Find the values in flat panel TVs

Last week, using pricing and performance scores for superzoom cameras, we introduced the Consumer Reports Value Index™, a new tool to make it easier for you to find those products that offer especially good value. 

This week, we offer a Value Index for flat-panel TV sets, THE big-ticket item of this holiday season by many accounts, including our own surveys. 

Based on a snapshot of median online prices taken earlier this week, the Value Index data below plots price against the overall Ratings score for LCD and plasma sets with 40- to 42-inch, and 50- to 52-inch, screens. It places the sets into one of three value zones — High, Medium, and Low — based on the price and performance of all sets in those categories. Products on the upper right side of the chart offer better values than those further to the left and bottom.

For example, the Samsung PN50A450 plasma TV, which received an overall score of 75 in our Ratings, is a High Value product at a median price of around $1,100. Its brandmate, the Samsung PN52A650 LCD TV is the among the best flat panels we've tested, with an overall score of 83. But at a median price of more than $2,000, it qualifies as only a Low value.

To use the Value Index™, first roll your mouse over a circle to find out more about the model it represents. To learn more about a model, subscribers can click on its name to go to its model page, which includes our expert review, a detailed breakdown of the model's overall test results, reliability data, user reviews, and a link to compare online prices for that model. (The average price shown on the model page may differ from the one in this chart, due to timing.) 

Which set should you buy? For more on that decision, you might want to check the complementary post by our Electronics colleagues, covering what the Index indicates about the relative merits and comparative value of LCD and plasma, and of high resolution (1080p) and LCD refresh rates (120Hz and above). Subscribers can also check our Ratings of LCD and plasma TVs. 

Each week through this holiday season, we'll be providing a Value Index for another product. This is a Beta, and we're working hard to improve this feature. If you have any feedback – or would like to tell us whether you got any value out of this – please share your thoughts in the Comments, below.

—Marc Perton