Can you get a good TV for less than $500? Judging from the sets on this list, which range from 32 to 51 inches and $250 to $500, the answer is "yes."
Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
David KatzmaierEditorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
ExpertiseA 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics.Credentials
Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
Can you get a good TV for less than $500? Judging from the sets on this list, which range from 32 to 51 inches and from $250 to $500, our answer is an enthusiastic "yes."
The Samsung PN51E450 is a 51-inch TV with picture quality that outdoes anything else on this list. In other words, it's the best TV you can buy for less than $500. The 43-inch version is also a steal at about $430.
Around $300 and a decent picture? Bigger is always better for TVs, and the extra screen you get from the TCL L40FHDP60 compared with similarly priced 32-inch sets makes all the difference.
You could buy two of this relatively no-nonsense Toshiba TV for $500. The best part? Its picture quality is better than any other 32-inch set we've tested.
