A Quality HDTV for Less Than $1,000

10:10 AM - August 1, 2007 - by Mark Raby

Table of contents

4. Bargain Hook-Ups And Accessories

1. Introduction

"High definition" seems to be the buzz phrase of the 21st century, but the seemingly high-cost barrier for HDTV has been troublesome for many consumers. However, you can experience the HD way of life without being a financial mogul. You just need to know what to look for and where to find it. It’s possible to get a nice 30"+ HDTV, components, cables and even a couple cosmetic additions for less than a grand.

Avoid The Really Cheap And Really Expensive

I know what it’s like when you’re in Best Buy or Circuit City browsing the wall for the affluent, with the $5,000 HDTV sets and sound systems that are equal in price to one year of your mortgage payments. The truth is that these TVs, much like the electronic store droids who try to peddle this stuff, don’t have much substance right now.

It takes no more than a quick Internet search to find an HDTV for just a few hundred dollars, but buying one that’s too cheap could be a big mistake. Format, size and technical specifications are all factors that must be considered. A good entry-level HDTV is a flat panel model with a screen size of at least 30" and a resolution of 720p.

Honestly, no one really wants a hi-def TV unless the size is big enough to really take advantage of the extra pixels. There are even HDTVs in the channel with 15" screens. Trust me - you can’t fully appreciate Jessica Alba on Blu-ray Disc with a TV that small.

Jessica Alba in "Fantastic Four"

Also, if you are mulling the purchase of an HDTV at a brick-and-mortar or online store, make sure to look at the actual specifications. Some of the shadier merchants will group in sets dubbed "EDTV." Avoid this like the plague. Seriously. It stands for "enhanced definition," and only offers 480p, the same sort of resolution that HDTVs give to standard-definition DVDs and the like. In other words, you won’t be able to see anything in true high definition with this kind of TV. What’s worse is that EDTV sets are usually marked up significantly over standard TVs, and usually for 10% - 20%, you can get a true hi-def model.