Black Friday Sale - HDTV Blowout

Black Friday Deals at Amazon.com run all week. Check out Amazon's Black Friday page here.

In past holiday seasons we've noted that some of the lowest prices didn't last too long. Quantities were limited and those who snapped up deals early got the lowest prices. Inventories are much lower this year than last. Don't shop around too long. If you see the set you want at a good price grab it. Better to lock in a good price early rather than agonize over spending several hundred dollars more later as stocks dwindle and prices jump.

Top Rated LCD HDTV

40 inch Sony KLV-40ZX1M $2199

42 inch Toshiba 42ZV650U $889

46 inch Sony KDL-46XBR9 $1726
46 inch Samsung UN46B6000 $1569
46 inch Samsung UN46B8000 $1959
46 inch Toshiba 46XV645U $899 Best Buy!
46 inch Sony KDL-46V5100 $989 Best Buy!

52 inch Toshiba 52XV645U $1262 Best Buy!

Top Rated Plasma HDTV

42 inch Panasonic TC-P42S1 $747 Best Buy!

46 inch Panasonic TC-P46G10 $1023

50 inch Panasonic TC-P50S1 $979 Awesome Deal!
50 inch Panasonic TC-P50G10 $1044 Best Buy!

54 inch Panasonic TC-P54G10 $1619 Best Buy!

58 inch Samsung PN58B650 $1939 Best Buy!
58 inch Samsung PN58B860 $2379

Black Friday Sale - HDTVs Are Hot

Black Friday Deals at Amazon.com begin early this year. Check out Amazon's Black Friday page here.

In past holiday seasons we've noted that some of the lowest prices didn't last too long. Quantities were limited and those who snapped up deals early got the lowest prices. Don't shop around too long. If you see the set you want at a good price grab it. Better to lock in a good price early rather than agonize over spending several hundred dollars more later as stocks dwindle and prices jump.

No need to wait though. We find many great deals on some of our top rated sets (below):

Top Rated LCD HDTV

40 inch Sony KLV-40ZX1M $2199

42 inch Toshiba 42ZV650U $889

46 inch Sony KDL-46XBR9 $1726
46 inch Samsung UN46B6000 $1669
46 inch Samsung UN46B8000 $2148
46 inch Toshiba 46XV645U $949 Best Buy!
46 inch Sony KDL-46V5100 $989 Best Buy!

52 inch Toshiba 52XV645U $1262 Best Buy!

Top Rated Plasma HDTV

42 inch Panasonic TC-P42S1 $747 Best Buy!

46 inch Panasonic TC-P46G10 $1023

50 inch Panasonic TC-P50S1 $979 Awesome Deal!
50 inch Panasonic TC-P50G10 $1044 Best Buy!

54 inch Panasonic TC-P54G10 $1619 Best Buy!

58 inch Samsung PN58B650 $1939 Best Buy!
58 inch Samsung PN58B860 $2379

Consumer Reports Top Rated LCD, Plasma HDTV

Consumer Reports still has a preference for plasma, but LCD screens that incorporate LEDs and local dimming technology to produce deeper blacks and improved contrast ratios are climbing the ratings charts. However LEDs and local dimming have boosted the price of the top LCD sets, while new generation plasma prices are dropping.

Top Rated LCD HDTV

40 inch Sony KLV-40ZX1M $2199

42 inch Toshiba 42ZV650U $932

46 inch Sony KDL-46XBR9 $1726
46 inch Samsung UN46B6000 $1669
46 inch Samsung UN46B8000 $2289
46 inch Toshiba 46XV645U $999 Best Buy!
46 inch Sony KDL-46V5100 $1148

52 inch Toshiba 52XV645U $1262 Best Buy!

Top Rated Plasma HDTV

42 inch Panasonic TC-P42S1 $768 Best Buy!

46 inch Panasonic TC-P46G10 $1023

50 inch Panasonic TC-P50S1 $979 Awesome Deal!
50 inch Panasonic TC-P50G10 $1044 Best Buy!

54 inch Panasonic TC-P54G10 $1619 Best Buy!

58 inch Samsung PN58B650 $2139 Best Buy!
58 inch Samsung PN58B860 $2579

Consumer Reports Top Rated LCD & Plasma HDTV

Consumer Reports still has a preference for plasma, but LCD screens that incorporate LEDs and local dimming technology to produce deeper blacks and improved contrast ratios are climbing the ratings charts. However LEDs and local dimming have boosted the price of the top LCD sets, while new generation plasma prices are dropping.

Top Rated LCD

40 inch Sony KLV-40ZX1M $2482

42 inch Toshiba 42ZV650U $1019

46 inch Sony KDL-46XBR9 $1857
46 inch Samsung UN46B6000 $2429
46 inch Samsung UN46B8000 $2789
46 inch Toshiba 46XV645U $1119 Best Buy!
46 inch Sony KDL-46V5100 $1277

52 inch Toshiba 52XV645U $1449 Best Buy!

55 inch Samsung LN55A950 $3698

Top Rated Plasma

42 inch Panasonic TC-P42S1 $874 Best Buy!

46 inch Panasonic TC-P46G10 $1169 Best Buy!

50 inch Panasonic TC-P50S1 $1185 Best Buy!
50 inch Panasonic TC-P50G10 $1399

54 inch Panasonic TC-P54G10 $1479 Best Buy!

58 inch Samsung PN58B650 $2299 Best Buy!
58 inch Samsung PN58B860 $2899

Consumer Reports Top Rated LCD and Plasma HDTVs: Samsung and Panasonic

Samsung & Panasonic Top Rated HDTVs

The two best selling HDTV brands Samsung and Panasonic came out on top in almost every screen size in the latest Consumer Reports ranking of HDTVs. Several models from other manufacturers scored high as well but the top two were consistently highly ranked across various screen sizes. HDTV technology has reached the point where differences between the top ranked sets are minimal, so value shopping does not necessarily mean a sacrifice in image quality. Here are the Consumer Reports top ranked HDTVs and current prices (HDTV-News picks are indicated by Editor's Choice):

Top Ranked LCD HDTV

Samsung 55-inch LN55A950 $3844 Free Shipping

Samsung 52-inch LN52A650 $1817 Free Shipping
Samsung 52-inch LN52A750 $1927 Free Shipping Editor's Choice
Sony 52-inch 52XBR6 $2509 Free Shipping
LG 52-inch 52LG50 $1499 Free Shipping
Toshiba 52-inch 52XV545U $2308 Free Shipping
Sony 52-inch KDL-52W4100 $1897 Free Shipping Editor's Choice

Samsung 46-inch LN46A850 $1776 Free Shipping
Samsung 46-inch LN46A550 $1127 Free Shipping Editor's Choice
Sony 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 $4699 Free Shipping
Sony 46-inch KDL-46Z4100 $1568 Free Shipping

Top Ranked Plasma HDTV

Pioneer 60-inch PDP-6020FD $3701 Free Shipping Editor's Choice
LG 60-inch 60PG30 $2699 Free Shipping

Samsung 58-inch PN58A550 $2380 Free Shipping Editor's Choice
Panasonic 58-inch TH-58PZ850U $3149

Samsung 50-inch PN50A550 $1350 Free Shipping Editor's Choice
Samsung 50-inch PN50A760 $1799
Panasonic 50-inch TH-50PZ800U $1999 Free Shipping Editor's Choice
LG 50-inch 50PG60 $1729 Free Shipping
Samsung 50-inch PN50A450 $999 Free Shipping Editor's Choice

Sound & Vision 2008 Editor's Choice Awards

Pioneer PRO-111FD is Product of the Year (Again)

The Pioneer Kuro Elite Pro-111FD keeps it in the family (in 2007 the PRO-110FD was product of the year). No surprise considering the overwhelming praise lavished on this stunning set. In addition to the blackest-blacks the 111FD has outstanding color balance and excellent detail. This is the last in-house generation of Kuros. The plasma screens for future generations will be manufactured by Panasonic. Pioneer says that future sets will be as good or better, but are you willing to gamble? If not, pick up one of the current generation sets. If you can't quite afford the top-of-the-line Kuro Elite consider the excellent PDP-5020FD or PDP-6020FD.

Other top ranked HDTVs include the outstanding Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8, the THX-certified Panasonic TH-50PZ800U (one of our faves), and the top-of-the-line Samsung LN55A950 ($2000 less than the 55XBR8!).

We love their pick for audio product of the year, the Definitive Technology Mythos STS SuperTower home theater speaker system. The previous winner was the Mythos ST system, and the Mythos STS steps it up a notch at a lower price than its predecessor. Nice.

Selected 2008 Products-of-the-Year:

Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO 111FD 50-inch Plasma
Pioneer PDP-5020FD 50-Inch Plasma Free Shipping
Pioneer PDP-6020FD 60-Inch Plasma Free Shipping
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch Plasma Hot Deal!
Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 55-Inch LED LCD
Samsung LN55A950 55 inch LCD
Mitsubishi LT-46149 46-Inch LCD
Sony VPLVW70 BRAVIA SXRD Front Projector

Definitive Technology Mythos STS Supertower (Black)
Definitive Technology Mythos STS Supertower (Silver)
Onkyo TX-SR706 7.1 Channel Receiver Hot Deal!

More Sound & Vision Top Picks:

Mitsubishi L65A90 65-Inch LaserVue HDTV
Yamaha RX-V3900BL 7.1-Channel Receiver
Denon AVR-989 7.1 Channel Receiver