With all the ballyhooing over 3D, Consumer Reports set out to find which displays do the technology justice. What they found in their sampling of 14 3D TVs is that plasma does a better job at beaming 3D images than LCD sets, mostly because the plasma sets exhibited far less ghosting.

"It remains to be seen whether 3D TV is just a novelty or a new product category in the consumer electronics space," said Paul Reynolds, electronics editor fo Consumer Reports. "But, our tests show that there are some fine 3D TV sets out there for those consumers eager for a new experience."

To conduct its tests, Consumer Reports used both exclusive 3D test patterns developed in-house and a collection of 3D blu-ray movies and recorded 3D sports broadcasts.

The Panasonic-brand plasma sets showed the least amount of ghosting, which "plays a big part in 3D quality."

Boy has it been a tough year or so for those who took the plunge into HDTV territory back when bulky rear-projection units were all the rage. Since then, skinnier, brighter units have emerged, many of which cost less than their chunky counterparts.

The latest thin-framed HDTV to emerge comes from LG, who just announced a line of plasma sets measuring a scant 25mm thick (for those who shake an angry fist at the metric system, we'll save you the Google conversion - 25mm breaks down to just less than an inch thick).

That's right, LG chose to go plasma for its 'Skinny Frame' line, as the company has dubbed them. LG says the new HDTVs come capable of a 600Hz refresh rate with 1080p support. They also come with three HDMI ports and a single USB port.

LG's releasing these first in its home market of Korea. The 50-inch model will run about $1,500, while the 60-inch unit checks in at about $3,325.

If the choices are to go big or go home, Panasonic (and NBC) will take the former. Just how big are we talking? Panasonic says it has been selected to provide its 152-inch Plasma display to NBC during the network's coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

In addition to providing the world's largest plasma display, Panasonic also promised to serve up technical and engineering support.

"As a worldwide Olympic partner, Panasonic is honored to be able to provide NBC with our 152-inch Plasma Display for their coverage of the Vancouver Winter Games," said Nelkin. "Our 152-inch Plasma is the world's largest Plasma Display Panel and is the perfect technology on which to show all of the exciting, fast-paced action and stunning imagery of the Olympic Winter Games."

So what are the specs on a 152-inch display? Try 8.84 million pixels, or 4096 x 2160. That's four times the 1080p HD specification of 1920 x 1080. Panasonic says the screen size is equivalent to nine 50-inch plasmas with an effective viewing area of 11.2 feet.

We wonder how long it will take someone at NBC to hook up an Xbox 360.