Differentiating between LCD and plasmas now makes less sense.  Once upon a time, the latter were characterized by bigger glossier panels, superior contrasts, and reduced resolutions most often at 1024 x 768 pixels. Forget this, because now these two classes of products are on more equal grounds and even "image pros" can mistake the type of technology.  There are now Full HD plasmas in 42 inches (Panasonic), glossy LCD panels and the new record in measured contrast no longer belongs to plasma (despite their overall excellent performances in this domain) but an LCD, the divine Bravia KDL32D3000. "Divine" may sound a little strong, but we truly fell for this product.

This year’s innovations all on one screen

This television combines all the awaited innovations in a single screen and for this reason its images are of superb quality whatever the source: DVD, HD, and game console.  To start with, it’s a wide gamut, meaning that it effectively displays richer nuances than the others.  The result in practice is that colors are superb in DVDs and even more so in well encoded HD movies. This is while we find blocks of uniform colors with its rivals limited to the classic sRGB gamut.

Next, those who have invested in a flat screen TV in the last few years have probably seen skips in fluidity, especially noticeable in tracking shots.  The reason is that films are shot in 24 images per second while televisions display in 50 or 60. Converting this frequency by doubling or even tripling images causes skips – except with certain models which actually were just recently equipped with a 24 Hz mode. The Sony TV also has this innovation and its engineers even added a 100 Hz mode to diminish afterglow.  In this domain, it’s much more efficient than previous generations and the combination works miracles in assuring the fluid and clean display of movies.

One last good point for this screen is that for once (and finally) Sony has abandoned overly saturated pre-settings intended to attract the potential buyer in stores.  The KDL32D3000 is well adjusted and it’s immediately noticeable.  It’s more appreciable to have the colors originally chosen by the film’s director and not the often bizarre ones set in factories to flatter shoppers.

Finally (and despite all the complements we’ve heaped on), this television does have two defects. It’s not a Full HD, which could cause some hesitation and also, it is very expensive.  For this reason we can look to its two rivals, because it isn’t the only 24 Hz wide gamut, but rather only the most balanced.  Sometimes with a little patience and by following some of our adjustment recommendations, you can find satisfaction for less.