Samsung currently lays claim to a sizeable amount of flatscreen territory.

It has planted its flag in the super-continent that is mainstream LCD and has been a pragmatic supplier of populist plasmas.

Now Samsung wants to carve out some of the super-screen market for itself as well - but until it can produce monster-sized LCD substrates at reasonable cost, it seems content to proffer plasma - enter the PS-63P76FD.

Visually it's every bit the hulking beast you might expect.

The glossy, ultra-minimalist black bezel gives the set at least a modicum of predictable style, although it looks more like an overweight version of one of the brand's 32in LCDs than a genuinely-styled 63in panel.

Connectivity is good. The 63P76 features three HDMI v1.3 inputs, compatible with DeepColor (the expanded colour palette from specific software, such as AVCHD format home movies and certain PlayStation 3 games), and automatic lip-syncing.

The HDMIs are 'Anynet' compliant too, permitting the TV's remote to control any connected sources enabled with the 'CEC' industry communication standard.

Quite why the industry at large has elected to call CEC by a plethora of different names eludes me (Viera link, Bravia Theatre Sync, etc), but there remains broad interoperability (in a 'try it and see' kinda way).

The well-presented, if rather sluggish, onscreen menus provide an unusually wide selection of picture tweaks.

These should be employed with a certain amount of caution. Some of these tweaks cause more problems than they solve.

An Edge Enhancer tends to make images look harsh and artificial as contours become too dominant. I also noted that a Movie Plus Mode designed to make motion more fluid actually introduced distracting shimmering and flicker around the edges of moving objects.

Still, there are definite benefits to be gleaned from careful tinkering with gamma, white balance and black level boosting controls.

I was also rather impressed with the way Samsung's Digital Natural Image Engine processing option enhanced the appearance of standard-definition sources.

This is significant because a screen of this size is a ruthless canvas for anything less than high-definition and well worth noting if you have a large collection of DVDs.

Proof, pudding, etc

Image quality is high. The set is compatible with 1080p/24 source material, be it HD DVD or Blu-ray, meaning that pans are more-or-less judder-free on film material.

The screen also sports a 48Hz mode that enables it to process the video at a non-artefact inducing multiple of the standard 24fps.

Where plasma traditionally scores over LCD is contrast. In that respect, this set isn't too shabby at all. It claims a paper specification contrast ratio of 15,000:1.

This falls only a fraction short of the industry-leading 16,000:1 figure quoted by Pioneer's remarkable Kuro range. Of course, anyone can go around quoting big numbers; it's another thing achieving them in reality.

The Samsung's real-world contrast is more akin to 298:1, as measured by our own independent Tech Labs, although this is not much less than that of Pioneer's latest plasma panels.

Samsung's high contrast claim, however, is a result of its Ultra FilterBright technology, whereby a filter built into the screen array is charged with removing up to 90 per cent of ambient screen reflections.

Improving colour gradations is an 18bit colour processing engine. Samsung says its silicon can deliver 18 quadrillion colour shades, resulting in a more expressive and natural colour palette.

Given that 10- and 12bit colour processing is more the norm for a higher-end screen, it seems likely that the maths has been given a little marketing spin that doesn't make them directly comparable to rivals.