Viewsonic VPW425 Reviews? (1 Viewer)

[Shane Morales]

I'd like to buy a Viewsonic VPW425 EDTV plasma for my parents. All they watch is DVDs and cable TV; I don't imagine they'll get HDTV until they're forced to so the Viewsonic VPW425 being a EDTV isn't much of an issue.

I can't seem to find any reviews of this TV, though, so I was hoping to elicit comments and such from you folks.

Specs:

42" plasma display with built-in TV tuner
Slim design with 3.7" depth for virtually no footprint
Maximum resolution of up to 852x480 pixels (VGA)
NextVision™ technology delivers vivid and high brightness to your viewing experience
XtremeView™ performance for up to 160° viewing angles both horizontally and vertically
Picture-in-picture and split screen capability
Built-in speakers with virtual surround sound for a rich audio experience
Progressive scan for clear, stable video performance
Displays HD signals including 480p, 480i, 720p, 1080i

It will go in a small room (14x14 feet) with a large window. There aren't really any curtains, just really light ones, so daytime watching means a good bit of light. Night time watching not a problem.

Comments?

 

[Chad B]

Shane,

I'm not familiar with this particular plasma, but from what I can tell a plasma sounds like a good choice.
Plasmas are very suseptible to screen burn in, so I never recommend them to video game fans. If your parents watch news channels for hours on end you might be a little concerned about the news ticker at the bottom of the screen burning in, but it probably won't be anything to worry too much about.
Also, their black levels are often poor (things that are supposed to be black are dark gray no matter how you set the brightness), but usually only serious home theater enthusiasts are bothered by that.
Plasmas are well suited to small, brightly lit rooms.
That set's resolution would be well suited to DVD viewing, as you mentioned.

Chad