Some Things They Won't Tell You About The New TV's
Courtesy Watts Current

When seeking a replacement television today the uninformed shopper is in for quite an unexpected experience. Most are drawn by the fascination of a new Television that resembles "a large picture frame hung upon the wall" which will produce the best picture and sound available. This is possible...however most have no idea of the many compromises and decisions that are required to make this dream come true.

The replace it now advertising pressure is relentless. It is being magnified through more misunderstanding in-store by the sleazy salesperson. With a sales pitch that leads the uninformed to believe... soon those without HDTV's won't be able to receive any stations on their old TV...so you must buy now. Cha Ching...Cha Ching! (Note should this be the brand name of some Chinese TV... we are not referring to an item...our sense of use is only intended to represent a sound...similar to the cash register operation in this article.)

Lets set the record straight. I'm not sure of the drop-dead NTSC cutoff transmission date. Initially it was December 31, 2006 however there are now many revisions to this date floating about...some as late as 2009. While this is a rather important milestone it is not the end of TV reception for non-HDTV type television owners. This date has a greater effect upon those who subscribe to neither cable or satellite and are solely dependent upon an antennae for their only source of programming with a NTSC television receiver. After the transition date... these units will no longer be capable of receiving over the air broadcasts because they will become digital and transmitted in the new ATSC format.

A major factor aiding confusion is the loosely defined capabilities of these new replacement TV's. 1. HDTV Ready: this category will receive the HD signal but may not be capable of displaying resolution any greater than that of a standard signal. 2. HDTV with Integrated Tuner: this category set is also capable of receiving the HD signal and has greater display resolution than standard but may only be capable of displaying about half (1 mega pixels) of the HD signal content. 3. Full HD-TV: this category is capable of receiving the HD signal and displaying its entire content (2 mega pixels) in the transmitted HD signal. You can be sure this confusion will provide huge commission boosts for the unscrupulous sales person.

Why are those with non-HDTV sets that subscribe to cable or satellite unaffected? Because their provider whether satellite or cable...use their own scrambled transmission formats and must provide receivers with service to enable reception by their customers while denying it to non subscribers. This is not likely to change because it also allows that "Pay per View" feature they use to increase profits.

What options await those with non HDTV sets depending solely upon antennas? Of course the obvious is... buy a new HDTV set. However, select one with an ATSC tuner installed. This was initially mandated within larger screen TV's first then smaller screen sizes following chronologically down to the 13" sets ( there are no present requirements for inclusion in sets smaller than 13"). Another option would be to purchase a "set top box" that contains an ATSC tuner for use with an existing NTSC television receiver. These are available at most Big-Box stores nationwide for around $200.00.

Should you choose the "New TV" option you will be required to select from several new technologies. Normally price is the primary factor in most decisions. The Plasma displays may seem to be the more costly units albeit their cost is less than some LCD units of equal screen size but their popularity seems to be on the wane. In addition to cost Plasma units have other peculiarities requiring consideration. They are rather heavy and produce a great deal of heat in operation. This means wall mounted units require special mounts and must be attached to structural members (studs) capable of supporting their weight. Overlooking this may result in severe injury to children or others should a unit fall due to improper installation. They also require clearance for air flow around the rear cover to keep these units from overheating. It has been said, heat generated by some of these units in a room reduces need for space heating while conversely increasing demand upon air conditioning for the area. Other distracters are increased operating noise with altitude operational and image burn-in susceptibility. The advantages of Plasma may not be picture quality but rather a long projected lifespan of approximately 60,000 hours. Replacement parts seem to be expensive and service availability can be limited to returning units to a designated national service location creating further inconvenience by increasing down time caused by the lack of local service facilities. It also must be noted many of these Plasma units are categorized as HD Ready devices therefore incapable of displaying the entire HD signal content. Buyer beware!

The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Liquid Crystal On Silicon (LCOS) or Digital Light Processor (DLP) units may or may not be less expensive but seem to be gaining popularity in the market place.

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