Since Sony announced that it was leaving behind plasma TV development earlier this year and opened up a new joint venture with Samsung to produce more 40 to 42 inch LCD panels, the price has decreased with supply.

Global LCD TV sales are up 87 percent from 2004 and expected to hit 18.8 million units by the end of 2005.

Using a Video Essentials test patterns DVD, the testing revealed that the TH-42PD25 had an issue with bright scenes--the brightest image would be crushed white. For example, a cloud in the sky would have no detail other than a white blob. Reducing the contrast ratio didn't help either--the picture merely became darker while the detail on whites didn't improve.

VIERA will also have two LCD TV sizes--the 32-inch TX-32LX1X and 26-inch TX-26LX1X, both HD models. The 65-inch T-65PHDB-K will also be available shortly.

The PDP-435SX realizes the power consumption of just 306 watts - the lowest in its class, according to Pioneer - by employing a number of energy-saving technologies, including Pioneer's P.U.R.E. Panel technology.

This plasma TV has been enjoying a good reputation in the Japanese TV market ever since its release in July 2004.

Fujitsu and Hitachi jointly manufacture plasma displays in a 50-50 joint venture, Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display. Although demand for plasma TVs is expected to grow, the large infrastructure investments appear to be scaring off Fujitsu. The company is rumored to be in talks with Hitachi to reduce its interest in the joint venture.

Fujitsu pioneered plasma displays in 1968 and was the first company in 1995 to manufacture a production plasma television.

Brighter, slimmer and more power efficient, the 21-inch OLED panel demonstrated outperforms existing LCD panels on the market. OLED LCD screens generate its own light, thus eliminating the need to have a backlight and resulting in more efficient monitors.

The Chinese government is eager to capitalize on the growing digital television market in China, in time for the 2008 Olympics. Official Chinese statistics cite 370 million TV sets and a growth rate of 40 million sets each year. Nationwide digital TV service is expected by 2015.

These new CRT-based digital televisions are two-thirds the depth of conventional TVs--for example, Samsung's new 30-inch SlimFit model will be 16 inches deep, compared with 24 inches for its standard tube set.

First off, the survey showed that the primary motivations for buying a new LCD or plasma TV are picture clarity and high resolution (32 percent for LCD TVs and 31 percent for plasma TVs), followed by space-saving advantages (31 percent for LCD TVs and 24 percent for plasma TVs).

How cool is that?! Vanity and TV all in one.

Higher black level, greater contrast and larger viewing areas is achieved using Philips' HCFL lamp system, Aptura, when combined with ClearLCD. Aptura backlight solves many of the image quality issues commonly encountered with the LCD technology: Low-brightness, low contrast and narrow field of view. All three of these factors should improve significantly with Aptura backlight.

The 32PF9630A LCD TV will be availabe September 2005 at the MSRP of $2,199.