HDTV Reviews

With a firm deadline of February 18, 2009 now set by Congress and the FCC, the end of analog TV is fast approaching. After that date, you'll need a TV with a digital tuner -- or an external digital tuner (cable box or satellite receiver) -- if you want to continue to receive TV broadcasts over the air. Since cable and satellite TV services use a different method to distribute their programming, you will not see any change if you get all of your TV from those sources, so the change mainly affects the approximately 40 million homes that use an antenna for TV reception, as well as those who subscribe to basic cable and don't use a cable box. To help ensure that enough people have digital TVs to make the transition as painless as possible, the government is now requiring that all new TVs include a digital tuner.

Thanks to these changes, if you need a new television, this is a good time to make the move to high-definition TV (HDTV). Prices have never been lower, and there are lots of new and interesting choices. This means that it's easier than ever to find the right HDTV to fit your budget.

We've split our television category into six separate reports. This one outlines what you should know about high-definition television and addresses the different types of HDTVs. Our other reports discuss the different types of HDTVs in depth: plasma TV , LCD TV , rear-projection TV and front projectors . Our report on conventional tube-based televisions discusses standard-definition choices that still use that older technology. LCD TVHere, we've highlighted some of the best HDTVs from those reports. When you decide which type of TV you want, check out our other reports for more choices.