Insignia NS-PDP42 Plasma TV

Insignia is a not so known brand when we are talking about TV’s. In fact, Insignia is Best Buy’s brand. One of its models is the NS-PDP42, a cheap 42-inch plasma television. One thing that is noticeable with this brand, is its similarity to LG. Overall, the set could have been more. It has a lot of noticeable noise and bad picture quality that couldn’t quite compete with other brands in the market. Another thing that is worth mentioning is its image retention on the screen that is definitely a deal-breaker for a lot of users.

At first glance, the Insignia looks just like those sets produced by LG. The NS-PDP42 looks almost exactly like the 50-inch 50PC3D. It does have a stand that easily folds up behind the panel. Of course you can pull the stand off for wall-mounting. The Insignia measures around 44.4 inches wide by 29.5 tall by 15 inches deep and weighs 64.4 pounds. Without its stand, it becomes 44.4 by 27.4 by 4.1 inches and weighs 55.8 pounds.

This set has a resolution of 1,024×768, which qualifies it as an HDTV but for some users, it may not be enough.

Next, let’s talk about its connectivity. The Insignia offers the basic components for budget-priced televisions. It has two HDMI inputs and two component-video inputs. There’s also a VGA-style computer input (1,024×768 maximum resolution), an AV input with composite and S-Video, an RF input for antenna and/or cable, an analog audio output, and an optical digital audio output. There’s also an RS-232C port to interface with custom remote systems.

Features of the Insignia include three picture presets, which cannot be modified. It also has a pair of User slots, which are each independent per input, allowing you to create two different user settings for each source.

With standard-definition sources, the Insignia lets you choose from among five aspect ratio modes, while high-definition sources limit this choice to a still-respectable four. Among other features, the Insignia also throws in a few to combat potential burn-in, which it calls image sticking.

These include a pixel orbiter, which moves the image around the screen slightly over time, an inverse mode, which turns blacks white, yellows blue, and so forth, and a simple white screen that can be left on over time if you notice the image sticking.

As for its performance, its really not that hard to imagine. The main disadvantage with this set is its tendency to temporarily retain after-images in dark scenes, more commonly known as burn-in. Aside from this, the set performs at an average.

A surprising thing however is this set’s ability to produce deep blacks. It can probably be compared to other more expensive sets in the market. Very surprising indeed. Primary color accuracy is another big weakness of the Insignia, especially in green areas. Lastly, there’s a lot of noise that can be noticed with this set.

With standard-definition, the set performs really well. As a PC monitor, it also had the same results.

Sources:
http://www.testseek.com
http://www.youreviewelectronics.com