Gateway 42-inch Plasma TV
March 2003
The Cowhide Home Theater
Reviewed by Joanathan Takiff
I was intrigued to hear recently of a brand new 42 inch plasma widescreen TV selling for $3,000 — undercutting competitors' comparable-quality models by a massive grand or two. More exciting still was actually putting my hands and eyes on this slim-line beauty for an extended test run, and discovering that it performs so well.
The set comes from Gateway, the computer hardware company that now hankers to be your everything-digital entertainment supplier. Its first plasma's fairly remarkable price has been achieved in much the same way as Gateway cut the bottom out of the PC market in the '80s — by going the "direct" route. That's to say, the company negotiates prices with component makers and assembly factories, then sells the finished goods directly to consumers through its 800-number, online and in Gateway Country stores. In the process, Gateway can afford to eliminate one big markup step — the 20-40 percent that retailers tack on to make their operating nut.
The set's "glass," as industry-ites refer to the plasma display screen itself, is an 852x480-pixel panel from LG/Philips. Most of the assembly work for the GTW-P42M102 is performed in Taiwan, though the cable-ready TV tuner is actually wired in at a Gateway facility in the United States. This split-building strategy lets the company cut its import duty outlays (since the products enter the United States as "monitors" rather than as finished TVs) and allows Gateway to do a final quality control check of every unit during the tuner install process.
Weighing less than 70 pounds, and measuring a tad under 4 inches deep, my test model moved in easily and really dressed up the test room with its tastefully understated, brushed aluminum and black-toned appearance. (Sorry, no cow spots on the box!) Even without an operating manual (which showed up a few days later) we had the display up and running quickly, just as soon as we discovered the master power button hiding on the back.
The set comes out of the box with sturdy feet already attached and back-firing speakers built in — both features which, like the tuner, are often extras in plasma purchases. Back-of-set connections are numerous — including two high-def-ready (progressive/interlace) component sets, one S-Video, one composite video, a DVI interface (not copy-protected), RGB in and out and an apparently non-functioning RS-232 port, which the owner's manual describes as "not used (reserved)." To ease the set's flush-mounting against a wall (with a $200 optional bracket), the wiring connections are all made vertically — plugs pointing up, cables hanging down. But make sure there's some breathing room around the cabinet. This fan-less (for quiet's sake) monitor does put out some heat, especially dead center on the rear-top grated area of its enclosure.
Reviewed by Joanathan Takiff
I was intrigued to hear recently of a brand new 42 inch plasma widescreen TV selling for $3,000 — undercutting competitors' comparable-quality models by a massive grand or two. More exciting still was actually putting my hands and eyes on this slim-line beauty for an extended test run, and discovering that it performs so well.
The set comes from Gateway, the computer hardware company that now hankers to be your everything-digital entertainment supplier. Its first plasma's fairly remarkable price has been achieved in much the same way as Gateway cut the bottom out of the PC market in the '80s — by going the "direct" route. That's to say, the company negotiates prices with component makers and assembly factories, then sells the finished goods directly to consumers through its 800-number, online and in Gateway Country stores. In the process, Gateway can afford to eliminate one big markup step — the 20-40 percent that retailers tack on to make their operating nut.
The set's "glass," as industry-ites refer to the plasma display screen itself, is an 852x480-pixel panel from LG/Philips. Most of the assembly work for the GTW-P42M102 is performed in Taiwan, though the cable-ready TV tuner is actually wired in at a Gateway facility in the United States. This split-building strategy lets the company cut its import duty outlays (since the products enter the United States as "monitors" rather than as finished TVs) and allows Gateway to do a final quality control check of every unit during the tuner install process.
Weighing less than 70 pounds, and measuring a tad under 4 inches deep, my test model moved in easily and really dressed up the test room with its tastefully understated, brushed aluminum and black-toned appearance. (Sorry, no cow spots on the box!) Even without an operating manual (which showed up a few days later) we had the display up and running quickly, just as soon as we discovered the master power button hiding on the back.
The set comes out of the box with sturdy feet already attached and back-firing speakers built in — both features which, like the tuner, are often extras in plasma purchases. Back-of-set connections are numerous — including two high-def-ready (progressive/interlace) component sets, one S-Video, one composite video, a DVI interface (not copy-protected), RGB in and out and an apparently non-functioning RS-232 port, which the owner's manual describes as "not used (reserved)." To ease the set's flush-mounting against a wall (with a $200 optional bracket), the wiring connections are all made vertically — plugs pointing up, cables hanging down. But make sure there's some breathing room around the cabinet. This fan-less (for quiet's sake) monitor does put out some heat, especially dead center on the rear-top grated area of its enclosure.
