IT'S BIG - HUGE, IN FACT - and it's in-escapable. You can't seem to stop looking at it, but is that because of its sleekness or because it is blocking the way to the kitchen? Whatever the reason, a 50-inch plasma display sitting in the dining room is quite a conversation piece.
As a display, the Fujitsu PDS5003W is a rather bare-bones affair compared to regular TVs. There are no built-in speakers or TV tuner. This might seem a disappointment after plonking down $74,800, but there's more to it than television. Plugged into a surround-sound stereo system, this baby would make an impressive jewel in your home-theatre crown. If that's not your style, the optional speakers provided with the display are quite forcible, although the unit's built-in amplifier is pretty weak. Having an external tuner, standalone or via a VCR, means you can upgrade to high-definition television (when, and if, it becomes avail-able) without throwing your expensive display away.
Usually, I am all for people learning to hook up their electronics themselves, but not in this case. The Fujitsu weighs a tonne and the connections can be a bit tricky.
The RGB connection for a DVD player requires BNC adaptors, and you have to know if your DVD player needs a non-terminating TTL connection or a 75-ohm analogue connection. If you didn't understand any part of that gobbledygook, have the shop fix it up for you.
My first experience with the display was disappointing: there were rather pro-nounced interference lines running horizontally through the picture. The man from Fujitsu suggested moving the unit, but I tried changing the connection cables first, which did nothing. Then I turned the display 90 degrees and the problem went away.
With a film finally up and running on a clear screen, I looked for problems and found two. Firstly, it needed calibrating to get the best possible picture. I recommend buying a copy of the Avia Guide To Home Theater DVD to help you set up and properly calibrate your display. That done, the picture was remarkably accurate, with less colour bias than most TVs. Secondly, stick to region-one DVDs. The loss of quality when discs are remastered for the local market is noticeable on such a large display.