Hitachi PDP 42PMA400E

I needed to replace my rear projector TV. Research directed me to the Hitachi PDP 42PMA400E 18 month's ago.

I purchased it on ebay for £2,100 and I have never stopped being thrilled since. Why?

Well, in the words of Jack Nicholson ' it's (nearly) as good as it gets'.

So what's this thing for??

For producing pictures, stupid!

What do you mean by that??

Look, you provide a signal and this thing will try to display it in the highest and most versatile, large, moving picture quality possible.

What signal? It's got no tuner, has it? It's got no fancy digital multi-surround sound modes has it?

Of course not stupid! This thing is a specialist, not an all rounder. Get another specialist to tune your dated analog or digital broadcasts - get a specialist to feed high quality DVD movie signals or a computer to supply multi-pixel resolutions, and a digital amp based system to crunch your sounds. This thing is for purists!

You sound a bit of a smart Alec if you don't mind me saying!

I'm sorry, but I was at Wembley Stadium (old) for the last concert - Tina Turner, and when I watch the DVD on this thing with my sound system racked up to ear piercing, chest thumping levels I relive the electric atmosphere of that day. Doing the same thing with Faithless at Alexandra Palace in London is overwhelmingly exciting - as is Madonna and Cher etc. etc.

So??

Look, I can listen to great music with sound only, or I can have a 14" TV in the bedroom blandly showing me a story, but I'm passionate and I want the best of both - can't settle for mediocrity. If I watch a block buster movie I want to be there - be part of the scene - be involved - not be some peeping Tom nerd watching from a distance. My god, even EastEnders can be really involving displayed on a large screen.

OK! So what's special about this thing?

Nothing but everything! I just admire it. It produces impressive bright, contrast rich, 3D pictures effortlessly. There may be better screens around, but at the moment I've NEVER seen one.

Damn it! I hate adverts, but sometimes I watch them just to ogle over the beautifully photographed movie displays on the thing. (More specialists).

I'm about to subscribe to Sky's High Definition broadcasts, and I know that this is what this thing excels at!

Unless all that you watch are cartoons, your money is well spent with this. I never cease to enjoy!

Until hologram images arrive in the centre of your living room, you can't do much better!

The Hitachi PDP 42PMA400E made me sick of cartoons.

All round the Hitachi PDP 42PMA400E is an excellent plasma, the only thing I would say is that you spend a lot on money of the plasma itself and then you have to pay extra for cables. I ended up paying about 100-£150 extra for cables about £100 for a wall bracket and cost about £400 to install and connect up to surroud sound, so be prepared to pay out more than just the cost of the plasma!!

Wanted something before Christmas. I had all the feeds I needed from Cable and DVD. Opted to buy this Hitachi PDP 42PMA400E Plasma Screen Televisions and some wall mount speakers rather than going for a full blown integrated TV. I guess I miss having built in teletext but that's about it.

I use it for TV, Video and as a PC display to show digital pictures. With a 1024 x 1024 native resolution it really is a first class image.

Thanks Richer Sounds, you did real good.