Sound & Vision's Best
The best gear to buy right now
By the staff of Sound & Vision
May 2007
HDTVs Flat Panels Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1 1080p 50-inch Plasma
$8,000, October 2006
Pioneer conquered significant engineering challenges to deliver its classic plasma perfection in a 50-inch package with 1080p resolution.
pioneerelectronics.com
JVC DLA-HD1 1080p D-ILA Front Projector
$6,300, May 2007
Great picture quality with virtually no compromises at a good price makes this 1080p front pro the one to beat.
jvc.com
Olevia 747i 47-inch 1080p LCD HDTV
$3,500, April 2007
Olevia, better known for its budget LCDs in the smaller sizes, pulled out the stops on this premium HDTV featuring the Silicon Optix Realta video processing chip.
www.olevia.com
Toshiba 47LZ196 47-inch 1080p LCD
$3,500, January 2007
Good picture quality coupled with one of the most extensive feature sets you'll find on a TV, including a helpful color palatte control that allows you to pick-up any color from program material for fine-tuning.
tacp.toshiba.com
JVC LT-46FN97 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV
$2,800, December 2006
This JVC earns its recommendation with unusually good rendition of colors and a highly accurate TheaterPro mode that delivers near-perfect grayscale without professional calibration.
www.jvc.com
Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR2 40-inch 1080p LCD
$2,800, November 2006
Sony's XBR series LCDs remain pricey for their class at any given size, but LCD picture quality doesn't get much better.
sonystyle.com
Vizio P50HDTV 50-inch Plasma
$1,900, December 2006
Not the pinnacle of performance, features, or build quality, but through the magic of big volume sales Vizio continues to deliver huge bang for the buck in this miracle of price erosion. For flat-panel on a budget, this is one to check out.
vizioce.com
Vizio P42HDTV 42-inch Plasma
$1,800, May 2006
With its crisp picture, natural color, and a street price closer to $1,500, this plasma bargain is hard to beat.
vizioce.com
Based on Sound & Vision's experience with the following brands and model lines, also consider these untested models:
Pioneer Elite PRO-1140HD 50-in plasma, $4,500, see related review of PRO-1130HD
Pioneer Elite PRO-930HD 43-inch plasma, $3,700, www.pioneerelectronics.com
Sony KDL46XBR2 46-in LCD, $3,500; Sony KDL52XBR2 52-in LCD, $5,000, sonystyle.com
Olevia 742i 42-in LCD, $2,999, olevia.com.
Rear-Projectors Sony KDS-60A2000 60-inch SXRD
$2,600, October 2006
Sony delivers stunning 1080p bigscreen picture quality and an extensive and sophisticated menu for fine-tuning the image in this LCoS-based rear projector, all at a bargain price compared with flat panel plasmas or LCDs of similar size. Though still available, this model was replaced last fall by the KDS-60A2020, essentially the same TV with a cosmetic upgrade.
www.sony.com
Based on Sound & Vision's experience with the following brands and model lines, also consider these untested models:
Sony KDS-60A2020 60-in SXRD rear projector, $2,900; Sony KDS-50A2020 50-in SXRD rear projector, $2,200; Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70-in SXRD rear projector, $4,500, sonystyle.com.
Front Projectors Sim2 HT3000 1080p DLP
$15,995, October 2006
This superlative single-chip 1080p DLP projector remains a viable option for cost-no-object installs, but shoppers would be wise to also check out Sim2's D80 at $9,995.
sim2usa.com
Sony VPL-VW50 1080p SXRD Front Projector
$5,000, January 2007
We ran into a bit of trouble with picture uniformity that required professional calibration to solve (see review), but this superb 1080p front pro (nicknamed "Pearl") still comes recommended by virtue of its amazing picture quality for the price.
sonystyle.com
InFocus Play Big IN76 720p DLP Front Projector
$2,500, May 2006
This HD projector boasts powerful light output, excellent grayscale and color reproduction, sharp detail, and a slick, sci-fi design.
www.infocus.com
Optoma HD72 DLP Front Projector
$2,000, May 2006
Its low price and great performance make the Optoma HD72 one of the great bargains in HDTV front projectors.
www.optomausa.com
Panasonic AE900U LCD Front Projector
$1,800, May 2006
The ability to deliver deep blacks and great shadow detail make this high-def LCD projector a tremendous value.
panasonic.com
Based on Sound & Vision's experience with the following brands and model lines, also consider these untested models:
Sim2 D80 1080p DLP front projector, $9,995, sim2usa.com.
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