To many, plasma is a dying technology. It's power-hungry nature and fragile build along with the inherent phosphor degradation issue have given it a lot of bad publicity, especially from the LCD loyalists. But the truth is that plasma is still a worthy contender as a viable HDTV, thanks to it's unmatchable black levels and better viewing angles. Anyways, that discussion warrants for a whole different feature; right now, we test run the 42-inch Hitachi 42PD9800TA plasma HDTV.
Build
Though there isn't anything distinctive about the Hitachi plasma display, it does look pretty sleek. The black and silver color combo matches it with any kind of living room setup. The speakers are placed on either side to the screen making the unit look wider than it is.
I really liked the power swivel function of the TV stand, which allows you to swivel the TV on it's base using the remote control itself. Beats the crap out of calling in your man servant to turn the TV around for you, doesn't it!
As you can expect from any high end flat panel display these days, the Hitachi has a whole bunch of connectivity options. For quick connectivity you have composite and s-video connectors on the back along with a headphone jack.
The right side has a memory card slot and a Pict-Bridge connector for digital cameras. There are also some basic operation buttons here.
All the important connections, however are at the back - Two groups of component inputs, two composite, s-video, antenna (RF), audio out (RCA), two HDMI slots, and a VGA input for connecting a PC. There's no option for DVI input, which I found a bit odd, considering a lot of display cards these days use that output format. Still, that problem can be solved with any standard DVI-VGA converter I guess.
Bought Hitachi 42" Plasma (42HDT79) in March 2007. Failed September 21. Still waiting for parts November 26, 2007. Hitachi has no idea when the part will be available. Probably after the warrante is up! I had to have the set delivered to the repair centre. Colborn's TV. 
