Top 10 40- and 42-inch HDTVs
These are the top 40- and 42-inch LCD and plasma TVs today, but ratings and rankings can change quickly due to pricing and technology changes, so check back frequently for the latest info.
Lincoln Spector
Bottom Line: The Bravia is a very good set with a nice freeze-image function, but its price is out of line with comparably featured sets.
PC World Rating: 73 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 40
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Price When Reviewed: $2070
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: The LC4276N doesn't put up an exceptional picture, and it doesn't have many extras to make up for this shortcoming.
PC World Rating: 73 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Price When Reviewed: $1600
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: The first 42-inch plasma 1080p set is great where it counts--in the picture. It earned particularly high marks for HD.
PC World Rating: 73 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Price When Reviewed: $1800
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: The least-expensive LCD TV in our review earned the best image-quality score of any LCD set.
PC World Rating: 74 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
- Price When Reviewed: $1400
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: Promising specs--including 1080p, a fast pixel response time, and HDMI 1.3--don't add up to a superb picture.
PC World Rating: 74 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Price When Reviewed: $1800
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: This model has many extras, including Philips's unique Ambilight feature, but its image quality was slightly below average.
PC World Rating: 75 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Price When Reviewed: $1700
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: It's a bare-bones set, but the picture earned high marks, as did the bargain price. It lacks burn-in prevention features.
PC World Rating: 77 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1024-by-768
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
- Price When Reviewed: $1000
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: This 720p plasma set comes at a good price, but it didn't stand out in any other measures.
PC World Rating: 77 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1024-by-768
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
- Price When Reviewed: $1200
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: Samsung's plasma TV combines a low price and some nice features, but it doesn't accept 1080p input.
PC World Rating: 79 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Fair
- Diagonal (inches): 42
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1024-by-768
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i
- Price When Reviewed: $1400
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
Bottom Line: This well-equipped 1080p LCD set looks similar to its plasma sibling, the H-T4264. It has many inputs and is easy to set up.
PC World Rating: 79 (Good)
- Performance Word Score: Good
- Diagonal (inches): 40
- Native Resolution (pixels): 1920-by-1080
- CableCard Ready: No
- HD Formats: 720p, 1080i, 1080p
- Price When Reviewed: $1600
- Rated on: September 12, 2007
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