Panasonic Viera TC-32LX85

The good: Reproduced deep black levels for a lower-priced LCD; accurate grayscale and primary colors; solid connectivity including three HDMI inputs; smart, unobtrusive styling.

The bad: Color decoding pushes red slightly; doesn't accept 1080p sources via HDMI; no PC input; so-so standard-definition performance.

The bottom line: The 32-inch Panasonic TC-32LX85 delivers surprisingly impressive picture quality for a small-screen LCD TV.

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Description: The Panasonic Viera TC-32LX85 is a 32-inch, LCD television. Compared to other LCD TVs on the market, it is very inexpensive at around $635. This TV is an LCD display, which is generally the best kind of flat-panel screen for viewing in brightly-lit rooms.

Pros: This set can display images that are sharper and more realistic than standard definition television when connected to a high definition signal. The 3:2 pulldown feature of this set reduces artifacts that can occur when motion pictures are transferred to a digital format such as DVD.

Cons: None noted, given available product data.

Suitability: An LCD TV, suited for home entertainment. In general, a wide aspect TV such as this one is ideal for DVD movies recorded in the popular 16:9 format, as well as high definition programming.

Value: In view of its very inexpensive price, this TV has good features for the money. In terms of viewable size, LCD TVs with similar viewable size have an average cost of around $845.

Suggestions: (1) For assistance in shopping for a new HDTV, review CNET editors' Ultimate HDTV Buying Guide . (2) If donating or repurposing your old TV is not a viable option, CNET encourages households to recycle their electronics. Please explore the following website to find a recycling center in your area Electronics Take Back Coalition .