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Toshiba 42DPC85 Plasma TV Review
The Toshiba 42DPC85 uses a 42-inch plasma display, which puts out video at a resolution of 852X480 pixels. It's also able to connect to HD compatible cable/satellite boxes, but can only display those signals in 480p. Picture quality is enhanced by the set's 1500 cd/m2 (candela per square meter) brightness rating and 10,000:1 contrast ratio. For televisions, the higher the contrast ratio, the subtler the color detail can be displayed without becoming washed out by ambient light sources. Resolution on the TV gets a boost from the 3D Y/C comb filter, which features 4 MB, 10-bit and Vertical Contour Correction. This filter strengthens the Toshiba 42DPC85's picture quality by removing blurred edges between colors and reducing dot crawl. In addition contrast and color saturation are bumped up with the HD Dynamic Contrast function. This produces deep, rich images in the correct color spectrum and ensures that colors properly blend together. Dark and bright areas of the picture are constantly analyzed by the intelligent circuitry, which optimizes the dynamic range in each area of the image. This allows the image to remain clear and sharp despite the external lighting conditions. The Toshiba 42DPC85 also employs PixelPure AT (Adaptive Technology), which includes Motion Adaptive De-Interlacing, Adaptive MPEG Processing, Adaptive Contrast Enhancement and Adaptive Color Enhancement, which all work together to ensure the highest quality picture at all times. While the incredible picture is the star of any plasma TV, the sound on the Toshiba 42DPC85 is up to par when compared to other TVs in its class. Two built in stereo speakers crank out 10 watts of power per channel for a total of 20 watts. The sound system also uses SRS WOW audio technology that employs three sound expanding systems - SRS 3D, TruBass and FOCUS. The SRS 3D gives the Toshiba 42DPC85 the illusion of three-dimensional surround sound despite only having two speakers. TruBass produces a nice, fat bottom frequency thanks to a process known as psychoacoustics. This is especially beneficial for systems that don't employ a subwoofer. Finally, FOCUS takes the energy from the speakers and directs it in a vertical path up towards the listener's ears. All three systems work in tandem not only to bring out any "buried" highs and lows, but also to make the most out of the unit’s two-speaker setup. Although the sound quality is above average on this TV, you could opt to use the system as a center channel in a 5:1 surround sound setup. Like many plasma televisions the Toshiba 42DPC85 has a fair number of audio and video connectors including: * Composite audio/video (RCA): 3 (1 front) * S-Video: 2 (1 front) * Component video: 2 * HDMI audio/video: 1 * PC VGA: 1 * RF: 2 ConclusionThe Toshiba 42DPC85 is an attractive system both when turned on and when sitting idle. It has a slick black plastic outer casing that is simple yet high-tech. 42 inches of display might not be the biggest you can get, but its certainly enough for most household living rooms or home theater setups.The picture is spot-on with virtually no "noise" or other annoying video artifacts. And while having only two speakers might seem like a detriment, this TV delivers crisp, clear audio thanks to its three distinct systems. All in all this TV delivers everything it promises – high-tech looks, clear picture and above average sound. It’s not the best set in the showroom, but would make a great entry-level machine.
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