The Panasonic TC-L37D2 ($1099 MSRP) is a 37-inch mid-level LCD from a manufacturer that's primarily known for plasma TVs. It comes with a built-in iPod dock – a convenient but ultimately unnecessary feature, considering the hundreds of inexpensive iPod docks on the market that would plug into any HDTV. Coupled with its terrible color performance, we just can't recommend this TV when there are so many better choices in the same price range.

The Panasonic TC-L37D2 has a stout little body and short neck. The remote control and menu interface are not terribly elegant. Though we liked the convenience of simply dropping iPod into a dock to play music, listen to music, or view photos, Panasonic really could have taken tip from Apple about a clean and simple menu system. Comparatively, it's a mess.

Besides the iPod dock, there aren't too many bells and whistles on the Panasonic TC-L37D2. There are only a handful of video processing features, which we recommend disabling anyway. There are enough ports on the TV for a small home theater setup, but with only three HDMIs, one component, and two composites, it's definitely outclassed by most TVs in the $1000 price range.

Performance (Read the full lab performance results at Televisioninfo.com)

The Panasonic TC-L37D2 produced a mediocre black level that resulted in an equally mediocre contrast ratio. Similarly priced LCDs did much better. The color performance was simply atrocious. It was so bad that we retested the entire battery of tests under a different calibration, to no avail. This TV has serious problems making smooth color transitions and shadow details.

The motion performance and viewing angle were more in line with standard LCD performance. The viewing angle was narrow, so if you're trying to service a particularly wide room, you might want a plasma TV instead.  

Comparisons (Read more in-depth comparisons at Televisioninfo.com)

To put the Panasonic TC-L37D2 in context, we compared it to three similar TVs. The Panasonic TC-P42U2 is an entry-level plasma TV. We noticed a lot of video processing problems, which lead us to believe that Panasonic simply doesn't seem to make cheap TVs nearly as well as they make high-end units. The Samsung LN40C630 is about $500 more expensive (by MSRP), but it performed far better in every test and offers streaming content, including Netflix. It is unquestionably a better investment. The Sharp LC-40LE400UN is a bit overpriced at about $400 more, and it's certainly not overflowing with extra features, but the performance is much better than the Panasonic D2. 

Overall, the Panasonic TC-L37D2 has few things to recommend it. The color performance is terrible, the contrast ratio is weak, and the iPod dock is convenient but ultimately unnecessary.