Bigger, better, cheaper - those three words sum up the major trends in LCD and plasma TVs this year.



The supersizing of flat-panel screens is hard to miss. More LCD sets are sporting bigger screens, so we have added a new size category (46- to 52-inch models) to our Ratings. In plasma TVs, 50 is the new 40. Forty-two-inch screens are still going strong, but 50-inch and even 60-inch screens have become the star attractions in many electronics stores.

More new TVs of both types can display excellent picture quality with high-definition programming, though lower-scoring models fall short of that to varying degrees.

The best sets are better than ever. The Panasonic TH-50PZ700U had the best picture of any flat-panel TV we have ever tested. One of the new breed of 1080p plasma sets now hitting stores, it combines “full HD”--1920x1080 native resolution, the highest currently available--with the characteristic strengths of plasma technology. Its ability to reproduce the finest detail, plus its rich, vibrant colors and deep blacks, lend an almost three-dimensional look to images.

While screen size and picture quality are on the rise, prices continue to fall. We might not see the extreme pricing fireworks we saw at the Black Friday sales last Thanksgiving, but you can bank on plenty of good deals on plasma and LCD TVs this holiday season. Prices of 42- and 50-inch plasma TVs could be about one-third lower than they were last December, predicts Ross Young, president of Display Search, a research firm in Austin, Texas. LCD sets with 40-inch and larger screens, especially those with 1080p resolution, could cost you about 25 percent less.

LCD TVs outsold plasmas by about three to one last year, in part because they come in more, and smaller, sizes than plasmas, which start at 42 inches. However, if you are buying a bigger TV, do not blindly follow the crowd down the LCD path. In some cases, a plasma display can give you a more satisfying TV-watching experience.

With either an LCD or plasma TV, consider a screen with 1080p resolution for use with a computer. The higher resolution will let you see more content onscreen with greater clarity and finer detail than on a 720p set. (You might have to connect your computer to the TV via an HDMI input to get 1080p resolution and to avoid having outer edges of the image cut off, otherwise known as overscan.)

For somewhat lower electric bills. LCDs tend to use less power than comparably sized plasma TVs. It does not appear that the differences would affect your electric bills by more than a few dollars a month in many cases, so that might not be a major factor in your decision. However, there is obviously an environmental advantage to using a less power-hungry TV.

Whichever TV type you ultimately decide on, do not skimp on screen size. In our surveys, many consumers said they would buy a bigger set if they could do it over. A 40- to 42-inch screen is a sensible choice for an average-sized room. A 46- to 50-inch or larger TV requires greater distance between you and the screen to ensure optimal picture quality.