Screen Tests

Do you cry at the end of Cinema Paradiso, lean in to see the Nip/Tuck surgery close-up, or leap from the couch when your team scores a touchdown? Do you love TV?

With a growing number of high-definition programs and high-quality DVDs, there's a lot to love. When everything works, big-screen HDTVs deliver images with rich color and fine detail.

For this review, our Test Center examined TVs with screens measuring 50 or 52 inches diagonally. Five were plasma TVs with bright images, rich colors...and price tags of up to $9000; three were Digital Light Processing rear-projection sets. While bulkier than plasmas, DLP sets are far slimmer than tube-based TVs--and, at $3000 to $4000, cheaper than plasmas.

What about LCD TVs? Models over 40 inches are starting to appear, but the cheapest cost around $10,000. Plasma and DLP TVs, meanwhile, will get cheaper: The research firm ISuppli/Stanford Resources predicts price drops of 28 percent on 50-inch plasmas and 19 percent on DLP sets in the next year.

New TV models don't all premiere at once, so the latest sets from companies such as Sony and Samsung weren't ready in time for this review. But of the plasmas we reviewed, superb screen quality earned Pioneer's $9000 PDP-5040HD the Digital World Choice award; Panasonic's TH-50PX25U/P offers nearly comparable quality for $1200 less and wins our Digital World Value award. The Digital World Choice award for DLP goes to Optoma Technology's 50-inch OptomaTV RD50.

• Plasma or DLP: Sexy Versus Thrifty
• Living Large With Good Shows From Plasma and Rear-Protection DLP TVs (chart)
• Lab Notes: Putting HDTVs to the Test
• Setup Tips: TLC for Your HDTV
• Plasma vs. DLP: It's Not Just About Price
• Viewing Tips
• Pioneer PDP-5040HD
• Mitsubishi PD-5030
• Panasonic TH-50PX25U/P
• LG Electronics DU-50PZ60
• Gateway 50-Inch HD-Ready Plasma TV
• OptomaTV RD50
• RCA Scenium HDLP50W151
• LG Electronics RU-52SZ61D
• Programming: Getting Set for HDTV