HD made easy.(high-definition television)(Buyers guide)(Table)

With high-definition televisions flying off the shelves at ever-lower prices, you don't have to be wildly adventurous or wildly extravagant to become a high-def household. Still, deciding which TV to buy and setting it up can be daunting. Almost everything about TV is in tumult, including display technologies, prices, service providers, and the programming and bundles they offer.

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This section will help you make sense of TV's changing picture and guide you through the decision-making process. Let's start with the important trends:

* There are more superb sets. LCD, plasma, and rear-projection microdisplay TVs have their own characteristics and strengths, but each has also had certain weaknesses. As manufacturers address those shortcomings, more sets of each type are earning excellent picture-quality scores in our Ratings. But there are still plenty of mediocre performers, so it's more critical than ever to be picky--and to check our Ratings.

One reason for the improved picture quality is the movement to 1080p, the highest form of high definition. More new LCD and rear-projection HDTVs have a native resolution of 1080p, and the first plasma sets of that type have appeared.

TVs with 1080p resolution have more pixels than other sets, giving them the potential to display all the detail in a high-definition signal, including the new high-def DVDs. Many of our top-scoring sets for picture quality are 1080p models. You'll pay more for 1080p, though, and the advantages aren't easily noticed on all types of programming or on 42-inch and smaller screens unless you're up close.

* Price cuts continue. TV prices hit new lows as 2006 closed out, and the bottom could drop lower still this year. "There's no question that prices will continue to fall," says Tamaryn Pratt, principal analyst at Quixel Research.