Last year, Clark stated that women would rather buy and receive jewelry than electronics. Boy, did he get an earful from that! A poll on Clarkhoward.com proved that Clark's statement was a chauvinistic one. Now when he's in stores, more women than men ask him for advice on buying HDTVs. Women have their heads spinning like Linda Blair in The Exorcist with all the choices out there. With that in mind, Clark wants to offer a primer on the three types of HDTVs that dominate the market: LCDs (liquid crystal display); DLPs (digital light processing); and Plasma TVs.

Get an LCD if you're looking to reduce energy consumption and want something with a small cabinet. LCDs are also good if there's a lot of natural sunlight available. DLPs are great if you have space for footlong cabinets and huge screens. They may look huge, but they are actually very light. One drawback with DLPs is that you have to look straight at your TV to see the image. They're not good if your room has lots of side viewing angles. In that instance, you probably want a Plasma because the picture is rich and true from any angle. But Plasmas are bad in rooms with natural sunlight, which washes out the picture. For his money, Clark prefers Plasmas over LCDs for picture quality. But keep in mind that Plasmas use more energy though than LCDs.

A lot of shoppers also get confused by the 1080p vs. 720p resolution issue. The manufacturing industry is moving toward 1080p, but all the programming is in 720p. Clark's advice is to buy a cheaper 720p set for now. By the time all the programming switches over, 1080p sets will be more affordable than they are now. Don't overbuy at today's prices for something that is steadily dropping in price. Finally, here are some target price points to keep in mind. For 32-inch LCDs, look for deals in the $400s. Don't pay more than $600. 42-inch Plasmas should go for around $700, while 50-inch ones will go up to $900. If you're going to spend around $900 for a DLP, make sure you get a 60-inch set. DLPs tend to have more repair issues than the other two, but they're all basically reliable. Do not under any circumstance buy an extended warranty!