HDTV is a fairly confusing morass of acronyms, standards, and buzzwords. Throw in the differences between plasma, LCD, and DLP and you’re left with an alphabet soup (this may help clear things up). What follows are three TVs you’ll want to check out when you decide to take the plunge and go for 1080p, the current cutting-edge for highest quality picture.

Good

I have a couple friends that own the Westinghouse LVM-42W2 42″ LCD. I like to think of it as the VW bug of 1080p: it’s cheap, it works well in most conditions, and while it’s not perfect it’s pretty damn good. Just a couple years ago, a LCD panel of this size would command a price above $5,000 and yet this highest definition panel runs around $1500 depending on where you shop. I know video games look amazing on it, HD-DVD looks pretty good, and regular ol’ HD channels are sharp. I hear the black levels leave something to be desired and there can be ghosting with high action, but overall you’re not going to get a bigger bang for the buck.

Better

Sony’s Bravia brand covers a wide-ranging line of LCD TVs and their latest KDL-46XBR3 is their top of the line 46 incher. It’s going to set you back about $3500 and it’s very sleek looking. Picture quality is superb on this unit. I’ve spent a couple hours watching one while shopping and if I had the spare cash to burn, this would be my choice. Color, brightness, and contrast are all so good I thought it was a plasma screen the first time I saw it (I can usually tell a plasma from a LCD). You do pay a little extra for the Sony name and in this specific model, a black bezel. It may sound silly, but the cheaper XBR2 model that comes in silver is identical but will save you about $300.

Best

Personally, I prefer the look of plasma over LCD because LCD sets often display a bit of pixels when the action gets intense (especially outlines of players during a football game). Part of the reason is simple physics: electricity moves through a gas (plasma) much faster than liquid (LCD) so pixels can change colors quicker on plasma.

The funny thing about plasma though is making a 1080p set is fairly difficult, requiring larger screens in order to fit so many pixels. If you ever read gadget blogs, you’ve often seen companies fighting for the crown of largest plasma screen, but Pioneer has gone the other way with 1080p plasma.

The Pro FHD1 is the world’s smallest plasma 1080p set, at 50″, and only because Pioneer did a lot of engineering to get the pixels so small. There’s an old cliche about HDTV, where everyone compares the technology to having “a picture that’s like looking out of a window” but if I had to describe the FHD1 demo set I saw in a high-end home theater store playing 1080p content, I would have to agree. Rich blacks, super high contrast, and bright colors. This set is as lifelike as it gets. When this TV came out in the spring, the list price was a cool $10,000, but now I see Pioneer listing it for $8k. At that price, only pro athletes and millionaire home theater fans may apply, but if you’re looking for the best of the best, the FHD1 is it.