Clark recently had the odd experience of a salesperson at an electronics store coming up to him and thanking him for telling people to get warranties on HDTVs. Mind you, Clark is known for his opposition to extended warranties on electronics and computers. So what gives? The only think Clark can think is that people got confused about four or five years ago when he stated that Consumer Reports was neutral on the question of extended warranties for some electronics. But now the December '07 issue of Consumer Reports says that HDTVs are extraordinarily reliable and you can forego the warranty. In fact, the article is even titled "More reasons to skip an extended warranty." The latest finding is that there's only a 3 percent chance that an HDTV will need any repair during the first three years.

Consumer Reports also discovered that the most reliable LCD and Plasma TV brand is Panasonic. Dell, meanwhile, is 6 times more likely to break down. But even Dells are still reliable when compared with old-fashioned TVs. The No. 1 selling brand of HDTVs is now California-based manufacturer Vizio. Yet Vizio is not in the reliability ratings because they weren't around just a few years ago! The same thing holds true for newcomer Olevia. Together Vizio and Olevia hold three of the top five spots in the 32-inch and 37-inch categories. The best 46-inch buy is a Sony Bravia at $1,800, while the best 42-inch is a Toshiba for $1,100. But you can get a smaller, much cheaper set and still get good picture and sound. Finally, Clark has some words of advice for you when you're facing those high-pressure extended warranty sales pitches: NO, NO, NO! You'll probably need to give three objections before they leave you alone. One disgruntled salesperson even told Clark that if customers are too emphatic about not wanting the warranty, the salespeople are told by management to lie and say the product is out of stock. That way they'll have the inventory to sell to someone else who will buy the warranty. That stinks!