The Pioneer Kuro plasma TVs have received about as high praise as a TV can receive over the last year. The deepest blacks, richest colors, 3D-like pop to the images ...

Looks like the home theater gurus over at AVS Forum concur. In the third of our “AVS Recommends” series of surveys to help people with their holiday shopping this year, we turned our attention to plasma displays (check out their picks for A/V receivers under $1K and LCD displays).

Pioneer’s Kuro PRO-111FD 50-inch beauty was far and away the top recommendation, with more than 25 percent of respondents pointing to it (the survey was open-ended, so it wasn’t a vote of one TV vs. another). Remember, these are essentially DIY guys, so custom-channel purchases like Runco are not included.

Panasonic also received a lot of mention for excellent colors and more affordability than Pioneer Kuro and Kuro Elite plasmas.

Those two brands were overwhelming choices in the survey, so it begs the question—is there anything else out there worth shoppers’ looks this season for a plasma alternative? The only other brands voted on were Samsung (with just enough to make the No. 6 choice) and Vizio, which even has a 32-inch plasma available for those who can’t go up to 42 or 50 inches.

Personally, I’ve had a Hitachi 50-inch plasma for almost a year now and have been very happy with it. Of course, I’m not remotely comparing it to a Pioneer, but I was on a much tighter budget (heck yeah I would have loved to buy a Kuro!). So for other shoppers, should they stick with the two-horse race here, or also look around for the likes of Samsung, Vizio, Philips, Hitachi, LG, Insignia or other plasmas? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Click here to view 6 Killer Plasma TVs.

Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.