HDTV

Now I have always thought that I was at least slightly above average in intelligence; especially in technical things. If you are of a similar belief go try to buy a High Definition TV. (HDTV).

My 20" 22 year old plain old TV gave up the ghost last week. Without a TV how can I keep up with Politics, NFL, MLB, NASCAR, "Saving Grace, "NCIS", History Channel and just who is mad at who today. Well I can't!

As you probably know the FCC has ruled that TV stations must turn off their analog broadcasts in 2009 and broadcast in digital format only. If you have cable or satellite they too will bring most of their feeds in digital and HD. So it is not that you have a choice or not to go to HDTV; that has all ready been decided by those nice people at the FCC (I am a licensed amateur radio operator so I want to say really nice things about them so they don't send me a nasty gram.}

To the point. I have been out looking at HDTVs. The first thing you have to do is get past the sticker shock. OK; get pass that. Now there are at least 10 different technologies you have to understand to know if you are getting the HDTV right for you. I won't list them here because if I do I might be tempted to try to explain them. No way am I going to do a lemming over the brink for that.

I was telling a friend about this event and the search for the right HDTV; she said that when the time comes that her plain analog TVs no longer work that she will just listen to the radio. Stupidly I told her that the friendly FCC is considering making FM stations broadcast only digitally. Now I don't know when to leave well enough alone. She said that she would read the newspaper; sorry at the rate newspapers are disappearing the only ones that will exist at the end of the next decade are those that only have the grocery and auto dealer adds in them.

Its the internet and HDTV for America; tide, time and digital waits for no one!

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