Product face-offs
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| Screen size | 50 inches (127 cm) | ||
| Resolution | Plasma - 1365 x 768 points | ||
| HD compatibility (1080i/720p) | Oui / Oui | ||
| HD Ready certification | Oui | ||
| Brightness | Nc | ||
| Contrast ratio | 16000:1 | ||
| Viewing angles (H+V) | Pas de contrainte d'angle | ||
| Response time | Nc | ||
| Sound level | 2 x 17 W | ||
| Connectivity |
3 HDMI, 3 Peritel, S-Video, Composite, VGA, audio optique, subwoofer | ||
| Dimensions (LxHxW) | 122,4 x 71,7 x 11,5 cm | ||
| Weight | 34,5 Kg | ||
The often criticized plasma has some disadvantages that suggest it may not be a technology of the future. It is however ahead of LCDs in several areas, and in the end, each technology has its positives and negatives:
- Viewing angles: the advantage goes to the plasma which doesn’t have any problems in this area. The image is perfect from any angle. Only the best LCDs have a stable image at 150° (the often claimed 170° is rarely attained from the sides and never in the vertical plane).
- Sharpness: here the advantage is to LCDs whose square pixels produce an increased sensation of precision; however, this difference diminishes as plasma screens move into real Full HD (1920 x 1080 points).
- Gaming and PC use : advantage to the LCD which doesn’t have the plasma’s artifact problems. In fact, a fixed image should not be displayed too long on the latter or it can partially remain for a few minutes, hours or even days. This persistence varies depending on the TV’s settings, the generation, and the amount of time the fixed image is displayed. The latest generation of plasmas suffers considerably less from this phenomenon and has functions that remedy the display of channel logos. However, they still aren’t too recommended for use with game consoles and PCs.
- Depth of black: advantage to the plasma which attains black levels close to absolute 0 cd/m². Only a few LCDs go under 0.25 cd/m² and even more rarely under 0.1 cd/m².
Updated: 2008-01-23 - Test date: 2008-01-18
HD Ready but with great detail
Let’s start with the reduced definition which is now HD Ready. Actually, we were surprised to see that with high definition sources we had to be very close to the screen (less than 3 meters) to easily see the differences that between the Full HD and HD Ready (we had the two models side by side in tests). Beyond this distance, the difference is less significant but still visible to the trained eye.
On the other hand, the reduction in definition actually gives a few advantages to the Kuro PDP-508XD. Its panel which is closer to SD dimensions (DVD, TV, etc.) means less work in rescaling when displaying in full screen. Lower definition sources thus have an excellent image quality.
In addition, the lesser number of points on the screen enables limiting the loss of space between pixels and at the same time increasing the screen’s maximum brightness. This was measured at 180 cd/m² while black was at an incredible 0.05 cd/m². Consequently, contrast was at 3600:1, a figure which was confirmed by the incredible amount of detail that we could see in darker shades in more somber sequences.
Nice curves
Once again, presettings make this TV look great but it doesn’t really correspond to what Home Cinema fans are looking for. They will want to pass into Cinema mode to optimize RGB levels and obtain an almost perfect color temperature:
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The gamma curve shares the same fine characteristics:
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This TV is close to perfection. We could perhaps complain about its digital tuner that isn’t HD compatible and an optional box will be necessary.
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Excellent image quality
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Very deep black and well contrasted image
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3 HDMI and 3 SCART
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Very complete menus
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Extremely fluid image
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No HD digital tuner, only a standard digital one
