma TVs makers, have really improved every aspect of the plasma tvs, such as screen burning, screen life, produced heat, buzzing, glare and power compsumption, Plasma was just the best for me!

3) Resolution… 720p vs 1080p… lol… it was hardly difficult to me! Reading and reading, reviews, comments, oppinions, tests, and so… but just 1 mark the difference for me… the price! At this point i thought: 1080p is better, but it really diserves an extra 300$? Why 300$? My budget was buying a hdtv, from 42″ to 46″, 720p or 1080p” into a range of 500 to 800$. After a lot of research i found two fair options: The LG 42PJ350 (Plasma – 42″ – 720p – LG) and The Sony 46EX400 (LCD – 46″ – 1080p – Sony), both really BBB tvs, in my opinion; compared with many several others in their range. After all, i’ve decided for the LG 42PJ350, because for me, it was the really really BBB! Just 300$ less than the other option, of course sacrifying just the 1080p, but it doesnt matter to me because…

* I’ll use to play 720p bdrips on my pc (and futurely in my Patriot Box Media Player); but with high bitrates, 5000-8000 kbps, approximatedly 8 Gbs per movie, wich gives me 2 positive things (Ultra high quality video, even being 720p and not 1080p, and less disk space compsumption, without forgetting that it could easily go into a DVD-9!

* On a 42″ Plasma tv, at a more than 6 feet viewing distance, the difference between 720p and 1080p, at least for me, its almost unperceptible; not forgetting that its also a fair size tv for watching my hd movies!

* 300$ difference, its almost the half part of the price of its competitor.

* Lg, panasonic, sony, samsung? are all good tv brands, every one has good tvs, bad tvs, tvs for refurbishing, but they are all good and known brands, so LG was good for me, considering also the more of 20 positive reviews over my LG 42PJ350.

So my decision, was finally the LG 42PJ350… because of

* Cheap: just 500$

* Big: 42 inches

* Quality: LG

* Better technology for my purposes: PLASMA

* Aesthetic aspect: extremely beautiful, thin and just amazingly modern

* Lot of connetivity: 3 HDMI, RGB, AUDIO ETC… just missing the DVI input

* Image Quality: Totally beautiful thanks to its very high contrast and its dual xd proccessors

* Just the best outside in Tvs…

Thanks God for this purchase… It was one, if not the best bang for the buck of my entire life. Thanks Amazon!