I have to say this TV surprised me, although, to be honest, it really shouldn't have. At first glance, there is nothing to set it apart from the innumerable other LCDs on the market. It has a narrow black bezel, it's thin, it's bright, has a remote, turns on; you know, all that stuff that LCDs usually do. Then I started throwing test material at it, and it started doing things that LCDs typically don't but JVC TVs typically do. And I mean that in a good way.

With flat panel sets now available in increasingly larger sizes, a 46-inch display is almost petite for a home theater setup. But it's a popular size with buyers as its ratio of size to price is often attractive.

Sharp has been in the LCD flat panel television game as long as anyone. Its huge and ongoing investments in R&D and manufacturing facilities have paid off with a strong worldwide sales position and an enviable reputation. If someone mentions LCD televisions, the first word that pops into your head might well be "Sharp," Followed closely by "AQUOS."

Forgive my dipping into hyperbole for the caption, but there really wasn't another way to go. It's not just the fact that the PRO-110FD creates a beautiful image. It's that the image it creates is such a step above every other flat panel on the market that it is not even comparable. There's that hyperbole again. I'll stop and let the performance speak for itself.

I wish I could say I had some clever reason for reviewing two nearly identical plasmas. Perhaps there was, but it's lost to me now. A few months ago, Panasonic asked me if I wanted to review the TH-50PZ700U, so I said sure. Then, a month or so later, they asked me if I wanted to review the TH-42PZ700U, so I said sure. It's not all magic here, folks. Sometimes this kind of excitement just happens.

I have to admit, I had some trepidation going into this review. The track record for Samsung's flat panels has not been that great. Like all Samsung products, nevertheless, they have come a long way in a very short time. So when Samsung's TV test manager and HT alum Mike Wood recommend I check out the company's new LN-T5265F LCD flat panel ($3,999 Minimum Advertised Price), I begrudgingly agreed. If you'll remember, Samsung's HL-S6188W won our last RPTV Face Off, its predecessor finishing mid-pack the year before. Perhaps this LCD would make a similar jump. We shall see.