It is hard to say which the best HDTV is, as a lot is based on personal choice. There are 15 inch units that start as low as £80 and then you go up to the 103 inch Bang & Olufsen at £100,000. It is safe to say the Bang and Olufsen is better than a £80 unit, it is certainly bigger, 88 inches bigger.

You have a choice between LCD and Plasma, plasma sounds good and they tend to be bigger screens, for similar money, than the LCD TVs.

Plasma TVs do however have some drawbacks, the older units can get image burning, or a residual image. This is where an image that has been static for some time is burned into the screen and leaves a shadow, forever; this is quite unusual in the more modern units but a thing to be aware of.

Another consideration is the contrast ratio, this is the ratio from the blackest there is to the whitest. The higher the ratio the better the contrast is. A contrast ratio of over 1,000:1 is considered good however you can get a rate of 10,000:1 in TVs that cost about £300 (for a 32 inch screen) and another TV from a different manufacturer with the same rate costing over 21/2 thousand pounds (in a 57 inch screen).

The refresh rate is very important, as the higher the rate the more fluid the appearance on the screen. Plasma HDTVs tend,, at present, to have faster refresh rates than the LCD equivalents.

The sound from your TV may be important, you may want cinema surround sound built in, or you may have it as part of a home entertainment system that has its own amplifier and sound system. So again it depends on what you want as to which is best.

LCD TVs tend to last longer than the Plasma equivalents and use quite a lot less electricity so there can be an economic consideration when choosing between Plasma or LCD screens.

Whilst it is not a general problem an LCD TV will work better at heights of over 6,500 feet above sea level, Plasma screens may also tend to buzz at these altitudes.

It is safe to assume that should you be looking for the best HDTV then you will not be too worried about the price, although you will not want to waste your money. With this in mind you need to decide on a few factors; what sound quality do you want? What refresh rate do you want? Do you want Plasma or LCD? What quality and colour of case do you want? And how much contrast do you want? Musicians will probably want better sound on their TV or have it run through a quality amplifier, as they have a sensitivity to sound and tend to prefer good quality playback.

About all you need is to draw up a list of what you want and then the amount of money you are willing to spend, and get the best match you can for your money. Unless you have £100,000 for your TV in which case you just pop off to Selfridges and buy the Bang and Olufsen.