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With picture quality routinely above aesthetic concerns in our tech philosophy, we make no excuse for hoping plasma survives the current onslaught from the LED-backlit set, but after being put through its paces the LG 50PM670T proves no more than an average example of the tech.
That, however, is no bad thing, and there's a lot we love about the LG 50PM670T.
Our test period was during London 2012, which suited the LG 50PM670T perfectly, since the most noticeable improvement on an LED-backlit LCD TV is this plasma's handling of motion.
A BBC One HD re-run of Mo Farah's glorious 10,000m victory was delivered in style by the LG 50PM670T, with plenty of detail visible even as the camera panned around the Olympic Stadium.
However, it's probably the slightly muted, though arguably true-to-life colour palette (viewed on the THX Cinema mode, where a lack of brightness can initially alarm those used to an LCD TV, but stick with it) that impressed us most.
Snatches of other sports, such as the long jump and javelin, revealed an equally smooth treatment with none of the low-resolution streaking seen on LCD TVs.
Viewed in standard definition, it's less sparkling, but still largely spotless, with no sign of jagged edges and only the occasional touch of contouring. It's always watchable.
Switch to a blast of Doctor Who via BBC America's YouTube channel and there's a marked reduction in detail, but without much digital blocking or noise.
The picture proved just as versatile on a DVD of Downfall, though here we started to notice the LG 50PM670T's weak point - at least, when compared to pricier plasmas - of a less-than-reference level contrast.
That's confirmed by a Blu-ray disc of The Lovely Bones, where despite mixed brightness, in sequences with a lot of impact, large expanses of darkness tend to appear as grey, rather than black.
Though these areas of dark grey don't tend to fade when watched from the sides, we're still a few marks behind a good Panasonic plasma TV in terms of realism. That goes double for a touch of noise on actors' faces during quick camera pans, though that's a small issue indeed.
So far the LG 50PM670T is confirming our preconception this is more an easy-to-live-with all-rounder for a living room than a serious candidate for a home cinema; its weaknesses in terms of low contrast and average black levels will only trouble those watching movies in a blackout.
Next up is a 3D trailer from LG's 3D World, which we viewed using a pair of Samsung 3D specs. Noticeably sharper than a Cinema 3D set, the drop in brightness - compared to a LED TV - is very obvious.
However, the 3D action slips by rather comfortably, save for the usual problem with ambient light causing a flicker. In-yer-face front effects (such as a baseball heading straight for us) were carried off without ghosting or double imaging, and there was impressive depth to images (a sequence of a gymnast on a pommel horse, amid floating petals, was particularly clean).
Still, the lack of contrast does force plasma televisions such as the LG 50PM670T to play second fiddle to a Panasonic 3D plasma TV.
