NEC PlasmaSync 42XR4 Brochure page 2

color temperature preset to low re-
turned the lost dark details while pro-
ducing the most natural-looking
imagery to my trained eyes.
The 42XR4's menu system appears
bland when compared with some of the
more colorful interfaces we've seen on
other consumer televisions (Samsung's
TVs spring immediately to mind), but
though the simple text menus lack vi-
sual appeal, they are easy to read and
navigate. And for professional calibra-
tors and videophiles, the 42XR4 offers
an advanced menu that provides a
comprehensive set of image controls
that are second only to those on the
Brillian 6501mPB in terms of available
options from a user-accessible menu.
Contrast ratios, certainly the most
abused statistic in the world of con-
sumer televisions, are calculated by
measuring the light output of a white
test pattern and dividing the result by a
similar measurement of a black test
pattern. By itself, this dynamic range
calculation doesn't reveal how bright
an image a particular display will pro-
duce, nor if the display's representation
of black will appear inky dark or have
more of a grayish glow. Interestingly,
the specs for the 42XR4 listed on the
company's Web site don't include con-
trast-ratio information. But after cali-
bration, the 42XR4 produced an ANSI
contrast ratio of 1,001:1, the best among
all displays (plasma or otherwise) that
we have tested to date. Impressive
black-level measurements
Cd/m^2) were responsible for that out-
standing result, and only in a pitch-
black room (like our test lab) would
you notice the slight glow of video
black on this display. Compared with
Reprinted from PC Magazine, March 22, 2006 with permission from Ziff Davis Media Inc.
the Panasonic TH-42PX50U, a more af-
fordable 42-inch plasma TV, the
42XR4's black levels were almost three
times as dark, improving the percep-
tion of contrast in the picture, particu-
larly in dimly lit viewing environments.
When you are viewing letterboxed
movies, the black bars will appear black
instead of dark-gray.
Prior to calibration, the 42XR4 ex-
hibited a slight greenish tint in the dark-
est portions of the grayscale, with the
image becoming more bluish toward
the bright (white) end of the scale. I
also noticed greenish dark grays in the
black bars of letterboxed movies such
as The Fifth Element. These color-
tracking errors were corrected using
the 42XR4's advanced menu features,
and post-calibration, the display's re-
sponse was admirably consistent.
The 42XR4 is better than most dis-
plays "out of the box," but proper cali-
bration, including black-level and color
adjustments, transform a relatively
good plasma TV into one that grabs
your attention with its natural-looking
imagery. More important, the necessary
controls were accessible from the user
menus and didn't require a trip into the
arcane world of a display's internal ser-
vice menus.
Considering that 42-inch high-defini-
tion plasma displays have lower resolu-
tion than 50-inch (or larger) models, the
42XR4 was better than other 42-inch
plasmas we have seen at scaling video
(0.15 into its native resolution. HDMI video
input provided the best overall imagery;
component video input introduced slight
amounts of noise with 720p and 1080i
signals. The 42XR4 passed aspect-ratio
and geometry tests with all resolutions
©2006 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. All rights reserved.
and inputs. This means a video image of
a circle will appear circular and not flat-
tened or otherwise stretched, as we saw
recently with the Dell W5001C. Over-
scan with widescreen video formats was
less than one percent, which is very
good.
I use the HQV Benchmark DVD to
evaluate a display's video-processing
performance when displaying standard
definition (480i) content—similar to
traditional broadcast television. The
42XR4 managed a good HQV result by
providing excellent noise-reduction
abilities without softening image detail.
Deinterlacing was also impressive, with
no noted jagged edges in the synthetic
portions of the test or in the video clip
of the waving flag. The classic racetrack
scene that uses film-based video (24
frames per second) revealed that 3:2
pulldown engaged quickly, preventing
distracting moiré artifacts from ap-
pearing in the grandstands. This indi-
cates that the video processor is
throwing away half of the visual infor-
mation. The beginning of chapter 12 of
the DVD movie Gladiator is a great
check for 3:2 pulldown problems, as the
slow panning shot of the bird statue
with its horizontal lines can turn into a
jagged, blurry mess if not properly
processed. The 42XR4 handled this
challenging scene perfectly.
The 42XR4 is a 42-inch plasma dis-
play that, post-calibration, delivered the
most impressive imagery that we have
seen from any plasma TV in its class.
Subjectively, both DVD movies and
HDTV appear pleasingly correct, with
accurate colors and detailed imagery.
The 42XR4 strikes me as a great plasma
display that was designed for profes-
sional installation. The à la carte acces-
sories and the advanced menu options
(which can be hidden when not in use)
are ideal for customizing the display to
its owner. Yes, the 42XR4 costs more
than most other 42-inch plasma dis-
plays, but I have yet to see a 42-inch TV
come this close to image perfection.
NEC Visual Systems Division
www.necvisualsystems.com
B L : The NEC 42XR4 offers the best picture
OTTOM INE
quality of any 42-inch plasma TV we have seen to date.
But its premium price doesn't include many extras, the
remote is near-useless in the dark, and to get the most
out of it you'll need to have it professionally calibrated.
P : Exceptional image quality. Comprehensive display
ROS
control options.
C : Remote lacks backlight. No extras bundled in.
ONS
Pricey.
llllm