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Entered CNET Catalog: 07/19/2003
SKU: plsm46tv
Manufacturer: Gateway Inc.
Product summary
The good: Decent video processing with 3:2 pull-down; excellent feature package; independent memory for each input.
The bad: Poor black-level performance; significant false-contouring artifacts; low native resolution.
The bottom line: We don't recommend it for home-theater use, but this inexpensive panel will look better in situations with lots of ambient light.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/26/2003
The set's unusual gold finish contrasts with its screen's black, 1-inch border. At the lower right, several option buttons run along the bottom of the frame; to their far left sits a remote sensor/power indicator. Gateway doesn't include a stand, but you can buy an optional one direct from the company for $149.
Despite being a bit large, the remote is impressively configured. It features an intuitive layout, backlit keys, and direct access to each video input. You can also program the remote to control up to seven additional devices in your home-theater system.
This 46-incher has exactly as many pixels as most 42-inch panels: 852x480. That's plenty for DVD but not nearly enough to convey the full detail of high-definition TV. That said, no other plasmas of this size offer higher resolution, and high-res 42-inch sets are significantly more expensive than this Gateway.
Plasmas aren't known for deep feature sets, but that's changing as they become more popular, and this panel is packed with extras. The Gateway has a built-in TV tuner, so it's ready for all standard (non-HD) cable, antenna, and satellite sources. While the picture-in-picture (PIP) mode features three window sizes and nine display positions, it's limited to analog video and available only when the main screen's source is RGB or DVI. Independent memory for each input, our favorite tweaky feature, enables you to individually optimize all the video sources feeding the panel. An excellent 3D-YC comb filter helps clean up composite video. The four aspect-ratio options are 16:9 anamorphic, panorama, letterbox, and 4:3. There are also three selectable color temperatures and several gamma-correction settings.
This Gateway is also one of the growing number of panels with an onboard audio system. The two side-firing rear speakers, despite being bolstered by Wow sound processing, sounded tinny. You get a BBE Sonic Maximizer and simulated surround sound (SRS), and bass-extension circuitry lets you add a separate subwoofer.
The connectivity suite is also generous. Along with the obligatory composite and S-Video inputs, you'll find ins for component video (two sets), RGB from computers and HDTV set-top boxes (15-pin VGA-style), DVI transmission with HDCP copy protection, and RF cable/antenna. The corresponding audio inputs are joined by a subwoofer output. Finally, there is an RS-232 port for touch-panel control systems such as Crestron and AMX.
In our home theater, the 46-inch Gateway earned a mediocre score. Before calibration, the panel measured a blue 8,200K at the bottom of the grayscale and an even bluer 11,000K at the top. Even with the set's limited adjustment options, calibration vastly improved the grayscale, which ended up 6,550K near the bottom and 7,200K at the top, much closer to the 6,500K ideal.
Happily, the color decoder worked fairly well and didn't overaccentuate red. But red leaned toward orange, and green was on the limy side. White-field uniformity, the evenness of white across the screen, was not good. That fault was a surprise as plasma technology has the potential to be quite good in this regard.
As we watched the opening sequence of Star Trek: Insurrection via the interlaced outputs of a Hitachi DV-P735U DVD player, 3:2 pull-down detection was evident. This important feature compensates for the difference in frame rate between film and video, eliminating many of the motion artifacts that would otherwise appear in DVD movies.
The biggest performance problem occurred during darker scenes. Like the smaller GTW-P42M102, the 46-inch Gateway cannot reproduce black; the best it can muster is dark gray. We also saw significant false-contouring artifacts at or near black. For example, during Wolverine's bar fight in chapter 7 of the X-Men 1.5 DVD, pools of color moved in the black background, and the shadowed parts of Rouge's hooded face had definite edges rather than gradual fades. To our surprise, even moderately bright scenes, such as chapter 4 of Charlotte Gray, were riddled with these artifacts.
For a low-resolution panel, the Gateway performed decently with HDTV images, in which the black-level issues, especially the false contouring, were less visible. We played the 1080i D-Theater version of X-Men on our JVC HM-DH30000U, and the aforementioned sequences were distinctly cleaner, with fewer of those nasty moving artifacts. Of course, both detail and color saturation were also much better.
The Gateway's DVI input worked properly with the DVI outputs of the Samsung Bravo D1. With both players, DVI improved the picture, but the fundamental black-level problems remained.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 User Rating: 
9/10
Got my moneys worth
Pros: Still working fine 5 years later, decent picture
Cons: no sleep timer!
User Rating: 
1/10
BUYER DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT
Pros: GATEWAY SUCKS
Cons: DON'T TRUST ANY GATEWAY PRODUCTS
User Rating: 1/10
Defective Plasmas-Contact me
Pros: Contact Me, do not purchase
Cons: BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!
User Rating: 
2/10
Stay away, DO NOT BUY
Pros: Very inexpensive, makes good PC monitor
Cons: Breaks quickly! Costly repairs!
User Rating: 1/10
GATEWAY LOSER - 13 Mo. Electronics Fried - Unrepairable
Pros: Nice while it lasted
Cons: To much noise - VERY POOR SUPPORT FROM GATEWAY
User Rating: 2/10
I should have read PC Magazine's rating "Gateway's plasma is the real loser."
Pros: Gateway's EDTV's are lower priced compared to HDTV's. Espeically on the HD stations, she picture quality is quite crisp and clear.
Cons: After 16 months the TV broke. We've spent the past 3 months trying to either get it fixed or replaced.
User Rating: 
8/10
Fried at 22 months
Pros: none
Cons: too complicated and for $3500 it should have lasted longer than 22 months! The cost to repair??? Might as well drop it off a bridge and buy a new one. Or toss through a Gateway plate glass window. Now there's an idea. NEVER GATEWAY AGAIN. POOR POOR
User Rating: 
5/10
Lated 10 months before electronics fried.
Pros: Large Picture. Lots of inputs
Cons: Poor sound, Poor customer service. Company sent service tech twice with new parts that he knew wouldn't work. Constant push-backs & errors in getting replacement.
User Rating: 5/10
Mine died immediately after warrantee expires.
Pros: Looks good.
Cons: My Gateway plasma tv just FRIED on the 13th month from purchase date. Gateway informs me that it will cost $1,000 for a tech to come and hopefully fix it. Or I can pay $79 per hour to have a nice chat with them and still have a piece of junk sitting in
User Rating: 8/10
Great product for price!
Pros: Great picture, easy to use. It actually is part of my home theater system. We mostly watch DVDs, so the analog quality isn't a big deal to us.
Cons: Some bleed-through of whites on non-digital [cable] input. Internal speakers absolutely suck. [they now offer external speakers just for this model]
User Rating: 
4/10
Cutomer service not good
Pros: Good picture for the money
Cons: Something wrong with TV customer service very very slow with any answer and wants to blame everything on your lines coming into your home
User Rating: 
3/10
Too Much Humming!!!
Pros: Looks good
Cons: The humming noise generated by this TV can only be overcome by turning the volume up to uncomfortable levels. Consumer support was awful! Their idea of support was telling me to hold the phone up to the TV so they could listen to the humming! They wouldn'
User Rating: 8/10
Great Plasma Deal
Pros: Easy to setup and more inputs than you can ever need! Hooked mine up to a Sony dream system and a Dell computer!(Sorry Gateway). Having the built in tuner is great!
Cons: Built in speakers are not very good, but I have built in speakers in my installation that eliminated the need for the speaker anyway. You can buy add-on speakers that fit on the sides of the unit. I would reccommend that if your not hooking it up to a hom
User Rating: 
10/10
Great Plasma at a Great Value
Pros: The picture is awesome and at the price, i dont think there is a better value out there. i also got the speakers that attach and was surprised at how great they sound
Cons: the gateway badge is a little big on front, but i guess gateway needs to let everyone know they make TVs now...
User Rating: 10/10
This is a bargin.
Pros: If you've hunted the retail outlets, you'll find out in a hurry that is is the best buy among 46" plasma. EDTV is not HDTV, but it's far from poor quality. I can live w/ it until I buy a box later on.
Cons:
User Rating: 10/10
this is a good EDTV for the $
Pros: Fine quality. The price is unbeatable, considering built in tuner & speakers, no shipping charge.
Cons: This isn't HD, but it's a lot less!
User Rating: 9/10
I'm loving it.
Pros: Friendly use and value price. That's the best plasma(quality and price) I've seen in the world.Two thumbs up!!Awesome stuff.I'm loving it..
Cons:
User Rating: 10/10
I guess some people dont know anything!
Pros: Very good looking plasma, great picture. If you dont believe me, go into your local Gateway store and see for yourself.
Cons: Not many.
User Rating: 9/10
Pretty Cool Great Price
Pros: Looked around...most stores still dont try and display the technology with all the different inputs...this one was..plus it looks just GREAT...i bought one..they had it in STOCK(smart move to Gateway) and while i dont have their computers their tv's so fa
Cons: Speakers..Not the greatest and they should advertise it with the stand that was a shock...but over all saved 1000 bucks and i now have a plasma...
User Rating: 10/10
Picture Quality Floored Me!
Pros: Nothing else is even close to this in value. I researched every plasma available and Gateway's was by far the most outstanding value.
Cons: none
User Rating: 8/10
Awesome! Worth every penny!
Pros: Built in tuner. Built in speakers. Awesome picture quality. Last week I got one of the first 46 inch Plasmas that Gateway made. Blows away everything else I saw when shopping around.
Cons: Not true HD but I can hardly tell any difference.
