Why You Can Trust CNET Fujitsu P42HHA30AS review: Fujitsu P42HHA30AS
With natural colour tones and a clean image, the picture quality on this Fujitsu is hard to beat.
The supplied stand is of solid construction and simple design and the display has mounting points at the rear for wall mounting. Phosphor is reasonably dark although the LG's is darker. We should note that the Fujitsu was the only display that did not include an integrated tuner so to view free to air TV you will need to connect the Fujitsu to a VCR or set top box.
Controls
The controls are located on the lower right front of the bezel and include just six buttons: power, two to select the input source, two for volume and one to select the display size. The onscreen menu cannot be accessed without the remote control.
Fujitsu P42HHA30AS
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Remote
The Fujitsu has the smallest and simplest of the units tested, but only very basic functions can be accessed without delving into the menu system. In fact, we believe that the remote really is too basic and has too heavy a reliance on the menu system. Another feature lacking in the remote control is the ability to control other devices such as DVD players and set top boxes, a feature present in the units from Hitachi and Samsung.
Menu system
The menu system is quite straightforward and very easy to navigate. Basic picture adjustments include Contrast, Brightness, Colour, Tint, Sharpness, Luminance, Black Level and Colour Temperature. The Position and size of the image can be adjusted for all inputs other than RGB, which has its own settings such as Dot Clock, Clock Phase, Clamp Position and Auto-calibration.
Connectivity
The connectivity is good but certainly not as good as the Hitachi and Samsung units.
Picture quality
The Fujitsu's image quality is arguably the best of the units tested, but it was not a 'clean sweep'. For example, the gradient fills and shading on faces displayed distinct banding when viewed up close and some still images displayed annoying moire patterns not evident on the Hitachi and Samsung. Of course the problem with gradient fills vanishes when you move away to a more comfortable viewing distance from the display.
For movie viewing, the Fujitsu image is the 'cleanest' of all the displays tested, with greater impact at distance. While the colours are not as vivid as some of the other units, the colour on this Fujitsu is nevertheless more natural.
Audio quality
No speakers were supplied with the unit.