With the arrival of high-definition broadcasts, it pays to have the best HDTV you can afford. Large screen TVs are now both hugely popular and much more affordable than they were just a couple of years ago.

However, the huge range of HDTVs on offer makes it difficult for the consumer to decide which one is best for them and best suits their needs.

While LCD screens are now the predominant type of TV available, they still have their problems - lowish contrast, bad viewing angles, poor blacks, some smearing on fast moving objects - but the technology is always improving and some of the higher-end models now produce stunning pictures.

Plasma is still popular and now only available in large sizes - 42" and above (though it's getting more difficult to 42" find screens). Plasma TVs still provide the best images for watching movies.

OLED was launched a couple of years ago but the only available screen is a paltry 11". The picture is stunning and it looked like this would be the format for the future. However, improvements to LCD technology has outpaced that of OLED so it's questionable as to whether OLED will ever make it into consumer HDTVs in the near future.

When you watch television and movies at home, you may be okay with the sound quality and picture provided by your television set. However, if you are really into movies, you may want to get something a bit more exciting and something that sounds a bit more like what you get when you pay to see a movie in the theater. You want to get the best in home theaters, but you do want to be careful that you do not blow your budget when shopping (it's all too easy to do!). Get the major items one at a time and then get the extras when you have the money.

One of the biggest investments in home theaters is the television set. You can enjoy movies and television programs on any set, for the most part, but you can get a better and more realistic picture if you buy one of the newer flat screen TVs that are on the market today. You should always shop around and look online for the best prices. You can always see the different ones on offer while you are in the store. Look for warranty as a part of the deal as you never know what will happen. Store displays often don't show a TV off at its best. The store is usually brightly lit and the TVs have to be set up so that you can see them in those conditions. Your own home will have much more subdued lighting and a picture that looked good in a store can look garish and unnatural in more normal room lighting. So it pays to fire up your computer, checkonline reviews and comments from other owners and to do some price comparisons with other stores and online options.

There are a few considerations when choosing a flat screen TV. You want to get a television that is big enough, but you do not want to go too big. You may think there is no such thing as too big, but that is not true. If a television overwhelms the size of your room, you are not going to like it as much as you think you will. The key to great home theaters is not having the biggest television that you can buy, but rather, having one with a great picture and that fits where it sits. You also want something that is not hard to install in your home.

The other important part of home theaters is the sound system. You can have a stereo with large speakers to get a lot of sound, but you are not going to get true theater sound if you do not have what is called a surround sound system. You may not know the difference just yet, but you would if you hooked one up. Stereo just puts the same sounds into all the speakers while surround sound separates them just like in the movie theater. You should hear background noise behind you and dialog from the front. Other sounds come from the sides. Home theaters with these are the very best you can get.

Lastly, think about the smaller parts of home theaters. This could be the stand on which you set up your new TV. You may find some that hang on the wall, but do not put a television set up there unless you are sure your wall can support that weight. If not, your set will eventually end up on the floor and your warranty may not cover it. You also want to get wall mounts for some of your surround speakers, and they are going to work well only if hung in the right spots.

These small purchases are going to make home theaters almost as good as going to the movies for real. In fact, you may find that you prefer to watch at home rather than going out to a movie theater.