Neither button is convenient to press. Panasonic designed the remote control in such a way as to make the circle of arrows--with the OK button in the middle--too high for easy reach. On the other hand, the volume and channel controls are perfectly placed for quick access, and the numbers are reasonably handy, as well. A black ridge on the back gives the remote an unusually good grip. The remote isn't programmable, but almost every button on it is backlit.

When you press the remote's Input button, up comes a scrollable list of inputs to help you move the TV's attention from your DVD player to your game console to broadcast or cable channels. Nothing unusual about that, but the TC-L42D30's Input screen has some nice touches. From this screen, you can assign labels that will help you identify what's connected to each input. You can also select a 'Not used' label, which will save you from having to scroll past that particular input.

A separate Viera Tools button on the remote gives you a handful of convenient options. You can use it, for instance, to go to the HDTV's media player (more on that below), change the video mode, or turn on the Eco option, which can shut off the TV after 10 minutes of no signal or 3 hours of no activity.

Speaking of saving power, this Energy Star HDTV sips an astonishingly low 42 watts when on. (Many DVRs consume that much when off.) This result constitutes a PCWorld record, as the TC-L42D30 is the first HDTV to receive a PCWorld Green Score of 100. As with most modern sets, the amount of juice it drank while off was so small that our meters couldn't record it.

Perhaps the lack of Wi-Fi helps keep the power consumption down. You'll need to buy an ethernet cable or use a separate Wi-Fi adapter to get .