There is a quiet epidemic lurking among us - a disease so awful and destructive that it can kill the thrill and excitement that define home theater. It's the consumer electronics industry's dirty little secret: an ugly mold that festers behind closed media-room doors, eating away at the power and majesty of the best movie soundtracks.
Three years ago, Sound & Vision staged the first of its HDTV technology face-offs when we put a 37-inch Samsung plasma alongside a like-sized Sharp LCD, tuned them to the hilt, then fed them the same programs to see which was king of the HDTV hill ("Plasma vs. LCD," February/March 2005).
A little more than a year ago, I reviewed LG's 47LG60, a 47-inch LCD HDTV that I recommended primarily for its outstanding color, crisp and noise-free picture, and unique "Scarlet" styling. That set had a street price of $2,600, admittedly expensive even for its day.
