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And so to the moment we’ve been gagging to get to: how the P63XHA40 shapes up with our lovely assortment of HD and standard definition sources. Starting out with HD, the news is for the most part spectacularly good. Especially striking is the staggering sharpness of its HD pictures. If you really want to appreciate the full extent of what an impact the extra detail in a good HD image can make, you won’t find a better showcase than this Fujitsu.

With the outstandingly detailed visuals of Fight Night 3 on our Xbox 360, for instance, every pore and bead of sweat on the boxers’ pummelled faces is gloriously, almost disturbingly clear. And with any of our selection of HD movies, the amount of fine detailing and texture the P63XHA40 delivers turns watching them into an experience akin to looking through a (big!) window at a real world rather than watching a TV.

Of course, this latter statement wouldn’t hold true if a number of other factors didn’t also come out well on the P63XHA40. These include the screen’s impressive suppression of most forms of video noise with HD, and a black level response that gets deep enough to reproduce dark scenes and picture segments free of the greying over and hollowness that afflicts many flat panel TVs. Also key is how natural colours look with high definition sources, combining attractive vibrancy with some generally natural tones.

The problem with the P63XHA40 is that while its HD pictures are first rate, its standard definition efforts are far less rewarding. Step down from HD and the amount of noise in the picture increases exponentially. What’s more, the picture starts to look far less sharp – so much so, in fact, that some SD sources look almost out of focus.
As for the P63XHA40’s speakers, they’re actually pretty good, with plenty of power and frequency range helping them sound clean and punchy. That said, we don’t really think they justify their £200-plus cost.

Verdict

How desirable the P63XA40 is depends almost totally on what you intend to use it for. If you’re looking for a partner for a planned high definition set up, you simply won’t find anything better – hence our score of 9 for its pictures. But if standard definition sources are your main TV diet, your £9k might be better spent elsewhere.

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