Lcd Televisions

The average price for Widescreen LCD TV is 22 percent lower than it was a year earlier. Competition from lesser-known brands, special promotions, clearance sales on older sets and price cuts by manufacturers are behind the lower prices.

Smaller manufacturers often use bargain prices to attract buyers, but major brands are trimming prices as well. That gives you more good choices to consider. Among the 32-inch LCD HDTVs that did very well in our tests was a Sony model priced at $1,500, competitive with some other major brands. Within that same size grouping, models from Westinghouse and Magnavox did respectably, though not as well as the Sony--but at $1,000 each, they cost considerably less.

Prices on widescreen LCD televisions could drop even lower because of promotions tied to the football season, holiday sales, and discounting of older models. Some analysts project smaller sets could see the biggest price cuts because of oversupply expect a 20 percent or so drop in LCD TV and plasma prices by year's end, with especially good deals on 26- to 37-inch LCD models.

Pinpointing the perfect time to buy a Widescreen LCD TV is a tough call. There will always be bigger, better, lower-priced sets on the horizon, but at some point you have to jump in and get wet. Shop around for the best deal, and keep your receipt in case you find the set selling for less within a month or so. Many retailers will match the lower price.

For wide screen television size, think big.

Plasma sets used to be the only flat-screen TVs larger than 40 inches, but LCDs now come in big sizes too. With the price gap between plasma TVs and big-screen LCD sets narrowing, more buyers are choosing LCD TVs. Last year, 32-inch screens were the big sellers among LCD TVs, but 37- to 46-inch sets are likely to attract more interest in coming months.

With larger LCD widescreen television sets posing stiff competition, plasma makers are pushing 50-inch and larger plasma TVs at very attractive prices. However, some companies, such as Sony and Mitsubishi, have stopped producing plasma TVs for the consumer market and are focusing on LCD sets. For the best HD experience, buy as big a screen as your room size and budget allow.

Insist on fine performance

Widescreen television technologies have made strides over the past year or so, addressing weaknesses that detracted from picture quality. LCD TVs, for example, have had difficulty producing true black and natural-looking motion with no blurring. They have also had a narrower viewing angle than plasma sets. The best new LCD models have improved in those areas, contributing to high scores in our latest tests. Similarly, the best plasma TVs has added features to minimize distracting reflections and screen burn-in, two issues for plasma technology.

However, in a showroom it can be hard for shoppers to tell which TVs benefit from those improvements. Store lighting, varying settings on each TV, and the different types of content displayed make it tough to compare picture quality.

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