Sony KE-42TS2 42-inch Plasma HDTV Review
MSRP: $8,999

Quick Take:

The Sony KE-42TS2 offers outstanding overall picture quality and a stylish appearance, but at a price. Simply stated, the KE-42TS2 is one of the most attractively designed Plasma TVs available today. Although all Plasmas make great conversation pieces, the KE-42TS2's attractive silver finish and slim design can almost be more accurately descibed as sculpture.

With it's native HD support, the KE-42TS2 does not miss on picture quality either. It offers vivid, lifelike colors, above average brightness, good overall contrast (stated at 450:1 according to Sony), with most picture settings quite good right out of box. Minor tweaking and the picture is easily one of the best we have viewed to date. It's included DVI-HDCP support makes it ready for future DVD players and HD tuners that require this copy protection feature through this improved digital connection.

It's only real downsides are it's cost at around $5,000 currently, and it's diminished picture quality when displaying regular broadcast or cable signals.

Pros:

- Excellent picture quality with vivid colors, above average contrast and good brightness
- Excellent HDTV capabilities with an impressive 1024x1024 resolution; great DVD playback
- Built-in DVI-HDCP support
- Built-in screensavers to prevent image burn-in and ghosting
- Sleek, attractive design and silent operation
- Great ease of use and setup
- Built-in pedestal for those that prefer not to wall-mount

Cons:

- Expensive, the KE-42TS2 is not one of the cheapest Plasma TVs available, with current street prices around $5,000
- Blacks and other dark tones show some grayscaling issues during some scenes
- Built-in 9-watt speakers sound underpowered and add built to the otherwise sleek design
- Analog cable and broadcast signal picture quality is below average