Anyone looking to defy the onset of a recession and use their tax rebate to snap up an HDTV may want to check into the cost of running one of these big, bad boys before they write a check. While most manufacturers bombard you with HDTV resolution stats and dimensions, very few like to disclose just how much juice these units use, or how much 'green' it is going to cost you each month. With the digital switch-over looming in February 2009, I recently looked into the myriad of options out there and discovered a relatively inexpensive and viable option—DLP.

Digital Light Projection, in my opinion, is the way to go if you want a great picture without having to break the bank to get one. Prices have come down dramatically in the last year, or so and with DLP you can still keep your energy bills down below your post sub-prime mortgage payment.

A 50" 1080i DLP HD television uses up about 230 watts, or as much energy as 2 light bulbs, which is comparable to the old dinosaur 32" CRT set, while the slim wall-mounted plasma option, will not only set you back two-to-three times on the initial purchase price, but it will also cost about four times as much to turn on. The other positive for DLP is that the cost doesn't change on the increase in screen size as it is just a light projection, not so for plasma's juice sucking pixels. Think of plasma, or LCD screens as the SUV equivilant in HDTV's!

DLP sets used to be monstrous in size and required a team of steroid taking guys to move and install. Not anymore. Now they are Nutrisystem slim, using a sophisticated system mirrors and smart LED technology, the new DLP sets are sharp, light, narrow (10.5" wide) and they have a small carbon footprint to boot!

The lack of image 'burn,' often associated with plasma screens, especially when playing Playstation and XBox 360 games, make the DLP the ideal scenario, especially if you have enough room and are not bent on having the gas-guzzling wall mounted option.