Our HDTV comparisons show the Panasonic TH-42PX60U to be a Good Choice in the 42 Inch Size

The Panasonic TH-42PX60U plasma TV offers connectivity with two HDMI inputs and aspect-ratio control with HD sources. This plasma is still superior to most other 42-inch plasmas in our HDTV comparisons.

The Panasonic TH-42PX60U has a two-tone look, a black frame surrounds the screen and the cabinet is finished in silver. The Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK's left and right stereo speakers are located below the screen. Panasonic shrunk the Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK over last years model by 1.5 inches so that it measures 40.2 (W) by 30.3 (H) by 12.7 (D) inches. The plasma is 3.8 inches deep. The remote is logically laid out and intuitive but it is not backlit. The remote can control DVD players and cable boxes.

Notable Features: Panasonic’s resolution 1,024x768, like the other Panasonics in our HDTV comparisons, can handle just about any source. All incoming signals, including standard TV, DVD, HDTV, are scaled to fit the available pixels. It has a SD card slot for displaying digital photos and an ATSC tuner. The TH-42PX60U can change aspect ratio with HD sources with a total of five choices for HD and four for SD resolutions.

There are three picture modes: Vivid, Standard, and Cinema, each with different preset picture values. The Panasonic TH-42PX60U has three color temperature presets that give you a choice for the overall hue of the picture Warm, Normal, and Cool., 2:3 pull-down circuitry for motion artifacts elimination with film-based material from prime-time TV using cable, satellite, or antenna sources. The downside to the Panasonic TH-42PHD8UK is that it has no PIP, no CablCard slot and it doesn't have a dedicated PC input.

Connections: The Panasonic TH-42PX60U has two HDMI inputs, two component-video inputs, two S-Video inputs, two composite-video inputs, an RF input that accepts over-the-air analog and digital signals as well as HDTV signals, and an A/V output with composite video only. Front-panel connections include the SD card slot as well as S-Video and composite-video inputs, no RS-232 port for control programming.

Conclusion: Like other Panasonics in our HDTV comparisons the Panasonic TH-42PX60U plasma TV’s excellent black-level performance, decent video processing, and generous connectivity make it a good choice among today’s 42 inch plasma TVs.