Upgrading Your HDTV | Digital Advisor's Holiday Buyer's Guide

There's no better time than the present to upgrade your old HDTV set, and we'll help you choose the best one for your needs.

According to market research, the average HDTV in America is most likely a four-year-old plasma with 720p or 1080i resolution. If this sounds like your aging flat screen, now is a good time to upgrade. HD technology has advanced significantly in the past few years, driving picture quality up and prices down. It's tough to find a flat screen with a crummy picture these days. You'll find amazing deals on some of yesteryear's high-end models, while new technology has pushed the cutting edge forward to previously unthinkable places. We've selected a few of the best buys right here:

Big Screen, Small Budget Panasonic VIERA 50" Plasma 720p from $748.31	If you think bigger is better, money is a factor, and picture quality is secondary, the Panasonic Viera TC-P50X1 is a great choice. It's a plasma display with 720p resolution, so it's not on the cutting edge by this year's standards, but it's still a 50-inch TV for about $700 (that amount of money probably couldn't even get you a 37-incher a few years ago). All things considered, this is a huge bang for your buck.
Nice Picture, Internet Ready Sony Bravia 46" LCD Television from $1,199.00	If you have some extra money to burn and want a solid, up-to-date HDTV with some slick features, check out the Sony Bravia KDL-46W5100. This ranks among the year's hot models. The 46-inch, 1080p LCD display and a 120Hz refresh rate provide for a crisp, motion-blur free picture, while Bravia Video and DLNA home networking make multimedia access quick and easy. It's a few thousand bucks cheaper than the most advanced flat screens out there, but you won't notice much of a difference anyway.
Best of The Best Samsung 8 Series 55" LED Television from $2,895.18	When money is no object and you want the biggest, meanest HDTV out there for the sake of having it, go all in and nab a Samsung 8 Series UN55B8500. This bad boy has everything: LED backlighting, 240Hz refresh rate, Internet@TV connectivity, DLNA networking, and a massive 55-inch screen. Is this all necessary? Absolutely not. But your investment-banker friends will be really, really jealous of you.