Toshiba's 42HP66 is a 42-inch plasma television that can handle standard and HD content with ease, and it has a PC input that allows you to play computer games and surf the internet on the screen. The 42HP66 can be used with or without the included table stand, though additional brackets are required if you wish to mount the set on the wall. Stereo speakers are built into the area below the screen, and button controls are lined along the right edge of the monitor.

There is a minimum of silver highlighting the black cabinet, and the dark aesthetics dramatically offset and frame the sharp, bright picture. The 42HP66 boasts a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and a native resolution of 1,024X768. Toshiba's CableClear video noise reduction keeps interference to a minimum, and a 3-D Y/C digital comb filter reduces cross-color interference and dot crawl. The deep blacks and rich detail can be viewed from almost anywhere in the room, as this plasma set has viewing angles of 160 degrees vertically and horizontally. In the 42HP66's Cinema Mode, movies are subject to 3:2 pulldown conversion that smoothes out action scenes.

The stereo speakers are not particularly impressive, providing only 20 total watts of output. However, the 42HP66 does offer StableSound automatic volume leveling, a bass boost and simulated surround sound, and optical and coaxial digital audio outputs allow you to route the audio to a home theater receiver. Two sets of nine favorite channels can be set into memory for quick channel surfing. Other convenience features include V-chip parental controls, a game timer that turns the TV off after a set period and memory for the audio and video settings for each input.

The 42HP66 offers a broad selection of connection options, with an RF input, three composite video inputs (one on the side panel), three S-video inputs (one side), two HD component video inputs, two HDMI inputs, the PC input, a composite video output, an optical digital audio output, a coaxial digital audio output and a Theaterlink IR passthrough. The included universal remote control has dedicated buttons for four associated components. Toshiba's 42HP66 is a competent plasma HDTV that delivers good performance and a host of useful features.

Pros: Favorite channel memory for 18 stations, good connection selection
Cons: No PIP features, lackluster audio output

Warranty
1 year parts and labor, in-home service