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Prices for TV sets - especially flat-panel models - can be volatile, which makes it hard to be precise about what you can expect for a given amount of money. Moreover, the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for a particular set, which is what the Buyer's Guide lists, will usually be higher than the best you can find if you shop carefully.

Stepping up to the Red Octane Ignition dance pad hooked up to the Dance Dance Revolution game on an Xbox at the entrance to Best Buy's San Francisco store, I'm drawn into a pleasure palace of electronic entertainment. In the center aisle, rows of CDs fan back to the left, facing identical rows of DVDs on the right.

The transition to high-definition television really picked up steam this fall as ABC, CBS, NBC, and the WB filled their 2003-04 prime-time schedules with more hours of HDTV programming than ever before. During an entire week, these networks are offering some 70 hours of HDTV.

The sight of a dancing iPod user, and particularly her white earbuds, is a genuine cultural icon. But it would be a mistake to overlook the iPod's nonportable applications. Most of your music collection might be on a 'Pod, but you don't have to condemn your tunes to the lowly fidelity typical of most 'buds.

Illustration by Dan Vasconcellos