As we've noted recently, big 52 inch HDTV screens may look impressive, but aren't always practical in terms of cost and floor space. For some people, smaller size screens such as 37 inches might be more suitable if you're stepping up to HDTV for the first time.

Both the Panasonic Viera TX-37LZD850A and the Samsung Series 5
LA-37A55 are 37inch, 1920x1080p Full HD televisions - they are in the same price bracket and both designed to do justice to Blu-ray and HDTV broadcasts.

Panasonic's Viera TX-37LZD850A: more expensive than the Samsung, but the advantage is the 100Hz picture

Samsung's Series 5 LA-37A55: classier design, though the lack of 100Hz processing is a disadvantage

Features
Each television contains one high-def digital tuner and one analogue tuner, the latter of which will be useless in a few years. The Panasonic sports four HDMI inputs compared to the Samsung's three, and both feature side AV inputs for easy access. Both feature composite, component, s-video and PC inputs along with SP/DIF digital optical outputs for connecting your surround sound system.

The Samsung adds a USB port for playing music and photos, while the Panasonic opts for an SDHC card slot for viewing photos only.
Neither television features an Ethernet port.

The big difference is the Panasonic's 100Hz picture, compared with the 50Hz Samsung. As we'll explain in a minute, this gives the Panasonic a big advantage.

Design
When it comes to style, the Samsung is slightly thinner and has cleaner lines. Even the remote control is more elegant than its Panasonic counterpart. The Samsung is a few millimetres wider thanks to the tiny foils designed to bounce the sound around the room.

Luckily for Panasonic, the Samsung's beauty is only skin deep.

Picture quality
Fire up a Blu-ray movie such as Casino Royale, jump to the scene where Bond first arrives in the Bahamas and you'll see the Panasonic clearly outclasses the Samsung - you don't need to be a videophile with eagle eyes to see the difference. The Panasonic's secret weapon is its 100Hz display, allowing for much smoother motion.

Colour reproduction, detail
The Samsung's colours look a little more vivid and it has slightly blacker blacks, which at first glance in the store might fool you into thinking it's a better television - but not after watching for a few minutes.

The Samsung's picture looks garish alongside the Panasonic and, even with the contrast at max, it can't match the Panasonic when it comes to revealing fine details in the shadows. The Samsung's picture is plagued by jerky motion, jagged lines and image flicker when sitting next to the Panasonic's more natural looking picture.

Both the Panasonic and the Samsung are capable of playing back 1080p Blu-ray movies at 24 frames per second, rather than converting it, but switching Casino Royale to 24 fps mode did nothing to improve the Samsung's disappointing picture quality.

Sports, action
Switch over to fast-moving sport such as AFL and the Panasonic again outclasses the Samsung, in both standard and high-def. Once the camera starts sweeping across the ground, the Panasonic offers a far sharper picture with significantly less noise and motion blur. Cranking up the Samsung's digital noise reduction to compensate leaves you with an image that looks far too crisp and fake next to the smooth, sharp picture on the Panasonic.

Sound, screen glare
Both televisions offer SRS TruSurround XT (basically fake surround sound), but the Panasonic's inclusion of extra speakers to handle the bass leaves the Samsung sounding very tinny in comparison.

The Panasonic's Achilles heel is its high gloss display which, whilst helping to create a vivid image, increases the amount of screen glare. As a result you'll need to pay greater attention to the location of windows and other light sources when installing the Panasonic.

Conclusion
While the Panasonic's big advantage is 100Hz, it is a more expensive panel than the Samsung we've reviewed here. But Samsung's 100Hz LCDs start at $3299 for the Series 6, 40 inch LA40A680, and for that kind of money you could get an even better Panasonic or start to look at a Sony Bravia.

If you're looking at adding 37 inches of high-def goodness to your lounge room, dollar for dollar, Panasonic's Viera TX-37LZD850A easily outclasses Samsung's Series 5 LA-37A55.