Toshiba's 2006 range of LCD TVs has been packed with features, boasting performance levels that's consistently won high praise. So there's no reason to expect that Toshiba's new plasma TV, the 42WP56P, will be any different.

It certainly looks in keeping with the LCD models, thanks to its deep grey screen surround with silvery outer trim. In fact, the design actually looks better at this 42in size than it does on the smaller LCD screens.

However, while trying to connect up my high-definition sources I suddenly realised that I couldn't - there are no component video inputs or DVI/HDMI inputs, and, although there's a PC jack, it's not confi gured to receive high-defi nition video. So this TV is not only not HD Ready, it's not even HD capable!

It's been a long time since I saw a plasma TV so completely uninterested in the joys of the high-def revolution. The 42WP56P does at least provide all the necessary TV options (though Scarts are limited to two, only one of which can take RGB signals).

Given the lack of HD interest demonstrated by the 42WP56P's connections, it's no great surprise to fi nd that the set's native pixel resolution isn't up to HD speed either: just 852 x 480 (WVGA). What's more, there's no sign of the Active Vision scaling and picture enhancing system found on Toshiba's LCD models.

Oh well - at least the claimed contrast ratio of 3000:1 and maximum brightness of 1500cd/m2 show some signs of home cinema life.

At least the set carries a reasonable rack of features amid its onscreen menus. These include a set of four different methods for countering screen burn; an automatic colour management option; adjustment of the bass colour by tweaking individually the hue and saturation for the red, green, blue, yellow, magenta and cyan parts of the picture; MPEG noise reduction (odd given that the set has no digital TV tuner); and a cinema mode for improving the appearance of motion.

Starting out (in the absence of any HD options) with a combination of Sky Digital and DVD via the RGB Scart, my mood towards the 42WP56P starts to soften as it delivers likeable results for such an affordable 42in TV.