Not long ago (early 2005), I went shopping with a friend to help him select and buy an HDTV. He was thrilled to pick up a Panasonic 50-inch plasma set for "only" $3600. How quickly times change. Now Vizio is offering a 60-inch plasma set for $2999.99. And while 10 inches may not seem like much, a 60-inch TV actually offers over 50% more viewing area than a 50-inch set, and that can the difference between a "large TV" and a "near cinematic BIG PICTURE viewing experience."

Vizio's VM60P, dubbed the "Maximvs" (pronounced maximus), was on display at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas during CES earlier this month, and its 1366x768 native panel resolution offered plenty of detail. In addition to the larger size, the VM60P includes other enhancements over its smaller brethren, including 4 HDMI inputs and Genesis/Faroudja video processing. Downward-firing speakers are hidden into the thin frame with a removable translucent sound reflector that allows the sound to travel forward without bulky stand-mounted front-firing speakers. The Maximvs features an elegant new bronze-colored metal frame that gives the set curb appeal, even when the picture is off.

Maximvs, Maximvs, Maximvs!

Its rated brightness is 1200cd/m(2), and contrast is specified to be 7,000:1, with the ability to reproduce 1.07 billion colors. In addition to the four HDMI inputs, the set sports two Component Video inputs, a PC (VGA) input, RF input for the set's internal ATSC/QAM/NTSC Tuner, S-Video, two Composite Video plus a 5.1 optical digital audio output to pass Dolby Digital surround sound from the set's integrated HD tuner.

Supported input resolutions include 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i with the on-board scaler adjusting these to look best on the 1366x768 panel. The set also supports PIP, POP, Closed Caption, V-Chip, Zoom and Freeze features.

Vizio's 60-inch VM60P, aka "Maximvs" features a thin bronze-colored bezel and removable translucent speaker reflectors for wide sound dispersion.

The Maximvs 60" VM60P will be available at national retail stores and online at vizio.com beginning in February at an every day price of $2,999.99. The VM60P comes with a one-year onsite service warranty, online and toll-free tech support.