: Used lightweight, polarized glasses (like in cinemas). Popularized by LG (e.g., ) and Toshiba.
: This was the breakout year for LED backlighting. Edge-lit LED
: 4 HDMI ports and at least one USB port were the standard for a high-end unit.
Are you researching this for a setup or for home theater history ?
: Still widely considered the king of picture quality in 2012 due to "inky" blacks and superior motion handling. Key Model : The Panasonic VT50
The choice in 2012 fundamentally came down to picture purism (Plasma) versus brightness and efficiency (LED).