Judging by early indicators, this holiday season looks to be a great time to buy an HDTV. Reporter Andrea Chang has an interesting story in the Los Angeles times today that says Wal-Mart will be very aggressive in discounting items throughout the season. And, because of that, competing retailers will follow suit.

Wal-Mart is already getting into the price-gouging game with an in-store sale that began this morning at most locations. The retailer has discounted several televisions, including the 46-inch Panasonic TC-P46U1 plasma ($788) and the 42-inch Sharp LC-42SB45U LCD ($498). Most retailers are selling the Panasonic for more than $1,000 and the Sharp for more than $600.

Even if the sets Wal-Mart is pitching this weekend aren't what you're looking for, it will be a good idea to keep an eye on upcoming sale ads. When deals this good hit before Black Friday, we're likely to see a lot more.

Photo © Wal-Mart

The California Energy Commission has delayed an expected vote on regulations that would ban the sale of some flat-screen televisions in the state. The regulations, which have been debated for some time, are designed to get energy-hogging TVs off the market in California. The San Jose Mercury News ran an excellent online article about the delayed vote Wednesday.

If you're anything like me, you love your DVR. The only problem is, the internal hard drives on these fantastic little machines have a tendency to fill up quickly, especially when you record a lot of high definition programming. The good news is, many DVRs allow you to expand their recording capacity by adding an external hard drive.

Since every DVR is different, you'll want to check your manual to see if your model can accommodate an add-on hard drive. If it can, you'll find the connection process extremely easy. In most cases, it requires nothing more than running a cable from the drive to your DVR.

Some television service providers, including DirecTV and Dish Network, even have information about adding external drives on their Web sites.

Photo © Dish Network

BusinessWeek just ran an interesting article about California's push to ban energy-hungry big-screen televisions. State regulators have been talking about a ban for some time, but the issue is apparently coming to a head, as BusinessWeek reported that the state could put new guidelines in place as early as today. If this happens, retailers and television manufacturers would have until 2011 to respond.

The California standards, as proposed, would not apply to televisions larger than 58 inches, meaning manufacturers could sell really big sets with no worries. California is not proposing the elimination of existing televisions.

The state's argument is that many sets already meet the power consumption guidelines that it plans to implement and that consumers would not pay more for energy-efficient televisions. The state estimates the new guidelines will save $912.1 million per year in avoided electrical bills.

The Consumer Electronics Association, predictably, has a differing viewpoint. It argues that the proposed guidelines will result in the loss of 4,600 retail jobs in California because consumers will go out of state or online to buy models that are not available in California. The CEA also argues that those who buy energy-efficient televisions pay an average of $167 more than those who don't.

While I'm a proponent of green technology and preserving the environment, I'm torn on this issue. It is true that guidelines like these will encourage manufacturers to produce an abundance of energy-efficient sets in short order, but the decision to ignore televisions larger than 58 inches seems arbitrary and counterproductive. Also, considering the energy worries that our nation has, televisions seem like relatively minor offenders. BusinessWeek reports that a 42-inch plasma running an average of four and a half hours per day uses only $54 in energy every year. If those numbers are correct, one wonders what the television industry did to invite California's wrath, as the state is still loaded with people driving gas-guzzling SUVs to and from work.

This seems like one of those topics that could generate a great discussion, so be sure to post your thoughts below.