The PX-42 XR 5 G is more of an information display panel than a television - this is quite apparent in its feature set. Loudspeakers must be purchased as an extra, the tuner is not an integrated part of the set, and headphone jack and Scart sockets are also missing. European AV receivers with Scart sockets can still be hooked up to the unit, but you will need to buy a special Scart to YUV adapter, available from a suitably equipped specialty store.

Although the two YUV inputs do accept RGB signals, a synchronization signal needs to be provided via the composite input. Digital playback equipment can be interfaced through the two available HDMI inputs.

The NEC leaves behind a poor impression starting with the interfacing of video sources through the Scart socket - and this impression is carried on throughout the set's operation. Even the experienced test experts at Televisions.com spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to locate the automatic television channel scanner. Oddly, the tuner menu is completely separated from the television menu, and is only accessible through a separate button on the remote control.

Remote Control and Channel Changing:
Although the remote is well laid out, ergonomic is a word that does not come to mind. This rather cumbersome and unfriendly approach continues: TV channels are not meaningfully prearranged and necessitate tedious arrangement through the tuner menu. Just as well that this procedure is not required that often!

If that is not enough: Anyone wishing to jump quickly to another broadcasting station has to remember its allocated number, since there is no sign of a list of channel presets.

In its favor though, the television is commendably informative: Very few devices give the video signal's technical characteristics through the press of a button.

The NEC's tuner delivers a surprisingly realistic picture with natural colors, but the picture is tarnished with an obvious snowy (noise) effect which can be reduced by setting the noise filter to its lowest level from the screen menu. Unwanted artifacts surround objects when the sharpness is turned down.

Compared with other TV sets, the NEC omits only a very small portion of the display when playing back analog content. Selecting the "Underscan" picture preset results in just 12 pixels being cut-off from both the left-hand and right-hand screen borders. Without forcefully applying overscan, the complete picture is possible through the HDMI input.

A perfectly crisp picture without unnecessary artifacts is feasible when playing back material through either the HDMI interface or YUV input. For the most part though, DVD movies are rendered on the PX-42 XR 5 G without flicker. Only more intricate sequences such as the beach scene in the movie "Six Days, Seven Nights" produce unwanted artifacts around objects as evident in the brief flickering around the sunbeds. Objects are rendered crisply when the camera pans past them quickly, but a slight yellow-blue border is, however, apparent. This effect is short-term, and anyway does not really distract from the overall good image quality.

A contrast ratio of just 500:1 is very low, and even modern LCD equipment boasts more. Luckily, the residual light is, for the most part, quite neutral and not affected by viewing angle - otherwise the impression would be for an even duller picture. With respect to intensity and three-dimensionality, the NEC cannot even begin to compete with today's LCD flat-panels or other plasma units.

Although the screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels is not really true HD - full HD equipment caters for resolutions of 1920 x 1080 pixels - the NEC does still perform well in this mode. Details in finely structured objects such as the armored chainmail worn by the crusaders in the Blu-ray edition of "Kingdom of Heaven" are easily discernable. Naturally, the level of detail that full HD panels are capable of displaying is not possible here. However, the plasma screen is basically free of unwanted digital artifacts when playing back HDTV material, and delivers quite a pleasant and natural crispness.

With the color temperature setting on "Low", the plasma immediately displays 1080i material with the correct colors, which is quite in contrast to the 576 format. The scenes from the crusader epic are therefore rendered with harmonious and consistent colors on the PX-42 XR 5 G. Lighter scenes, even when viewed in a dimly lit room, do not come across with anywhere near the intensity of other, more modern, flat-panel televisions. Again, the fault here is the very poor contrast.

Computer Operation:
Equipped with both VGA and HDMI interfaces, the plasma set is ideally suited to both older and newer generation computer hardware. Even when used as a computer monitor, the maximum screen resolution attained by the NEC is 1024 x 768 pixels. This is a problem since the NEC works with rectangular pixels whereas PC graphic boards recognize only square pixels.

The 4:3 format picture input is then displayed at a ratio of 16:9 and appears distorted. Therefore, the NEC is not well suited for modern multimedia capable computer operation as full HD televisions with their 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution are clearly far better matched.

Sound Quality:
Matching loudspeakers are available for a surcharge if sound is required from the NEC. By flat-panel standards, the sound quality of these speakers is well balanced, and speech in particular comes across very well. Music and movie film tracks are, however, lacking in depth.

An external AV receiver is easily connected to the analog audio output for the ultimate experience in home-theater surround sound. Anyone who is already in possession of home-theater equipment, or is planning on purchasing it can, therefore, confidently save money on these extra NEC loudspeakers.

Mode: User

Contrast: 45

Brightness: 39

Sharpness: 0

Color: 25

Tint: 32

Noise Reduction (NR): Off

Color Temperature: Low

Cinema Mode: On

Picture Mode: Theater 1

Gamma: 2.2

Set Up Level: 0%

Color Tune: All controllers set to 32

* applied to realistic playback from HD DVD/Blu-ray material through the HDMI interface in a darkened environment. Manufacturing and HDMI playback device deviations may necessitate slight adjustment.

The NEC PX-42 XR 5 G is built from individual modules: The screen, tuner and loudspeakers are all separate entities.

Set-top box with RGB output: Complicated but feasible - Scart RGB equipment can interface to the YUV and composite inputs with the help of an adapter available from a specialty store.

An old friend: The remote controller for the NEC television is identical to the one used by Quali-TV for its HDTV receiver.

Not hitting the point: Even though the NEC colors are slightly imperfect, they do still appear natural.