Akai PDP4206EM 42" Plasma EDTV

It features an 852 x 480-pixel resolution, 160-degree viewing angle, super-bright 1000 cd/m2 (candela per square meter) brightness rating, and a 300:1 contrast ratio. (The higher the contrast ratio, the greater a TV's ability to display subtle color details and not get washed out by ambient room light.) A 2D comb filter separates chrominance (color) from luminance (brightness) information in the video signal for independent processing to improve picture resolution and minimize distortion.

This set also performs 3:2 pulldown detection and reversal, too--a handy feature for watching progressive-scan movie programs in their native 24-frame format. To adapt 24 frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video, frames in the original movie must be duplicated; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this duplication by removing the redundant information to display a frame-accurate picture.

It includes two integrated stereo speakers that produce 5 watts of power per channel for 10 watts of total power. It offers the following connection options:

• Composite AV (RCA): 1 in
• S-Video: 1 in
• Component video: 1 in
• DVI: 1 in
• PC VGA: 1 in

Tech Talk
Component video (also called Y/Pb/Pr) features a three-jack video input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. You will need a separate RCA left/right audio cable for sound.

What's in the Box
Plasma TV, stand, remote control (with batteries), printed operating instructions