Plasma Displays


Pioneer, Marantz and Philips update their existing plasma monitors with improved image quality and added features. Pioneer raises the quality over their previous plasma display, with an even lower price on the PDP-505HD ($20,000). Still the largest plasma screen in the industry, the ultra-slim HDTV-Ready 52-inch display is go-for-launch into the new millennium when coupled with a DTV set-top box. Image quality has always been a Pioneer tradition and they’ve put some sparkle into the PDP-505HD by increasing the phosphor surface area and eliminating light leakage from neighboring cells with a new encased cell structure to increase overall brightness. A new black stripe coating triples the on-screen contrast. The same IP converter used in their HDTV-Ready rear projector sets is utilized in the PDP-505HD.

Marantz’s PD-4290D ($13,999) is a 42-inch widescreen monitor that is DTV-ready (just add a decoder). It displays a line-doubled image from any NTSC source. The new display is capable of producing a picture that is 60% brighter, with 50% more contrast than the previous model. It operates in a native progressive scan mode on HDTV sources. A RGB input is provided, as well as the usual A/V connections, for direct connection to a computer for Internet surfing or computer gaming. It is both Windows and Mac compatible. The RC2000MkII is supplied with the display.

The new Philips 42PF9952 comes in at an all-time low of $10,000 (or $11,000 with the HDTV tuner) and the frame now comes in designer colors such as green, purple, champagne and blue accents to accommodate all those modern interiors.