As an early adopter of the flat-screen television craze, I can attest to the wonderful benefits of the device. I love mine, especially when watching movies or my favorite sporting event, hockey (it's so much easier following the puck in HD).

For a while there a few years ago, flat-screen TVs were flying off the shelves. Builders were using them as perks for new home purchases, and restaurants and bars seemed to buy them in bulk.

A main beneficiary of the flat-panel boom was Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) -- the largest maker of glass for flat-panel televisions.

In 2002, the stock was unduly pummeled in tandem with the rest of the technology sector. At that time, one could fetch shares for the eye-catching price of a buck a share. Investors were speculating that GLW would ultimately fail as demand for its products crashed.

Flat-panel displays saved the day. The company fixed its balance sheet and shares rocketed higher off its lows. By 2006, shares of GLW peaked above $26 per share. It was a great run, but with the collapse of the housing bubble, the easy money in GLW was made.

The more I read about flat-panel television manufacturer Vizio, the more I understand how this company is almost single-handedly disrupting the price marketplace for the current technology that powers television viewing. Tube televisions are going out of style almost as fast as the cassette tape did in the early 1990s, and flat-panel sets featuring plasma or LCD technology are settling in as the new choice for almost every new television purchase. Of course, folks are still buying tube-style TV sets as fire sales blaze into many retailers, but I'll bet that will slow down in the next few years.

After having stepped into Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) recently, the Vizio nameplate was everywhere, from the 32-inch television to the 50-inch big screen set. The prices were 30% lower (on average) than from competing sets featuring the Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and Samsung nameplates, but looked every bit as good from an aesthetic and picture point of view. Purists will dig into specifications and technical jargon, but the average consumer will buy on these bullets: price, price, looks and price. Vizio has no close competition in terms of overall style and price point from what I can see in some recent retail visits.

It comes as no surprise that the company has sold over two million television sets in the four years since the start of U.S. sales in September 2003. In fact, with the majority of those sets being of the HDTV ilk, Vizio is probably one of the handful of companies that have allowed U.S. consumers to prepare for an all-digital television future once the analog television airwaves are re-purposed in 2009. Vizio even predicts that it will climb past the 3,000,000 sets sold mark by the end of the 2007 holiday shopping season. I'll bet that's a correct guess.

Circuit City Stores Inc (NYSE: CC) does not require bottom fishing yet. While the stock has gotten hit pretty good, give management time to get a grip on this one.

Last night, Circuit City reported below plan sales, citing weakness in flat panel displays and projection television. This has been the lone place where Circuit City has been able to make some decent money, but also one of the most, if not the most, volatile product category based on price.

The consumer electronics retailer also withdrew previously issued guidance for the first half of fiscal year 2008 and is going to restate earnings for previous quarters, mostly due to timing issues.

Circuit City is still having trouble getting over its business model and relationship with its work force. The combination of a volatile revenue curve and unpredictable labor costs does not bode well for this retailer.

There is value in this stock, but investors can be patient and wait for tangible results from management before jumping into this stock.