Sony has gone LCD in a big way. The company dropped its rear-projection sets last fall, and it’s been years since a plasma display sported a Sony badge. At its 2008 line show in February, the company announced 17 new sets. When they’re all in stores this fall, the Sony LCD model count will be 50-strong.

When you think of LCD TVs, NuVision is probably not the first name that comes to mind. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is aiming its Lucidium line at the custom-installation market with high-end displays at high-end prices. How does this 52-inch model measure up? Let's see...

The Sony XBR4 series of LCD TVs is very well-regarded among reviewers and consumers alike. I've had the opportunity to closely examine the 46-inch member of this line, and I found it to be a stellar performer in most respects, as did Tom Norton in his review. The KDL-52XBR4 is no different, bringing excellent picture quality to a 52-inch, 1920x1080 screen.

Pioneer has single-handedly revitalized the entire plasma market with its Kuro line. Named with the Japanese word for "black," all Kuro models exhibit astonishing black levels that are far lower than all other plasmas and just about all LCD TVs (except those that use LED backlighting, which can reach black levels that are literally 0fL).

Before I became the editor of UAV, I was the video editor of The Perfect Vision and, after that magazine folded, Playback, an all-digital monthly published by the same company. My final assignment for Playback was a survey of eight LCD TVs, and the last TV I evaluated for that survey was the Samsung LN-T4671F.

LCD flat panels may be the hot ticket in the TV market these days, but plasmas shouldn't be counted out by any means. For example, they offer superior off-axis viewing and generally better black levels. Not only that, large plasmas are often less expensive than LCDs of similar size.