By Steven Thomas….courtesy ETG State News
     Flat-Screen TVs: What the Store May Not Tell You. Here's a look at some issues that aren't always obvious at the checkout.
You may need a contractor: While many buyers expect to hang the new set on the wall like a painting, it's not so simple. Wall-mounting brackets cost around $200, and when you start adding wiring behind the wall and hiring electricians, the price tag can go up to more than $675.

     The new TV's not enough: Just buying a high definition set won't get you an HD picture. You'll most likely have to upgrade cable or satellite hardware and pay a higher monthly fee for the service. These can range from $5 to $15 a month depending on your cable provider. 

     You'll get great sound -- for a price: Many large screen TVs have less than impressive speakers, and some don't include speakers at all. To get the full surround sound experience, consumers often must upgrade their audio components -- costing from a few hundred dollars for a lower-end system to tens of thousands for a top-of-the-line Dolby 7.1 setup.

     Your old DVR won't cut it: Standard digital video recorders like TiVo usually don't record in high definition.  That means you might think you're recording your favorite program in the crisp new format, only to find it looking like a standard broadcast when you get home to watch it. You'll likely have to pay a premium to get a DVR that can record in high- definition format. DirecTV's HD-capable DVR, for example, costs subscribers $399.

     Channel-surfing delay: Some HDTV watchers complain that when they switch fiom an HD channel to a regular broadcast channel, there is a delay, ranging from one second to five seconds. That's because the TV has to switch between its analog and digital tuners, which can slow down channel surfing.

     Regular DVDs aren't crisp enough: While the newest HDTVs can show 1,080 lines of resolution, DVDs deliver only 480 lines (although they still look pretty good on an HD set). A new generation of DVD players is on the way.

    The color could be off: Some high-defdtion owners pay extra to have their new sets color optimized. Because manufacturers sometimes add blue to the screen to make the TV look brighter (and help them sell on the sales floor), skin tones can look off or whites can look blue. Consultants charge as much as $400 to visit your home and tune up the hues. 

     Get ready for expensive cables: To get the best picture, home-theater experts say, HD owners should use special cables between the TV and a DVD player or cable box. One type is called component video; another is known as HDMI. Either one can cost up to $200.

     Glossary:
     Plasma: These charged-gas digital sets, popular in larger sizes, produce a rich image viewed equally well head-on or from an angle. Downside: The gas-image deteriorates over time.

     LCD: The same technology found in laptop screens, it generates pictures using light filtered by a material called liquid crystal. Thinner and lighter than plasma, but more expensive. 

     Rear-projection microdisplays: The least expensive digital, big-screen TVs. [They] are too thick to hang on the wall, but are considered the most durable of the large screen class.

     High-definition TV: Plasma, LCD, rear projection -- even tube TVs -- are all sold in high-definition models. They can receive HD broadcasts and display them in either 720, 1080i or 1080p formats without reducing the picture. A lower-resolution format, enhanced definition, can receive digital broadcasts but converts the images to 480 progressive scan lines, only slightly better than analog TV.

     Flat-panel TV: About 4 to 5 inches thick, these refer to plasma or LCD models made of one flat piece of glass.  Some tube TVs are described as "flat screen" because they use a flat piece of glass in the front, instead of a curved one, but are still heavy and thick.

     It's just part of a continuing evolution in the consumer repair business. When I started back in 69-70 I serviced anything that fell under the general heading of consumer electronics. Over the ensuing years many products dropped out of the system, first to go were the large floor console radio's. Customers deemed them too old fashioned to keep around so most went to the dump.

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