Fujitsu P42HTS40 review

Features
The outstanding point to make here is that this set has both DVI and HDMI connectivity on the rear -- we've only seen promises of dual digital video connections from TV manufacturers so far, not actual deliveries. Both are compatible with high-definition content protection (HDCP) compatibility (i.e. Sky HD-ready), and HDMI also transmits digital audio down the same cable.

We couldn't have asked for more when it comes to connectivity on the Fujitsu, but we've seen enough televisions to know the rules of television manufacturing dictate you must make a mistake somewhere. We found the TV to be a real pain to use, no thanks to the cheap remote. The battery compartment is at the front, meaning the balance feels awkward. But the worst mistake is that there hasn't been any accomodation for the sheer number of inputs -- Fujitsu instead preferring to stick to the standard rules. The worst-case scenario is if you want to change from playing your PS2 through the Scart ('Video 1') to Sky HD through HDMI (Video 7'). There's only one button that will let you cycle through on the remote, instead of there being individual buttons for each AV channel. It's annoying, to say the least.

Perhaps the biggest crime for a high-end plasma TV with a media box is not including a digital TV tuner inside. Okay, so digiboxes are as little as £30 these days and the Fujitsu has plenty of space for you to plug one in, but the integrated approach is always more elegant as it cuts out an extra remote. Never mind, we expect buyers of this screen will have something like a Philips Pronto Pro all-in-one remote control anyway.

So what does this Fujitsu offer to the picture fetishist? Well, the panel itself is based on the ALIS system, which is similar to Hitachi (indeed, the two companies have been co-producing panels for some time). Fujitsu's individual take on the technology comes in the form of the AVMII picture engine, now into its second generation. Like most other advanced picture processing engines, AVMII makes video look less noisy round the edges, as well as boosting contrast and colour levels. It's necessary, because the panel's resolution is much higher than that of DVD-Video and digital TV sources. The AVMII technology is one of the better engines we've seen. Up close, a DVD movie can still look incredibly noisy, but in normal conditions and at a proper viewing distance it looks particularly well defined.

Should you wish to do any tinkering, the menu system is logical and well laid out. It's easy to switch between picture modes, change the aspect ratio to fit the video source, as well as do some advanced (read: pointless) stuff like capture individual frames of video.

Performance
There's no denying that the near-£3,000 price tag will put many people off the Fujitsu, but if you can afford it, you'll be rewarded by an extremely solid picture. The Fujitsu meets a very strange market at the moment -- it's a high-end TV that's aimed at the picture purist with a potentially huge collection of AV components. But these people are likely to be well informed, insofar as they'll know LCD technology offers a much better picture than plasma. And at this point in time, there are models available from Samsung and Philips at similar sizes for much less than the Fujitsu.

Judged against other plasma TVs, the Fujitsu is a strong contender for reference model -- the picture shares many similar qualities to Hitachi's plasmas. High definition is a real treat whether you're using component or HDMI inputs, with only a tiny amount of noise over darker areas. The AVMII picture engine is particularly strong when dealing with motion, and we were left in no doubt -- pictures are wonderfully solid from our PAL test DVDs right through to images fed through a computer at higher refresh rates.

It's a shame that speakers aren't included as standard, and we weren't able to test them, because Fujitsu didn't supply them. We suspect that many people interested in the TV will own home cinema systems, but it seems stingy not to include any at the price.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide