This highly connected set may leave you wondering why you pay for cable. The 1080p LCD TV is one of the first to offer built-in Web-video streaming, and it offers more choices than most of its upstart competitors.

Plug the 47-inch set (there are identical 42- and 55-inch models as well) into a home network, and in a matter of seconds, Netflix subscribers can play any of the site’s more than 17,000 “Watch Instantly” movies at no additional charge.

Or you can access more than 14,000 pay-per movies through the Vudu service. The TV’s elegant YouTube interface lets you browse clips as easily as you can from the site (note that YouTube video seldom looks great blown up to TV size). Finally, built-in Yahoo Widgets provide Web-based news, sports, weather and more in an interface that’s easy to navigate with your remote and read from the couch.

As for picture quality, you’ll have few complaints. The 47LH50 can’t offer the deep blacks that the best LCD and plasma sets do, but the colors are rich and accurate and can be adjusted with great precision. And when you’re sitting cozy on the couch watching a movie from Vudu or Netflix instead of having to run out to Blockbuster, small performance flaws might seem less significant.