Holiday Gift Guide - TVs
TVs
Panasonic TC-PVT20/25 series
As our Editors' Choice among all 2010 TVs, the VT20/25 series delivers the best 2D and 3D picture quality we've tested this year. 'Nuff said.
$1,774 - $2,599
Vizio XVT3SV series
Vizio's best TV ever was good enough to earn our Editors' Choice among LCD TVs. Its feature set and Internet streaming are superb, but its excellent picture, featuring local dimming of its LED backlight, sealed the deal.
$1,697 - $1,727
Samsung PNC8000 series
Runner-up for the best TV of 2010 in our book, Samsung's flagship plasma has color fidelity and bright-room performance advantages over the Panasonic VT25, along with a slick design and oodles of features. Its 3D is also a big improvement over Samsung's LCDs.
$1,439 - $1,999
LG LE8500 series
While not up to the image quality of the best plasmas, LG's LH8500 series offers superb black levels and color, the most important factors in picture quality. It's also a better choice than its 3D-compatible brother.
$1,399 - $2,429
Samsung PNC7000 series
The less-expensive version of the PNC8000, Samsung's other 3D-compatible plasma delivers nearly as impressive image quality, as long as you keep the lights dim. It's a great choice for more value-conscious 3D-seeking videophiles.
$1,259 - $1,699
Sony XBR-HX909 series
We expected more from Sony's flagship LED-based LCD, especially at this price, but even with its flaws the HX909 is still the black level champ of 2010. It also has the coolest design of any TV on this list.
$2,635 - $3,599
Panasonic TC-PG20/25 series
As the least-expensive TV on this list, Panasonic's GT20/25 plasma has the picture quality chops to challenge models costing hundreds more. The company has also improved black-level aging over the 2009 models.
$998 - $1,199