We had a quick phone call with Russ Johnson of Pioneer yesterday evening to find out what the decision to stop making plasma modules means. While Russ didnt have answers to all our questions, we got a much clearer picture, so to speak.

He confirmed that Panasonic will provide the plasma modules—essentially the basic screen, without most of the electronics and the color filter. And though he didnt say explicitly, we got the impression that Pioneer will be taking what Panasonic is giving, rather than dictating a design based on Pioneers plasma technology. This has to be a disappointment to Pioneer fanboys and girls, but it may not be a complete tragedy.

Sure, they are pricey energy hogs, but dang, those Pioneer Kuro plasma TVs are stunning. Crisp pictures, gorgeous colors and sky-high contrast ratios that make the movie characters practically jump off the screen.

So it was with great alarm and sadness that we got the news that Pioneer still stop making those incredible panels. By my reckoning, it will be at least another three years of eating nothing but beans and rice until I can afford to buy one of the sets, and I suppose they may all be sold out by then.

It sounds as if someone just dropped a tricycle into a meat grinder. Im sitting inside a narrow conference room at a research facility in Bristol, Connecticut, chatting with Joseph Longo, the founder and CEO of Startech Environmental Corporation. As we munch on takeout Subway sandwiches, a plate-glass window is the only thing separating us from the adjacent lab, which contains a glowing caldera of plasma three times as hot as the surface of the sun.

Enter a showroom this fall and you'll find the widest selection of big-screen HDTVs ever, each incorporating different tech. There are hang-on-the-wall plasma and LCD sets, along with DLP (digital light processing), LCD, and LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) rear-projection TVs. Follow these guidelines: Look for a brightness rating of at least 400 candelas per meter squared (expressed as cd/m2), which is double the brightness of a typical direct-view set. Insist on a contrast ratio (the visual difference between the blackest black and the whitest white) of 400:1.