By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

A good HDTV is the key ingredient to a great home theatre experience. Video game consoles, set-top boxes and Blu-Ray players and even PCs and tablets now interface with HDTVs. Now that all Canadian TV transmission is digital, maybe it’s time to get rid of that old analog set.

The good news is that HDTVs have never been more feature packed and affordable. In 2008, a 32-inch LCD HDTV cost about $725. Today, a similar model costs as low as $280. Here are some compelling HDTVs in the market today.

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Philips 32PFL3506 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV ($279.99) 

At 32-inches in size and at an attractive price, this LCD HDTV from Philips is ideal for any room in the house or as a second TV for the kids’ gaming console or even as a large PC monitor.

32-inches are sufficient for enjoying high definition games, movies, sports with remarkable HD 720p detail. The 32PFL3506 also features great contrast, smooth on-screen response and 3 HDMI inputs for HD devices.

 LG 50″ Plasma HDTV 50PT350 ($600.00) 

The LG PT350 features Netcast Entertainment Access which connects premium Internet services right to your television. Plasma’s colour reproduction, wide viewing angle and cinematic quality is perfect for cinephiles as it renders colour richly and has great saturation.

50 inches is the sweet spot for most living rooms and at less than 1″ wide the new TruSlim Frame trims away distraction of wide frame. This HDTV offers 720p resolution. Plasma sets have gone down in cost while maintaining superb quality and feature sets.

 Samsung 64″ 1080p 3D TV PN64D550 ($2,000)

The ultimate 3D HDTV might just be Samsung’s 64-inch behemoth, the PN64D550 3D HDTV. Aside from being massive, this features the 3D HyperReal Engine which delivers unparalleled technology so what you see is as real as it gets, and Clear Image Panel means you always see a clear image from every angle.

With Cinema Smooth, movies are reproduced with greater clarity and crispness – like never before. Advanced 24px4 processing improves fast moving images and shows them as they’d naturally appear.

It’s a cinematic experience second to none, ideal for the biggest stage of them all, the family room. As slim as it is vast, the PN64D550 is truly a state of the art HDTV.

• Your connected home theatre experience: Back to introduction
• Get the most from your digital media
• TV apps and accessories