The HP PL5060N Plasma HDTV has a resolution of 1366 x 768 with an excellent contrast (as expected of a Plasma TV) of “up to 10000” to quote HP. Brightness is also very satisfactory at 1000 nits. It is an attractive looking unit with a metallic black design. You can detach the stand if you want to wall mount it.

The PL5060N has a smaller 42 inch sibling, the HP PL4260N. The only significant differences in the HP PL4260N are screen size, resolution (1024 x 768) and a slightly higher brightness of 1,200 nits.

The HP PL5060N has and integrated Digital HDTV/Analog tuner (ATSC/NTSC/Clear-QAM) allowing viewing of high definition video from cable or off-air sources.

Video Processing

The video processing engine offers dynamic contrast adjustment which adjusts picture quality on a scene-by-scene basis. There is also a 3D color enrichment system to produce true-to-life flesh tones and vivid colors. HP has also included Sharpness Enhancement algorithms and Motion Adaptive Deinterlacing which detects and compensates for motion in pictures, reducing any contouring and visual noise without affecting picture detail.

Sound System

The HP PL5060N Plasma Television comes with two detachable 8 Watt, three-way bass-reflex speaker with WOW patented sound technology by SRS Labs. WOW improves the dynamic audio performance of twin speakers by expanding the size of the audio image and improving the perception of low frequency sound (more deep rumbles for action flicks). To quote SRS Labs, “WOW accomplishes this by providing a panoramic three-dimensional audio image that extends the sound field in both the horizontal and vertical planes, and lowers the perceived bass response well beyond the low frequency limitations of the drivers.”

By connecting the Dolby Digital 5.1 equipped PL5060N digital audio output port to your stereo, you can achieve a full surround sound system.

What Others are Saying

CNet User Reviews give 8.2/10 (excellent) for the HP PL5060N. Business Week were very impressed with the picture quality (especially for the low price) but, less impressed with the sound quality. This is surprising, as the PL5060N and its larger sibling model the PL5060N both have SRS WOW audio.

Warranty

HP rate the PL5060N panel as having a very long 60,000 hours ( over 16 years with 10 hours viewing a day). The whole set has a 12 month warranty from HP.

Connectors

The PL5060N has an excellent range of connectors (see specification below) providing wide compatibility with other audio visual consumer electronics products. Of note are a HDMI port for digital video and audio carried by a single cable. Given the background of the HP company it is not surprising that the television comes with a PC input port.

User Reviews and Price Comparisons

HP PL5060N 50-Inch Plasma HDTV

Specification

Further Reading

Review the capabilities of the new HDMI 1.3 (High-Definition Multimedia Interface Version 1.3).

Read about the new Slim HD-ILA rear projection televisions from JVC which have reduced depth to complete better with flat-screen TV sets (plasma + LCD).