LCD TV Reviews

Per screen inch, this is the most expensive TV we've reviewed in years. The early 50-inch plasmas were certainly more expensive (and obviously smaller), but, in the era of higher yields and vicious competition, it's rare to see any company come out with a model that unabashedly eschews the price wars. An obvious comparison would be one of a Ferrari, and Sharp would indeed love that comparison. For the extra money, does this 57-inch offer greater performance compared with the Camrys of the LCD world? The better question would be, does it offer enough better performance to justify its substantial premium?

LCD is coming into its own as a home theater technology, priming itself to challenge plasma and DLP in the larger screen sizes. Until recently, technology and size limitations have caused us to approach LCD as a second-room technology, but you can't ignore the roar of the masses, who are buying more LCD TVs than ever before, especially in the 32- to 42-inch screen sizes.

There's a revolution happening in high-definition televisions. Plasma and LCD flat panel displays are on the verge of dominating the market. CRTs still sell in higher numbers, but primarily in smaller and cheaper models. Once you get much over $1000 and 30-inches diagonal, CRTs are dying off like flies.

Video editor Geoffrey Morrison is a car guy. Me, I drive a Camry. It's 10 years old, and it does everything I need it to do. But I certainly appreciate the difference when I sit behind the wheel of, say, a BMW. That's kind of how I felt when I test drove Samsung's latest SyncMaster LCD monitor, the 244T.

So you've saved up your pennies and are ready to buy a swanky new 32-inch LCD HDTV. You've picked out the perfect place on the wall to mount the TV; its streamlined aesthetic complements your room's clean lines and minimalist approach. Before you head to the local retailer, ask yourself one important question: Have you also picked out the perfect place to put all of those clunky boxes that feed signals to your flat-panel beauty?

Sony is arguably the most powerful brand name in television. The Trinitron is the premiere picture-tube technology known to two or three generations of TV buyers. But what has Sony done for us lately? In front and rear projection, the company has mustered SXRD, a visually credible version of silicon-based liquid-crystal technology. Only in flat panels, the subject of this review, has Sony yet to earn a commanding role.

The CEA recently conducted a study to figure out how many people will be affected when analog broadcasts are no more. (We're still taking bets as to whether or not that day will ever truly arrive.) Their research determined that about 12 percent of the 285 million TVs in the U.S. receive programming via an over-the-air signal, while 94.4 million TVs are connected to a cable box, satellite receiver, or both.