HDTV World > Understand HDTV > Ultimate TV buying guide

Updated February 5, 2008

Whether you want a new bedroom set or a massive home-theater centerpiece, our CNET editors' guide gives you the full picture on shopping for a new TV. To sort TVs in CNET's database by price range, check out this list.

Pricing parameters
Televisions are expensive beasts, but they fall into a few distinct price categories. Here's a cheat sheet that will help better align the set of your dreams with the reality of your bank account. Note that these prices reflect the latest street/online price as of this writing.

	What you'll pay				What you'll get
	Less than $300				CRT tubes: up to 27 inches Flat-panel LCD: up to 20 inches
	$300 to $500				CRT tubes: up to 32 inches Flat-panel LCDs: up to 32 inches
	$500 to $750				CRT tubes: up to 36 inches Flat-panel LCDs: up to 37 inches
	$750 to $1,000				Flat-panel LCDs: up to 42 inches Plasma TVs: up to 42 inches DLP, LCD, LCoS rear-projection TVs: up to 62 inches
	$1,000 to $1,500				Flat-panel LCDs: up to 47 inches Plasma TVs: up to 50 inches LCD rear-projection: up to 60 inches DLP, LCD, LCoS rear-projection TVs: up to 62 inches
	$1,500 to $3,000				Flat-panel LCDs: up to 52 inches Plasma TVs: up to 60 inches DLP and LCoS rear-projection TVs: up to 73 inches
	More than $3,000				Flat-panel LCD: up to 70 inches Plasma TVs: up to 103 inches DLP and LCoS rear-projection TVs: up to 73 inches