Flat-screen LCD HDTVs offering 1080p resolution are as common as dirt, but you need to dig a lot deeper to find plasma models touting the same resolution specification. For example, in the 50-inch size range, there's been only one true 1080p plasma so far: Pioneer's PRO-FHD1. Although it's hard to fault the Pioneer's astonishing picture quality (I couldn't), the $8,000 list price puts it well beyond the reach of most shoppers. Fortunately, at $3,500, the Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 50-inch 1080p plasma HDTV gives us a considerably more down-to-earth option.

Along with its 1080p plasma display, Panasonic's new 50-incher features a glare-resistant screen coating to improve daytime viewing, a built-in HDTV tuner, and a slot for viewing digital pictures and videos on SD and SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards. The TV's dual HDMI ports also support HDAVI Control, Panasonic's version of HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). This is a protocol built into the HDMI spec that enables you to operate other HDMI-connected equipment (in this case, Panasonic's, but also some upcoming Onkyo receivers and other components) using a single remote.

Though priced well below Pioneer's existing 1080p model (new ones are coming in the fall), Panasonic's TH-50PZ700U sports a similar sleek-looking gloss-black bezel. Inch-thick mesh strips running vertically down both sides of the screen conceal the set's built-in speakers - an elegant and nearly invisible design. Meanwhile, a flip-up door located dead-center beneath the Panasonic logo hides an A/V input with composite- and S-video connections and a full set of control buttons for changing channels, adjusting volume, switching inputs, and navigating menus. Aside from this, the only other feature found on the set's streamlined front is the slot for plugging in SD/SDHC cards.

The back panel isn't outfitted with every imaginable type of jack, but it does have most you'd expect to see, including HDMI, component-video, and VGA. The set's formidable remote lacks a backlit keypad, but its oversized, clearly labeled layout made it easy to work in a dark room. To switch inputs, you hit the TV Video button and scroll through an onscreen list with names such as HDMI 1 and Component 2. (Unfortunately, there's no menu option to tag inputs with more recognizable labels such as Cable and DVD.) And pushing the Aspect button lets you cycle through the following display modes: Full (for 16:9 images), 4:3 (displays standard-def images with gray vertical sidebars), and Just, H-Fill, and Zoom (which stretch or zoom standard images to fill the set's 16:9 screen). All of these modes work with a range of program types, except H-Fill, which can be selected only for high-def inputs.