HDTV Best Price Blog

Thinking of buying a new television as the U.S. moves to digital TV? Be smart–and ask these questions.

High-definition televisions continue to be a big item on many shoppers’ lists, especially as the U.S. moves toward closing down its analog television delivery service next February. But buying these sets is not quite the same as buying the old traditional tubes. If you are getting ready to plunk down money for a new set, it is really worth your time to do your homework–both online and in person–to figure out which set will be right for you.

Getting up close and personal with the potential TV of your dreams at a local store seems like the best way to cut through the confusion and find a TV that looks good. But don’t always believe your eyes.

What you see on a television screen in a big box store may look totally different when the same set shows up in your home. On top of that, the retailer is bombarding you with all sorts of information about allegedly “essential” specifications that you may not fully understand. A little preparation will go a long way to making your shopping experience more comfortable. Armed with the right questions and a little insider’s knowledge, you’ll be able to spot the set that will be right for you.

Before you even begin your search, you need to understand two essential bits of information: the different types of HDTVs and the different image resolutions that are available.

Liquid crystal display TVs are now the most common flat-panel HDTV technology. They are lightweight, energy-efficient and available in all sizes. They are slowly replacing plasma televisions, which, although an older technology, are still a very competitive option.

Plasmas are very affordable and offer a more cinematic experience, as they can display the color black more accurately than most LCDs. On the flip side, they are very heavy and use a lot of energy. The third type, digital light projection, is a rear-projection technology that allows for tremendous screen sizes at bargain prices. These sets are very thick (12 to 14 inches deep) and have shallow viewing angles. All will provide excellent high-def entertainment. Which one is best for you will depend on your needs and desires.

High-definition resolution is described in two ways, namely, as 720p or 1080p. These numbers refer to the number of horizontal lines of pixels present on the screen. More lines mean more pixels. More pixels mean a higher level of detail.

But here’s the catch: Just because 1080p technically offers more potential detail, that does not mean it’s necessarily better than 720p. For televisions under 50 inches, the extra pixels that come with 1080p resolution are overkill. A 720p set will look just as good.

Now that you are familiar with the basics, you can start evaluating HDTVs in the wild. There are a handful of ways that stores can influence how a screen will look to you–and they might look different once you bring the sets home.

Fluorescent lighting, for instance, can make the screens on the display floor look pale and lifeless in contrast with how they will look in your reasonably lit living room.

Then there is the fallacy of proportion: A set that will be plenty big for your living room may look tiny in a showroom surrounded by gigantic sets. It helps to know precisely what size screen will best fit in your home. (And if you plan on hauling the set home in your car, do make sure you’ll have enough room to fit the screen plus some bulky packing materials.)

On the other hand, if you are trading up from a standard definition screen, you will need to find an HDTV with bigger measurements than your existing set. That’s because the size of a television is based on the length of the diagonal distance across its face. High-def TVs are more rectangular than their analog counterparts. That means it will take a 32-inch HDTV to give you a picture height comparable to a 27-inch standard TV.

And the savvy consumer knows that sometimes stores may resort to sleight-of-hand moves to try to coax consumers to buy what retailers want to sell–rather than what consumers want to buy.

Customer Ray Pitton of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for instance, was drawn to his local Circuit City (nyse: CC - news - people ) by the promise of a great deal on a 42-inch Vizio plasma set. When he arrived, the store did not have the advertised model available. The salespeople had to be coaxed into even turning on a similar TV.

“When they turned it on, it was showing a movie that was not on the other display sets,” says Pitton. “When we asked to see what the other sets were showing, they said their contract with Vizio only allowed them to show a certain video.” That’s when he realized the low price was just a come-on to get customers in the store so they could try and sell something else.

Salespeople, while helpful, are not there just to be a resource for consumers. They are there to sell televisions and make money for the store. Nowhere is this more apparent than when salespeople try to foist unnecessarily overpriced high definition multimedia interface cables on trusting consumers who have decided to purchase an HDTV. Too often, customers end up paying more than $100 for a six-foot Monster brand HDMI cable when a $10 no-name brand would be sufficient. Say no to in-store cables and check Amazon.com (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ) or Monoprice.com for reasonably priced digital HDMI cables.

There are any number of stratagems that retailers use to make some televisions look more appealing than others. (See “15 Questions You Must Ask Before Buying An HDTV.”)

You know that lovely bright picture you see on the screens on the showroom floor? The smart consumer will check and see exactly where the source is coming from: Is it a dedicated video signal? Is the signal shared among multiple screens? It turns out that splitting the signal could reduce its strength and make a powerful set look washed out. OK? Consumers should look behind the boxes and check out what kind of cables are connecting the television to the video source. Grab the remote control yourself and fuss with the display settings to see if you can improve the picture quality.

The bottom line: It’s not just about the price. There is a bagful of tricks that unscrupulous sellers can use to make some TVs look more or less appealing than others. Do your homework before you head into the store–and then go armed with smart questions.

There’s a misconception that high-definition and high prices must go hand in hand. That’s simply not the case, especially in these post-holiday months, when television manufacturers and retailers are looking to clear out stock to make room for new models.

Great HDTV bargains are out there, waiting to be picked up–and not just on stripped-down, obsolete sets. Impressive, brand name televisions with excellent features can be found at incredibly low prices. All you need to know is what to look for.

There are a few hard and fast rules about TV bargain hunting for shoppers to remember. The first is that plasma televisions will always be cheaper than LCDs. For example, a 52-inch LCD television with 1080p from Samsung bears a suggested retail price of $1,999. A comparable 50-inch Samsung plasma with the same resolution has a suggested retail price of $1,799.

In Pictures: 10 HDTV Bargains

Don’t think that the difference in price necessarily represents a difference in picture quality; plasmas and LCD TVs are actually on par in that respect, and in certain situations, like watching movies, plasma has an edge. The price differences are attributable to factors such as weight, power consumption and screen glare. In these areas, LCD outperforms plasma.

The second rule is that televisions with 720p resolution are always cheaper than TVs with 1080p resolution. Sony’s (nyse: SNE - news - people ) 32-inch KDL-32XBR6 features 1080p and has a suggested retail price of $999; its 720p counterpart, the Sony KDL-32L4000, is just $599. The higher number of pixels presented on 1080p sets drives up the price, but in reality, they offer no substantial benefit to viewers on displays 50 inches or less. If you’re looking for ways to cut costs to the minimum, picking 720p is a good way to do that.

With those two rules in mind, it stands to reason that a plasma television with 720p resolution would be the most cost-effective HDTV purchase. At 50 inches, the Panasonic Viera TH-50PX80U ($899) stretches 720p to its limit, but owners report being very pleased with its resolution. Only the most nitpicky videophiles could find fault with such a large and affordable television. Like all plasmas, the TH-50PX80U benefits from supremely accurate black tones, making contours and contrasts more vivid and defined.

If you’ve still got a craving for top-of-the-line features like 1080p and the much ballyhooed 120Hz refresh rate, don’t worry–there are low-cost options available here too. The 42-inch Sharp Aquos LC42D85U LCD TV ($1,076) has those features for well below what one would expect to pay for such powerful specs.

The hype behind 120Hz says it makes images smoother and less prone to motion blurring than more common 60Hz HDTVs. Whether it works or not is in the eye of the beholder. It is by no means an essential element of a high-definition television, but if you’re determined to have the absolute latest innovations, at least you can save some money, too. The 40-inch Sony KDL-40W4100 ($1,187) LCD TV also features 1080p and 120Hz at a similar price point.

Beyond the type of TV and the resolution, there’s another premium feature that can be eliminated to save money: the brand name. When you purchase a television from Samsung, Sharp or Panasonic, you’re also buying the peace of mind that comes with a well-known brand with a good reputation.

In contrast, less-known television manufacturers often slash prices as a way to stand out in a crowded and competitive marketplace. Those TVs can be very affordable, but require a leap of faith on a company whose track record may be obscure or unfamiliar.

But it’s not always a bad bet. Vizio, for instance, started out as a no-name brand selling low-cost HDTVs at big-box retailers. Today, it’s a major force in the North American HDTV market. Although Vizio’s ascent in popularity has also led it to expand features and raise prices, bargain models are still available. The Vizio VW37L ($679) is a 37-inch LCD with 720p resolution and not much else. It’s simple, but gets the job done at the right price.

Other lesser-known TV brands like Westinghouse and Dynex (which is actually a Best Buy (nyse: BBY - news - people ) store brand) have competitive models that consumers should investigate. Pay particular attention to the Westinghouse VK-40F580D, which features a built-in up-scaling DVD player as a bonus.

High-definition television is no longer the domain of the wealthy or extravagant. Budget-conscious consumers can enjoy big-screen entertainment as long as they shop smart and keep their eyes peeled.

Washington, D.C. (February 8, 2009) — Pioneer, the maker of high-end Plasma High-Definition TVs, told Reuters last week that it’s considering leaving the TV business entirely.

The company is projecting a loss of $848 million for the year ending March 31, which would be its fifth consecutive annual loss

“There is a whole spectrum of possibilities with withdrawal on one end, in-house development and production on the other and sales of procured TVs somewhere in the middle,” a Pioneer spokesman told the news service.

From Pioneer’s ‘Black is Beautiful’ ad campaign.

Several other news reports, however, say Pioneer has decided to exit the TV business and bundle its DVD/Blu-ray business into a join venture with Sharp.

Pioneer has carefully crafted a reputation in North America for selling expensive, but exquisitely made Plasma HDTVs. Some high-def enthusiasts swear by them, saying they offer the best picture on the market. (Pioneer only makes LCD sets for the European market.) However, the sets are often hundreds of dollars more than comparably-sized models from rival companies.

Reuters notes that Pioneer captured just 5.9 percent of the Plasma TV market share in the first three quarters of 2008, badly trailing LG, which had 15.5 percent, Samsung, which had 22.8 percent and top-ranked Panasonic with 37.2 percent.

Here’s your chance to score a 52-inch LCD for less than a grand.

You missed your chance to nab a big ol’ TV in time for the Super Bowl, but March Madness is just around the corner (go Spartans!).

Here’s a pretty sweet deal to satisfy your hoop dreams, Lost lust, and more: CompUSA has a 52-inch Vizio VX52LF LCD HDTV for $999.99.

That’s a mighty big screen, folks. It’s a refurbished model, meaning that its warranty expires after just 90 days. But given that new 52-inchers routinely sell in the neighborhood of $2,000, I’d say it’s a risk worth taking.

The VX52LF is a 1080P LCD with three HDMI inputs, two component inputs, and a universal remote that can control a VCR, DVD player, and a cable box.

Too good to be true? Well, maybe. I can’t find any trace of this model on Vizio’s product pages (though it is listed in the Support section), and reviews are few and far between.

As it happens, I’m in the market for a new TV, and I’ve been seriously eyeballing this one. Also in contention: Vizio’s 47-inch GV47LF, which CompUSA has for $749.96. It’s also a refurb, but there are reviews aplenty, and they’re mostly stellar.

Decisions, decisions. Either set will run me $99 for shipping. Is it worth $250 to make the jump from 47 inches to 52? That’s the kind of question that keeps me up at night. If anyone owns either model, please hit the Comments pronto, and share your thoughts, please.