So what is the very best HDTV out there?

Note: This is my first non-serious blog.

I've been on-board the HDTV revolution since November of 2006. This was the moment when Microsoft brought out the HD-DVD add-on for the XBox360, Sony introduced the Playstation 3. Around the time, I purchased my Samsung HL-S6187W DLP rear screen projection TV. I added a set of Fluance speakers and an Onkyo TX-NR905B receiver to the mix to create a true home theater environment. I have enjoyed in tremendously ever since. So have all of my friends and family members. They love it. I love it. We love it.

Call me foolish. Call me irresponsible. Call me a dreamer, but the 2 year ich has begun to get to me. Two years is an eternity in the HDTV field. HDTV is a field strongly allied to that of silicone micro computing. Moore's law tells us that transistor density {an ergo horsepower} will double every 18 months. This means our digital technology should (roughly speaking) double-up in power and quality every 18 months. So it has been for nearly 4 decades now. I am afraid that not even Alan Moore can explain what has been transpiring in the field of HDTV engineering though. No field of human endeavor has been progressing faster over the past 9 years. HDTV engineers have outpaced basic computing, AIDS research, alternate energy science, global climate science, Mars Lander research, etc. Nothing has advanced farther and faster in the past 9 years. Since it has been more than 2.5 years since the moment my HDTV was introduced, I should, in theory, be able to find a new unit more than 400% better than mine. Such a unit should exist... in theory. This is the thought that has been itching me for sometime now.
Naturally, I have mixed emotions about this itch. I was watching Kung Fu Panda last night with some friends from my old days at UCLA. Everyone was struck by the quality. The Blu-Ray itself was sensational, but the presentation on my wonderful 61in DLP was about as good as you could hope for. I found myself asking aloud why I had been so foolish as to sell of this TV to my Dad for a paltry $750.00. Yep, that's right. I have already sealed a deal to sell my dad this wonderful 61 inch HDTV for a paltry $750. Although he has not yet taken delivery, the deal is sealed. I need to find a new machine.

The last time I was in the market, the month was October of 2006. The Cardinals were playing the White Sox for the series. I spent about 10 hours watching Baseball at Ken Crane's Big Screen TVs, trying to determine who made the world's finest HDTV. I came to some conclusions that were distinctly counter-trendy.

First, flat was not where it was at. I was totally unimpressed by Plasma. Most Plasma TVs were 720p or worse at this time. Many were 1024x768 pixels. This is 4x3 aspect ratio VGA based standard, not an HDTV resolution at all. 1080P Plasmas were a mythical vaporware product, which had been announced, but which had not shipped to market. Ordinary SD content looked fantastic these mid-def TVs. Real HD content looked like shit compared to almost any true 1080P television. Plasma was also very expensive. To crush the deal, it also suffered from burn-in problems, and a very short lifespan.

In sharp contrast, most LCD HDTVs were actually 1080P by this time. LCD looked good, but there was plenty of motion blur for your dollar. Sports exposed this weakness very clearly. LCD was also extremely expensive. For a large screen--say 47 inches--you would need to pony up at least $6,000 USD. Black levels were not good, but I was not all that obsessed with contrast ratios.

So the first conclusion was clear: Plasma was of no interest to me at all. LCD was interesting, but far too expensive to be a contender.

Then I found DLP. My boss at the time, Alan Hope, was a strong advocate of DLP. He loved it. He couldn't understand why world wasn't swarming on DLP. No doubt, DLP was sharp. It was true 1080P, the color was outstanding, there was no motion blur, and the size was massive. Strangely, the price was lower than LCD or plasma. This began about 7 or 8 hours of excruciating comparisons between Mitsubishi and Samsung. After much consideration, I determined that Samsung's HL-S6187W was the finest HDTV on the market. I obtained it through eBay for just about $2000 all-in. It turned out to be a marvelous buy. No regrets. I am convinced I did as well as a man could do in Nov 2006. I have been slap happy every since.
But now it is officially time to do it again. I have been doing some serious homework, trying to ferret out what HDTV's currently occupy the most coveted positions in the rankings. A few serious contenders have been found, but before I cover them, may I say how shocked I am at how the landscape has changed. It seems that everything is different at the pre-dawn of 2009. How so?

1. Classic DLP is dying. This is a very sad and regrettable fact. Toshiba and JVC have basically exited this business. Samsung has deprecated their DLP lineup. Mitsubishi is positioning LaserVue as the successor to DLP.

2. DLP is being reborn as Laser TV. As I mentioned LaserVue is Mitsubishi's brand-new thang. The hype regarding this product knows no bounds. Let's make one thing perfectly clear: LaserVue is a DLP technology. It still uses the Texas Instruments Digital Light Processor chips to transform digital bits into your picture. The difference is that Mitsubishi is using low-intensity laser LEDs to paint that picture. The fancy lamp is gone.

3. Plasma is considered the world's highest quality television technology... with honorable mentions to LaserVue. All current plasma TVs are 1080P. The 720p stuff is 2 or 3 years old. It is liquidation stock. {Don't buy it.} There are no longer any burn in or short lifespan issues. Plasma engineers have successfully resolved these problems. The price has come down dramatically. Although a 60 inch Plasma is about twice the price of a good 60 inch DLP, this is dramatically better than the old days, and both are very affordable choices.

4. LCD is the king. LCD technology is beating DLP and Plasma to death... in terms of numbers... and I don't know why. When you count numbers LCD is the winner. More LCDs are manufactured, sold, praised in the market and profited from than DLP and Plasma units combined. LCD is the People's choice.

5. LG is now a major player in the market. In the old days, it was basically a three horse race: Samsung, Sony and Mitsubishi in that order. Now LG has to be taken seriously as contender in every weight class and technology where they compete. They have the world's finest LCD TV: The LG 47LG90. They also have the only *_THX video_* certified technology on the market
6. There is a preposterous obsession with the color black. For some reason, even the slightest declination from absolute black-for-black will get an HDTV disqualified in any critical review. I personally consider this to be a foolish fetish that bewitches the minds of critics everywhere. I doubt you will enjoy Casablanca better on a Pioneer Elite Kuro because of the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Nevertheless, critics are completely swept away by this fascination without merit. I doubt they can justify the time they spend writing about black levels.

7. It possible to obtain a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio these days. This means a white point on the screen is a million times brighter than a black point on the screen. My current HDTV does 10,000:1. This means I can expect my white points to be 100 times brighter than my black points when comparing my new unit to my old unit.

So who are the major contenders in this football league?

1. The Pioneer Elite Kuro 60 inch: This is commonly regarded as the world's finest HDTV, and it receives the highest critical scores and praise. This unit costs about $5,000, auto-magically tunes itself for the light levels in your TV room, and was the first to offer a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Critics seem untowardly obsessed with this unit's ability to achieve absolute black.

2. The Mitsubishi LaserVue 65 inch: This unit is now challenging the Pioneer Elite Kuro for championship belt. There are significant voices out there who claim LaserVue has already won this battle, and Kuro is a defeated foe. All parties believe that this unit is capable of displaying twice the color gamut of Pioneer Kuro. Critics dispute whether this fact is significant, given the limits of the HDTV color space definition. Significant voices say that LaserVue must exceed calibration specs to show off what it can do, and this is a party foul. LaserVue can also do 3d movies, whenever this tech becomes availible.

3. LG 60PG60 60-Inch 1080p Plasma Frameless Edge HDTV: This unit won the best product of CES 2008. It is the only television on the market to offer THX video certification. It offers a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, but the critics have chipped it for not achieving absolute black. Through online vendors, it can be had for just under $3,000.00.

4. The Mitsubishi WD-73835: This is possibly the last of the classic DLP units. It is massive at 73inches. It is only slightly more expensive than the much smaller LG 60inch plasma. It is less than half the price of the LaserVue. It can also do 3d movies, just like it's much more expensive little brother. Many cinema fans regard this as the best value on the market. I am strongly biased toward this unit, because of my past good experiance with DLP technology.

So there they are: The Big 4 contenders. At this point, I am not considering any others. Many Samsung fans will object to the fact that I have not included a Samsung unit on this event card. With all due respect, I am disappointed with Samsung. There entire focus has been on feeding the consumer obsession with LCD units at 46 to 52 inches. This is too small for me. I will not consider anything less than 60 inches. Samsung DLPs are now a far cry from what they used to be. I think their old model DLPs (namely my TV) are better than their new DLPs. This is an egregious embarrassment. Samsung does make a nice 63in Plasma, but the critical reviews are not particularly good. I will look at the Samsung FPT6374 when I go to the field this weekend. If it impresses me, I will change my mind, but right now it is not on my list.

I am taking a crew of fellow UCLA Bruins to the field with me, and we are going to test these units as a unit. Hopefully we *_WILL NOT_* be watching the UCLA vs. USC game as we conduct this review. This game is sure to suck.