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Black Friday roundup: The best HDTV and home theater deals

We’ve scoured the major retailers’ Black Friday deals and found the most outstanding values for every member of the family. A 32-inch screen is perfect for kids' rooms or grandparents' apartments. There are mid-size (40- to 50-inch) name-brand TVs, great for the bedroom, and both a 60-inch and a 70-inch set, perfect for viewing with the whole family. We've also spotted a few hot deals on sound bars, home-theater systems and Blu-ray players.

Amazon activates its Black Friday deals starting Monday at 12 a.m. PST, so keep checking the site, and order as soon as you see the sale price appear. At these prices, supplies won’t last long. 

The brick-and-mortar retailers mentioned below — Best Buy, Kmart, Sears and Walmart — will open on Thanksgiving evening, but some deals have certain windows of pricing, so pay attention.

HDTVs:

Seiki 24-inch 1080p 60Hz LED LCD
Regular price: $189.99 - Black Friday price: $88 at Kmart from 8 p.m. 
Again, not exactly brag-worthy, except for how little you paid for it.

Haier L32A2120 32-inch 720p 60Hz LCD
Regular price: $179 - Black Friday price: $97 at Amazon
Great  for a dorm room, guest room or grandparents. At this price how can you go wrong?

Panasonic TC-L32C5 32-inch 720p 60Hz LCD
Regular price: $299.99 - Black Friday price: $189.99 at Best Buy, starting at 12 a.m. Friday

Toshiba 40E220U 40-inch 1080p 60Hz LCD
Regular price: $449 - Black Friday price: $179 at Sears, in-store only starting at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving; also available at Best Buy, starting at 12 a.m. Friday, and available now at Amazon
Here’s a mid-size name-brand "full" HDTV for under $180. Ideal for a bedroom, den or kitchen.

Proscan PLCD5092A 50-inch 60Hz 1080p LCD 
Regular price: $799.99 - Black Friday price: $288 at Kmart from 8 p.m. Thanksgiving night until 3 a.m.  or while quantities last
It's not going to be the best looking 50-inch TV, not when it's so cheap, but it will be big enough for a living room or den.

Toshiba 50L2200U 50-inch 1080p 60Hz LED LCD 
Regular price: $899.99 – Black Friday price: $299.99 at Sears, in-store only starting at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving
Fine for a bedroom, den or family room.

Panasonic TC-P50U50 50-inch 1080p plasma
Regular price: $899.99 – Black Friday price: $699.99 at Sears, in store only starting at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving; $599.99 at Amazon
Great for the family or living room, HD Guru recommends plasma for its excellent motion resolution, widest viewing angle and overall performance.

LG 50PA5500 50-inch 1080p plasma
Regular price: $699.99 - Black Friday price: $549.99 at Kmart from 8 p.m. Thanksgiving night (also available now at Amazon)

Panasonic TC-L55ET5 55-Inch 1080p 120Hz 3-D Smart LED LCD
Regular price: $1399.99 - Black Friday price: $899.99 at Best Buy, starting at 12 a.m. Friday

Samsung UN55ES7100 55-inch 1080p 240Hz Smart 3-D LED LCD
Regular price: $2599.99 –  Black Friday price: $1597.99 at Sears, in-store only starting at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving (also available now at Amazon)
This big-screen HDTV has every major feature, making it ideal for the living room. Its 240Hz refresh minimizes motion blur for sports and action programs while its “smart” feature provides Internet streaming video and apps. 3-D capability is the icing on the cake. The 7100 includes four pairs of active 3-D glasses.

Vizio E601i-A3 60-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED LCD
Regular price: $998 – Black Friday price: $688 at Walmart, 10 to 11 p.m. Thanksgiving only (also available now at Amazon)
This is the first and only 60-inch HDTV we’ve seen for anywhere near this price. This Smart TV also features Internet streaming including unlimited movies from Amazon Instant with a yearly $79 Amazon Prime subscription.

Sharp LC-70LE600U 70-Inch 120Hz LED LCD
Regular price: around $2000 – Black Friday price: $1798 at Walmart, Friday Nov. 23 5 a.m. in-store only
For those who want a really big name-brand TV for a reasonable price, this is the ticket. This Sharp is a derivative model of its 70-Inch LC70LE640U, which currently sells for $2200 at Best Buy. Though the picture performance is the same, the 600U lacks the Smart TV Internet streaming and USB ports that the 640U has, and it only comes with three HDMI inputs instead of four. But to be sure, this is the lowest price we’ve seen on a 70-Inch HDTV. The next size up from Sharp is an 80-inch — and that sells for $4,000.

Home theater:

Roku HD
Roku HDRoku

Roku HD streaming media player
Regular price: $59.99 - Black Friday price: $39 at Amazon
Using your home Internet connection, this player makes any HDTV a smart TV for streaming movies. (For more on how to make your HDTV smart, read HD Guru's article here.)

Panasonic DMP-BD87 ultra-fast booting Blu-ray disc player
Regular price: $79.99 - Black Friday price: $68 at Amazon
This player also turns any HDTV smart with streaming services from Netflix, CinemaNow, Vudu and YouTube.

Samsung HT-E3500 500-watt Blu-ray 5.1 home theater system with subwoofer
Regular price: $249.99 - Black Friday price: $179.99 at Kmart (also available now at Amazon)
Good instant theater set-up for a  small to mid-size HDTV.

LG BP200
LG BP200LG

LG BP200 Blu-ray player with Internet movie streaming
Regular price: NA - Black Friday price: $59.99 at Kmart from 8 p.m. Thanksgiving night
Good entry-level Blu-ray turns your TV into a streaming video player via an Internet connection.

Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray player with Internet movie streaming
Regular price: $89.99 - Black Friday price: $69.99 at Kmart from 8 p.m. Thanksgiving night (also available now from Amazon)
This Blu-ray player provides movies and video from the Internet with services from Netflix, CinemaNow,Youtube, Vudu and Pandora.

Toshiba BDX2300 Smart Blu-ray player
Regular price: $79.99 - Black Friday price: $39.99 at Best Buy, 12 a.m. Friday "door buster" deal
At that price, how can you go wrong?

Samsung HW-E350 AirTrack sound bar
Regular price: $144 - Black Friday price: $98 at Amazon (available now)
Improve the sound quality of any thin HDTV. Connects via HDMI.

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