HDTV

As new models come out, CNet.com's electronics editors are constantly updating their ratings. All current major technologies are covered, including plasma TV, LCD TV, rear-projection TV and front projectors… -- and most technologies also get their own lists of top sets. Editors list pros and cons of each model, along with detailed ratings and calibrated performance measurements. Star ratings are provided to help readers compare TVs. The editors are very stingy when it comes to handing out Editors' Choice awards, so those that qualify are true standouts.

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Home Theater magazine is the sister of UltimateAV magazine (above) and shares the same strengths and weaknesses. The magazine's current coverage centers on LCD and plasma flat-panel TVs as well as front… projectors. Most articles are detailed single-product reviews, but occasional comparison articles appear as well. All are informative and packed with lots of technical details. Numerical grades are issued too infrequently to be of much use in comparing TVs, and the site's Buyer's Guide is months out of date as of our last visit.

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ProjectorReviews.com is one of the best destinations on the web for those looking for a front projector. The site does numerous single- and multi-product reviews, and discussion is very detailed and… complete. Top-scoring projectors are awarded the site's "Hot Product Award," and the very best are further recognized as "Best in Class" award winners. In addition, most articles include a discussion comparing the reviewed projector to its competition. This site is also loaded with articles covering the ins and outs of front projectors.

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Playback Magazine absorbed The Perfect Vision early this year. While the focus here is now on music and video, each issue also includes reviews of "affordable audio and video gear," including HDTVs. The… articles aren't super long on details, but are noteworthy because they clearly explain how the editors test HDTVs and what they look for, and because they explain the results in easy-to-follow terms. Most are also comparative. We'd rate this site higher except that Playback Magazine has reviewed only a handful of HDTVs in recent months. In addition, while the site is attractively designed, navigation is a nuisance since the only way you can see what gear is covered is to click through to each individual issue.

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On the whole, PC World's coverage of individual HDTVs is more limited, and their updates are less frequent than others. TVs are lab tested, rated and ranked in a series of charts by screen size. However,… those charts fall out of date rapidly and discussion is briefer than we'd like to see. In addition, there sometimes seems to be a significant disparity between a set's relative rating and the accompanying review.

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HDTV Solutions reviews plasma and LCD TVs in complete and fairly detailed single-set profiles. While this is the sister site of Projector Central, it is not quite as useful. HDTVs are not compared directly… to each other, and while factors such as performance, value and more receive ratings, there's no overall grade or list of top-rated models. This makes it more difficult to determine which HDTVs the editors deem to be the very best.

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This landing page links to reviews of flat-panel and front-projector reviews written by About.com's Guide to Home Theater, Robert Silva. Most reviews rely a little too much on manufacturer-supplied data,… but Silva also puts these TVs through their paces in both bench and real-world tests that at times are as good as the best we've seen elsewhere. We especially appreciate that Silva extensively details the test setup used. Though some flat-panel TVs are represented here, the overwhelming majority of tested sets are front projectors. Silva also maintains lists of top HDTV choices in most technologies and screen sizes, but the majority of those sets appear not to have been actually tested. (Note that ConsumerSearch and About.com are owned by the same parent company, but are not affiliated editorially.)

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Amazon.com also invites owners to rate and review their TVs. While this may be a worthwhile stop when you've got your choice narrowed down, if you head for this site without doing so, you'll be surfing… forever trying to figure out which are better rated than others -- there are hundreds of TVs listed (including many that are discontinued or otherwise no longer available) in a half-dozen categories. Amazon.com does post the number of reviews each HDTV has received alongside the rating on this landing page, which does make things a little easier. Another nice innovation is a box listing the most helpful (as voted on by readers) favorable and unfavorable review. All in all, Amazon.com is a good spot for seeing owner feedback and to affirm conclusions of professional reviewers.

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While the reviews hear appear to be objective and competently done, the site itself isn't as slick and a tad too commercial compared to those we rate higher. Most recent reviews include suggested video… settings obtained either after a professional calibration or by using a top-quality amateur calibration reference such as the Digital Video Essentials DVD. Some new reviews and comparison articles appear here, but the majority of the reports are now out of date.

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