Jonathan Takiff: Panasonic's 3-D TVs are top-notch, if you can't wait for the future

The Gizmo: Spending time with the Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT

25 - the best 50-inch 3-D (and 2-D) TV on the planet.

Taking the lead: While LCD TVs have been handily outselling plasma-based models of late, the future may belong to plasma.

For that we can thank the higher technical demands of 3-D stereoscopic television, which requires a set to output twice the normal number of images per second, for proper left-eye/right-eye processing by companion shutter-based 3-D glasses and your brain.

Plasma technology is inherently faster in pixel (picture element) switching and refreshing, thus much less prone to image blur.

The best plasma sets also produce uniformly blacker blacks for improved contrast and are better suited for viewing off-axis, even more challenging with 3-D.

Plasma screens are also cheaper to build on a per-inch basis in larger models, say 50 inches and up, which is what you really want to make 3-D movies, sporting events and concerts pop out of the screen in your living room.

So is it any surprise that Panasonic, the biggest producer of plasma panels, has been beating the drum loudly for 3-D, knowing full well that reviewers at Consumer Reports and CNET would rally round and declare them the new TV tech champs?

Now I've seen television's future, too. And I agree, it's definitely wrapped up in the Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT25, the best looking 3-D and 2-D high-definition TV set on the market - if you can find and afford one. (Retail is $2,599. And Panasonic is doing its damnedest to keep this model, and its larger 54-, 58- and 65-inch kin, out of the hands of online discounters.)

On the bleeding edge: I've had this 50-inch set in my possession for two weeks. And found a fair amount of test material for a product so young.

ESPN 3-D channel has been offering a game a day from the FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa, which I've been able to view and record on a DirecTV HD DVR. While I can't claim to be a big fan of soccer (aka "football" to the rest of the world) the 3-D action - especially dramatic around the goals - has helped pull me into the game. On the downside, some super close-ups make players in the foreground look unrealistically oversize. It's a work in progress.