Sharp LC-70LE732U

If you want a very big screen TV at a relatively affordable price, the 70-inch Sharp LC-70LE732U deserves a serious look. Given the price and the size, it's not surprising that picture quality can't quite stand up to the very best -- such as the Sony XBR-HX929 series -- but to get close to the same screen size you need to be prepared to spend around $6,000 for the 65-inch XBR-65HX929, or settle for the relatively diminutive 55-inch Sony XBR-55HX929 (*Est. $2,900) .

That's not to say that the Sharp TV's picture quality is bad. In fact, Andrew Robinson at HomeTheaterReview.com calls it "rather remarkable." CNET's David Katzmaier doesn't go nearly that far, but still says that picture quality is solid. Comparing it to some of the 65-inch plasma TVs available, CNET quickly says that the Sharp falls short in terms of things like black levels and off-angle viewing. However, for those that watch TV in a well-lit room, such as a living room or family room, the LC-70LE732U might be a better choice with its better brightness and a matte screen that does a good job with room reflections. Uniformity isn't as good as with a plasma set, but the full-matrix LED backlight helps the TV do better than most sets that use edge-lit backlights.

Color performance is generally good -- though whether that's despite of or because of the set's Quattron technology (which adds a yellow color subpixel to the traditional red, green and blue ones) is another question. CNET calls the color accuracy good but adds "there was little detriment (or advantage) we could spot related to the extra yellow pixel." Robinson eschews the test bench for viewing tests and raves about color performance with different test discs.