LG 42PJ350 42-Inch Plasma HDTV 720p

LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

In my bedroom, I had a 2-year old Sony W series LCD. Between the soap opera effect and the motion blur, it drove me nuts watching a movie in bed. So, I got the 42 inch LG 42PJ350.

The design is attractive but conservative. (I do not like Samsung’s funky color look). It has a highly reflective bezel. This means this plasma is not good for a bright room. This is its biggest drawback to me.

LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

First Impressions.

There is a lightly audible buzz from the TV when it is on. You have to stand within about 12 inches of the back to hear it. Other than that, there are no other noises.

It gives off some heat. However, it does not overpower the thin profile. The vents are able to release heat from the back and top of the set, so no overheating problems.

Settings.

It is annoying that the default is set to vivid. There are cinema and ISF expert tools to let you change the settings. The ISF modes (2 memory settings) are excellent. They let you do a lot of picture tweaking.

LG 42PJ350 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

(In the photo, contrast is at 50 and brightness at 70.)

Recommendations.

For new owners, immediately reduce sharpness. Out of the box, the picture is terrible. When you turn on your TV for the first time, sharpness is set mid-level. This results in a lot of noise and aliasing. After reducing sharpness, it’s a much better picture (with an occassional jagged edge).

Avoid the wide colorspace. This increases orange so everyone gets a suntan. Picture adjustment menus are nice for a bargain TV. LG deserves credit for this. It is 1000x better than my $9,000 Kuro!

Picture Quality.

Image retention is good and not problematic. High-contrast images ghost double the time it appeared on-screen. Most retained images disappeared within 10 seconds. It’s not a problem from a viewing perspective. It is only an issue when looking closely on a blank screen.

Viewing Distance.

If you really look for it, there is line bleeding. Pixels, line blocking and stair-stepping are visible at 3-4 feet. However, no one would sit that close since you couldn’t see the whole screen anyway. Normal viewing distance (6-8 ft) shows little pixel gridding. Screen uniformity is excellent.

Colors.

Black levels are impressive for the price. They compare well to my Samsung 860. However, the LG has little shadow detail.

Other Notes.

This LG accepts 1080p 24fps sources. The paper manual is worthless.

Can I Get It?

For a bargain set, it’s an excellent bargain. Just be aware of the screen glare. While image retention is the typical complaint with LG plasmas now, it doesn’t detract from a great plasma TV.

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