Dell dives into HDTV Market

Business strategy types often speak of "first mover advantage." The basic premise is pretty simple: The guy that gets there first has a better chance of winning. When it comes to new product categories, Dell is rarely, if ever, a first mover, and there's a simple reason: It doesn't have to be. What Dell is usually first at doing is bringing its formidable volume production and aggressive pricing model to bear on a market, giving most of its competitors fits. HDTV is no exception for Dell. It has had several smallish LCD-based HDTVs on the market, but took its time bringing out larger displays, but now the wait is over. The company has two 42-inch plasma-based displays that it's selling direct from its Web site, true to Dell form. Both are competitively priced while maintaining a good level of quality. The W4200 and the W4200HD are priced at $2,300 and $3,400, respectively. Both use PixelWorks' DNX video processors, and both employ Samsung panels. The difference is that the W4200 has EDTV resolution (852x480), while the W4200HD has a native resolution of 1024x768 with non-square pixels. We recently took the W4200HD for a test-drive and like the way it handled. If you're in the market for a flat-screen HDTV, should the W4200HD be on your short list? The W4200HD has a native pixel resolution of 1024x768, so it isn't a true HD device, because it doesn't have enough pixels to draw a 1280x720 (720p) HDTV image. This is common among 42-inch PDPs, and to the W4200HD's credit, its PixelWorks video processor does a very good job scaling both 720p and 1080i HDTV images to fit its panel. The W4200HD has two tuners built in, one of which is an ATSC over-the-the air HD tuner. Having a built-in ATSC tuner allows this set to display HDTV channels broadcast in your area, though you will need an antenna (not included). In addition to its generally solid performance, having the ATSC tuner built in is a big plus: A standalone ATSC tuner will set you back another $200 to $300. So in the race to be a player in the 42-inch plasma panel HDTV market, Dell didn't get there first. But in taking its time, Dell has put together a good panel (from Samsung) with a good video processor (from PixelWorks), and combined that with two tuners (one of them ATSC) to produce a compelling plasma offering at $3,499. But there are a lot of 42-inch 1024x768 plasma panels on the market for under $3,000 now, and while we like the Dell, we're not sure that it will be able to command a $500-700 price premium versus other panels. The ATSC tuner is certainly a plus for the W4200HD, but a standalone ATSC tuner can be found for $300, so if a panel costs $2,700, you could get it and a standalone tuner, and still come out ahead. For its performance and feature set, we do like the W4200HD, and it would make a solid addition to almost anyone's home entertainment center. But a less-expensive alternative might be the better way to go if you're trying to keep your HDTV acquisition cost below a set price ceiling. If you're okay with parting with more dollars to get a quality panel, the Dell will fit the bill. Just prepare yourself for a bigger bill to get that good fit.