Acer AT4250 – The Austerity of IT
At their default settings, the panel’s colours are rather cool. However, somehow we couldn’t help but enjoy testing a panel made by an IT giant. Normally, PC companies don’t mess around with standards, unlike video and entertainment specialists who like to test the limits every now and then.
As you can see very well, 85% of the colours are rendered perfectly. Even the most extreme colour tones achieve results that are anything but bad. Nonetheless, the colours remain a little cool.
| Black Level | White Point | Contrast |
|---|---|---|
| 0.6 | 239 | 398: 1 |
Despite the fact that the Acer only offers comparatively low brightness for a 42” model, the contrast is nothing to write home about. This is exacerbated by the black level, which is nothing extraordinary either. In practice, this weakness becomes apparent with dark movies. For example, the dark scenes in The Lord of the Rings lose a lot of their atmosphere.
The Gretag Eye one once more corroborates the roots of the manufacturer in the PC industry. The panel makes do with the sRGB standard which is obligatory for PC monitors as well. Of course we would have hoped that Acer would offer a little more. Then again, you can’t expect miracles from a €1,200 Full-HD TV.
Spatial Uniformity
Overall uniformity is okay. The lower part of the panel is noticeably lighter than the upper part, though. Since the black level is not especially good to begin with, this is especially obvious.
On the whole, Acer’s discipline regarding the unit’s settings is of positive note. Still, the contrast could use improvement, due to the very intense black.
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Unless you use your TV for gaming (which is a bit odd anyway), plasma's have far outstripped LCD TV's technologywise in all areas, but especially in picture quality. This is especially true as Full HD 1080P plasma's are now the norm at 42" and over. The only possible downside is the cost, being a little bit moire than these LCDs reviewed here. The only reason you would not use a plasma for gaming - in principle it outshines LCD here too - just as it does for movies and TV etc - is the burn in issue, which probably will not be resolved 100% for some time.
This reviewer needs to get with the program!
"Unless you use your TV for gaming (which is a bit odd anyway)"
Is it really 'odd' to use a TV for gaming? I could have sworn everyone I know who has a console, has it plugged into a TV.... lol
All I can say is OPEN YOUR EYES.
Plasma colour reproduction is much worse. When you see dithered colour gradients, the only solution is LCD.
I did some in-depth comparisons of picture quality w.r.t movies/tv signals/DVD, and a good quality LCD far outstripped the capabilities of Plasma's (that are more expensive).
FYI: I've got the Samsung LE-40M86BD, which could explain my bias!
"This reviewer needs to get with the program"
By your comments it sounds like you need to get with the program more than the reviewer.
LCD's are much better for gaming and for computer use. While Plasma is much better for watching standard defination TV, like freeview etc.
As for picture quality, they both have really good quality picture. The days of plasma having better black levels are gone with the M86 from Samsung already proven that it has deep black levels with some reviewers saying better than plasma. And now that samsung have released that F86 with black levels better than the M86, Well I guess LCD's have now got nearly all the advantages that plasma used to have without the burn in or the purple snakes!!
The one area plasma is on top at the moment colour reproduction. But even that isn't as clear cut as a few years ago. The new Sony W3000 has amazing colour reproduction with the samsung F86 not far behind. Oh, and plasma are still bigger.
Why does every review website and print magazine forget that you can hook up a PC to an HD TV via a DVI <-> HDMI cable (about $20). I have been running an HTPC this way for years. The VGA port on HD TVs may not be the best way to hook up a PC. I know that both Linux and Windows have support for 720p and 1080i modes. I'd love to know if 1080p works over the DVI port. Can you guys include this type of connection in your testing ? FYI: This type of connection often requires some adjustment of the overscan. THANKS !!!
What, your reviewing acer and sony, but not phillips, shame on you
1080p i think requres Dual link DVI HDMI connector for it (may be not right tho)
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Unlike America, however, where the switch from the ancient NTSC standard (often derided as “Never The Same Colour”
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got to love that statement but true
Hi, I think the 42x3030D has been treated a little unfairly in the review, I contacted Toshiba before I bought the unit and made sure that a DVI to HDMI 1080p connection was possible. Sure enough, the next day I get a reply from Toshiba's support department in the affirmative.
I bought the unit, with Toshiba's reputation of well made products in mind and I have to say I am totally delighted with the unit.
I turned down the red drive in the maintenance menu a bit, then tinkered around with the normal video settings till I was happy - wasn't too horrific to do.
The result is a set that can deliver my PC gaming at 1920 x 1080, progressive (1080p). With the 'Exact Scan' option enabled, 1:1 pixel mapping ensures no overscan.
Standard definition TV is great from the on-board freeview unit and Sky (SD I'm talking about) is acceptable - although picture quality does vary from channel to channel. Sky Sports I'm pleased to report looks fine.
Obviously it's not perfect, but an acceptable level for most, although I do reccommend you be at least 7ft away from the unit to get the best out of it. True for many 42" LCD's at SD.
At HD though, you might want to bring your chairs a little closer in...