Got $542 (or $399)? Get HDTV

When I used to work at Electronic Media (now TV Week), we always wondered if and when high-definition television would get off the ground. Not that I knew what I was talking about then, or now, but I do know one thing: Get a television set with HDTV tuner included, price the thing under $500 and watch the revolution begin (or at least view with never-before-seen clarity.

Well, we're almost there. The Magnavox 20MF605T/17 20" Flat Panel LCD TV with NTSC Tuner (again, who names these TVs, and what are they smoking?) goes for a cool $542 at Amazon.com (a full $7.99 off "retail" price, it's still the least expensive tuner-equipped HDTV out there). Shipping, according to my calculations, is $29.35.

(UPDATE: I read the Amazon customer comments for this TV, and EVERYBODY HATES IT. Nobody has reviewed it since February, so maybe they've gotten the bugs out.)

The $500 HDTV is on the horizon (and it's probably already out there, made by the same Chinese companies that make all the rest of everything, just not carrying a well-known brand name).

The key, besides the $500 price point, is getting the HDTV tuner in the same box as the TV. Forget this "HD ready" stuff where you have to buy an add-on tuner and somehow plug it into the back. No sir, TV is supposed to be plug (in the power cord and antenna/cable) and play, play, play.

If you can live without an LCD screen, there are HDTV sets under $500:

From Best Buy, the Insignia™ - 27" Flat-Tube HDTV is a cool $399, but if you're buying a new TV these days, you want LCD, no? Yes, you do.