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Wysius, eh? Now there's a name to conjure with. Surely it
must be part of a Harry Potter spell, or one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies? It's
really just the cover-all name for Thomson's current plasma range. Fancy.
Considerably less fancy, though, is the Wysius 32WS95UF's £2,500 price.
Surely it can't be any good, can it?
Description
Thomson is usually an assured bet in the looks department,
and the 32WS95UF doesn't let us down. The slender, glossy screen frame, coupled
with a sweet little optional tabletop stand, are seriously easy on the eye.
What's more, the included speakers actually look like an integral part of the
design, rather than a bolted-on afterthought.
Connections
A comprehensive set of hookups includes a 15-pin PC input
alongside the usual suspects of S-video, composite video and three Scart jacks
(two of which can take RGB). There's a subwoofer line-output alongside the
usual stereo audio outputs, too, while video is delivered from the AV box to
screen by a high quality DVI jack. There are BNC component video jacks, too,
but only on the panel itself, not the media box.
Operation
The 32WS95UF uses the same bright, clear, pretty and
reasonably well laid-out onscreen menu systems as Thomson's range of higher-end
TVs, which is just fine and dandy by us. The instruction manual is a little
lightweight, though.
Distinguishing features
It's got a very desirable twin-tuner picture-in-picture
system, a comb filter that, unusually, can be switched on and off as you wish,
a contrast expander, noise reduction, Virtual Dolby processing, and last but
not least, an option that lets you have your picture close like a pair of stage
curtains when you power the screen down!
Picture
Disappointingly, the 32WS95UF doesn't show any overt signs
of progress from previous Thomson offerings. The contrast is still good without
being outstanding, colours are still manage to be reasonably natural and
vibrant, and detail levels are still quite high. But the screen hasn't made
that leap into the plasma premier league as we'd hoped, with pixel noise and
solarisation over certain dark and reddish parts of the picture remaining
regrettably prevalent.
Sound
It never ceases to amaze me how much potency some
manufacturers are getting out of the necessarily slim speakers they're building
for their plasma screens. And Thomson is up there with the best of the bunch.
The soundstage is wide, deep, coherent, natural and free of distortion, though
the Virtual Dolby processing does make rather a pig's ear of dialogue.
Conclusion
The 32WS95UF certainly isn't the most exciting plasma around
at the moment, but it is the most affordable. This will probably be enough in
itself to win it plenty of friends and raise pulses. |
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LAB RESULTS
Colour: Practically no bleed or noise with hard edges
excellent
Geometry: Perfect
Frequency response: A little detail at 5.8MHz
good |
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FEATURES
Tuner/AV box: Yes/yes
Audio output: 2 x 15W
Scarts: Three (two RGB)
Standard component video inputs: Yes
Soundstage widener: Virtual Dolby
Picture-in-picture: Yes
Resolution: 1,024 x 852
Anti-screenburn measures: None
Dimensions: 1,018(w) x 517(h) x 122(d)mm
Weight: 25kg |
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01732 520920
