Gagnon said that notable bargains would be available for the 32-inch screen size. "It's an attractive size for people with limited space," he said. "Those sets will be below $500 this holiday season, with some of the off brands down to $400."
Going a bit larger, there will be 42-inch, 1080p LCD sets selling for about $1,000. That's about what the 720p sets in the 42-inch category were going for last year.
Plasma -- Because of the rising popularity of LCD, prognosticators practically wrote off plasma TVs a couple of years ago.
But plasma never went away and could be stronger than ever in an ailing economy.
"Plasma is where you get the best bang for the buck in color contrast and fast-motion viewing," Doherty said
Plasma sets are heavier than LCDs and not as tolerant of light-filled rooms. Also, they tend to use more electricity.
But the good ones produce an image that is gorgeous, and the prices, especially in the larger screen sizes, undercut LCD.
"I think we will see 50-inch plasma TVs below $1,000," Gagnon said.
A copy of an authentic-looking Best Buy advertising circular for Black Friday has a 50-inch Panasonic 720p plasma model for $900.
Is this elaborate circular, which has been going around the Web, the real deal? Best Buy would neither confirm nor deny -- the electronics chain officially releases its Black Friday pricing Tuesday.
DLP -- It's not easy having depth.
These rear-projection (a.k.a. microdisplay) televisions used to be big players in the HDTV field. But they're not flat -- most stretch back about a foot -- and flat is all the rage.
Not only is a DLP more difficult to hang on the wall, it also doesn't fit in with the sleek TV silhouette that consumers crave.
Other DLP problems: The picture usually doesn't look as good at sharp angles as on LCD and plasma models. And a few people say they see visual anomalies, such as rainbow effects, when watching DLP.
Add it all up, and the industry is moving away from DLP. The only major manufacturers offering the sets are Samsung and Mitsubishi.
But if you don't mind the bulk and aren't always seeing rainbows when looking at DLP, there are fantastic bargains out there, especially if you want to go big.
"There will be some 64-inch sets at sub-$1,000 prices," Doherty said. "You can't beat that."
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david.colker@latimes.com
