When shopping for a high-def set, LCD (liquid crystal display) is a popular choice. In fact, LCD HDTVs recently unseated the venerable cathode ray tube (CRT) to become the best-selling display technology of any kind worldwide. LCD sets owe their strong appeal to several factors. First, LCDs produce a bright picture (typically) with a matte screen surface that minimizes glare and the reflections that can interfere with your viewing experience. Plus, when properly configured, LCD is also the most energy-efficient display technology around. Finally, for widescreen sizes less than 42 inches, the best LCD TVs offer unmatched sharpness of resolution, which is key for HD content.

Another benefit LCD manufacturers claim for their products is that they provide nearly 180-degree viewing angles. That's true—sort of. In most cases, a picture is visible at these extreme angles. What's seldom mentioned, however, is the apparent loss of color saturation that occurs in LCDs as viewing angles increase. This color-saturation loss tends to be initially perceptible at 20 to 30 degrees off head-on viewing. The 1080p Westinghouse TX-47F430S is one noteworthy exception, showing minimal color-saturation loss even at extreme angles. Instead, however, a purplish screen glare affects a growing portion of this TV's image as the viewing angle increases. Color accuracy has proven troublesome for LCD technology, too. Greens that are too blue, and colors shifting with changes in luminance are two of the most frequent issues I encounter with these type of TVs.

The incredibly-inexpensive 46-inch WinBook 46D1 ($999.99 list) surprised me with its natural-looking out-of-the-box color quality. Plus, its color tracking over dark-to-light intensities, while not perfect, was admirably linear and bested some more pricey models I've seen. Additionally, the 46D1 is the brightest LCD TV I've measured to date, making it well-suited for brightly lit rooms. The Toshiba 37HL67 REGZA HDTV also offers good color quality without a lot of tweaking, and its generous three HDMI ports leave plenty of room for future expansion. Unfortunately, the 37HL67's video processor isn't as good with standard definition (SD) video as with HD sources, so it's best paired with set-top boxes that provide an HD signal—upconverted or native. The ViewSonic N3751w is an example of an LCD that offers superior image contrast and a trio of HDMI ports, but it, too, had problems processing interlaced video (SD or HD) while minimizing distracting artifacts. If you're willing to do (or pay someone else to do) a little work, the NEC Multeos M46-AVT includes precise color controls that professional calibrators can use to dial in the image quality to near-reference levels. It was also the first HDTV I've tested that properly deinterlaced 1080i video sourced from 24 fps material (some film and digital cinema sources), preserving image quality and minimizing distracting artifacts.

In general, so-called 120-Hz LCDs are designed to produce clearer imagery than the traditional 60-Hz models, and I find this to be the case. The Sharp Aquos LC-52D92U, for example, offers a 52-inch screen, 1080p resolution, and 120-Hz conversion technology that seeks to minimize image smearing and other motion-related issues. Still, though the image quality and performance of LCD flat-panel televisions has improved dramatically in the last few years, I've yet to see an LCD that can match the clarity of most HD plasma displays when displaying video that contains scenes with significant amounts of action.

The future of LCD TVs lies in what light source they will use. LCDs utilize an array of lamps mounted behind the screen surface to produce the light we see, and the quality of an LCD's backlight system directly corresponds to its ability to reproduce accurate color. A couple of years ago, a good LCD reproduced about 75 percent of the colors described in the HD spec. With new and improved fluorescent tube designs, some of today's LCDs are boasting HD color coverage scores that exceed the spec by 90 percent.

For full HD color and beyond, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) have begun to replace fluorescent tubes in some premium LCD designs. The environmentally conscious should also note that the switch to LEDs as a backlight source eliminates the need for the bit of mercury present in fluorescent backlight tubes. Another benefit of LED lighting systems: They stabilize faster than fluorescent tubes, further speeding a television's startup time. Because LEDs can be precisely controlled (in terms of beam pattern, luminance, and color qualities), display manufacturers are looking to use them to overcome classic LCD shortcomings, such as poor black and motion-performance problems. The downside of today's LED-backlit LCDs is cost—Samsung and Sony's 70-inch models' list prices top $30,000 each, for example. Smaller PC displays that offer LED backlighting typically cost five times more than a similar model backlit with fluorescent tubes. LEDs and LCDs do play well together, but it will be a couple of years before this technology becomes widely affordable.

In the meantime, check out our full reviews of our favorite LCD TVs, before you start shopping.

In this Roundup:

WinBook 46D1WinBook 46D1
The 46-inch WinBook 46D1 is the least expensive LCD HDTV I've seen at this size, and it delivers an impressive picture quality. If you can make do with its limited selection of digital video inputs, the 46D1 is a great deal.

TX-47F430SWestinghouse TX-47F430S
This affordable 47-inch flat-panel HDTV that offers 1080p resolution, a whopping four HDMI ports, and an impressive number of analog and digital video inputs that accept 1080p video signals.

NEC Multeos M46-AVTNEC Multeos M46-AVT
NEC's new Multeos M46-AVT is a solidly built 46-inch LCD HDTV that delivers accurate color and superb image detail. Though image contrast and black levels in particular aren't as impressive as those from recent Sony and Sharp models, the M46-AVT is capable of an impressively realistic and natural picture once its color is professionally dialed in.

The Sharp AQUOS LC-52D92USharp Aquos LC-52D92U
One serious showpiece, this 52-inch LCD HDTV's 1080p screen offers an amazingly detailed and colorful picture, and it has a wide range of digital video inputs to choose from. In addition, this set is the first Sharp LCD to offer 120-Hz "frame rate conversion." Buyers should know, however, that this is not the same as true 120-Hz imaging.

Toshiba REGZA 37HL67Toshiba 37HL67 REGZA
The Toshiba 37HL67 delivers a good-looking picture with HD sources, but common artifacts tainted regular television viewing on our tests. Still, it's hard to ignore that this 37-inch LCD set boasts three HDMI ports, has plenty of ways to tweak its picture, and can overscan HD video.

Samsung LN-T5265FSamsung LN-T5265F
On paper, this colorful and high-contrast LCD HDTV has everything to produce a stunningly sharp picture. Unfortunately, its high-def imagery is fuzzy, and efforts to solve the problem through a software upgrade further complicated the situation.

ViewSonic N3751wViewSonic N3751w
The N3751w's bright picture delivers an impressive contrast ratio, but its poor treatment of interlaced video made regular TV and 1080i videos appear worse than they should.