I have this friend...

No, really, I have friends. AND this IS about one of them, not me.

Anyway, her old tube TV went kaput. She is committed to stuffing a new as-cheap-as-I-can-justify TV into the existing entertainment armoire, which has a 36" wide space.

What would you do?

Thanks in advance. Have a good day. Post no bills. Void where prohibited. And a partridge in a pear tree.

Tom has friends?

1--How much(or little) does she want to spend?

2--Does she care about HDTV?

Thanks for the reply, Michael.

Looks like she is going with a 32" LCD of some kind for $1k or less.

Fair amount of choices in that market, I think. At work, we just bought a 37" LCD for $1299 for one of our videoconference units.

Actually, here's a bunch.

I have something in common with her Tom - MY old tube is kaput too.

I would only add one piece to the more serious side of the discussion. Please make sure she gets something that works well. If you never heard of the brand when fine TVs are mentioned or the price is dirt cheap, stop and reconsider.

Best bet for an LCD is Sony.

That's a very good point. I was seeing 32" TVs for $599 on Black Friday all over. Hadn't heard of any of the brands. Yeek.

Tom, for a 32" LCD under $1,000, go with the Toshiba 32HL66 .

Thanks, guys.

Costco has the 32" Vizio for $699. That might be too good to pass up. The picture looked really great to me. Comments or concerns?

In December Consumer Reports tests Toshiba was first, Vizio was middling(but still good)and there wasn't enough user data to put it in their "few repair issues" category. Online buyer reports seem generally enthusiastic for the price with some quality problems. PC Mag test reasonably good. Apparently a good buy if it holds up.