Think You Know Your Hdtv Then Get A Job

We live in an information society. Sometimes we need to understand every little iota about something. Most of the time we don't. Information overkill, or just as bad, not enough information can confuse us to the point of making poor decisions.

It's hard to explain high-definition technology in laymen's terms.

"What kind of HDTV are you looking for?" the salesperson asks.

"Well, a big one," customer answers.

Now might be the time to explain the difference in display technologies, such as DLP, LCD, Plasma, CRT, LCOS and Projection. If the customer doesn't know the difference, and most don't, they do know that size matters. They may not want the bulk of the CRT, but we as consumers, deserve to know the difference. Which technology is prone to burn in? Which HDTV might produce the "rainbow effect?" Which high-definition television will we need to watch with the drapes closed and which one can be viewed perfectly in a sunny room?

In most cases, we pick the big one. Not just any big one, but the one with the price we like and the pretty cabinet. After, all, right now in the store it has a pretty picture.

What about the tuner? Is it integrated or HDTV-ready? If I didn't know better, if I bought an HDTV-ready set, I would think I could take it home and instantly get HDTV programming. At least over-the-air programming. Boy, would I be mad when I found out after all the money I had just spent, now I had to get cable or a satellite dish to get any HDTV programming.

I didn't see any black bars above and below or on the sides of the screen in the store (the black bars displayed when watching TV or DVD content filmed in a different aspect ratio than my set is displaying) so why do I have them at home?

It would have been nice if the salesperson had explained aspect ratio to me, even in the simplest of terms. Then I could make an informed decision on whether I wanted to purchase an HDTV set with a native resolution of 1080i or 720p.

The real problem isn't even the salespeople. It's the people they work for not taking the time (which is money) to train them. It would take most of us a couple of weeks in an all-day training class to get all this HDTV stuff down. How can we expect the sales force, who if they're lucky, get to read a brochure or watch a training video before they are thrust on the high-definition floor to assist us?

We have to educate ourselves and take responsibility before we purchase such a big-ticket item to know exactly what we're looking for. In just a few months we'll have two totally different HD DVD players on the market and then we'll have to figure out not just which one is the best one, but which one will suit our high-definition needs. So do me a favor. If you know your HDTV, get a job…please!

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