MY TECH
Lessons on road to an HDTV
Two years of research culminate in the purchase of a 50-inch Panasonic plasma and a few accessories
Alex L. Goldfayn
Published November 13, 2006
In the form of a delivery truck, Santa and his elves arrived early at our house this month.
After two painstaking years filled with research and remarkable self-control, my wife and I finally pulled the trigger on a magnificent high-definition plasma television and all of the accoutrements that go with it.
And now the HD gods are rewarding our patience: During Bears games, it's like we're there, midfield. Bulls games put us courtside, "Lost" places us on a magnificent, nearly three-dimensional island in the middle of nowhere (even though I know it's Hawaii), and on "Grey's Anatomy" the doctors somehow look even hotter.
Several weeks into my new high-def lifestyle, I've decided it was a mistake to deny myself this clear, crisp pleasure for so long. So that you don't make the same mistake, here's the rundown on our sexy system and the lessons learned on my long road to HD glory.
The television
We purchased a Panasonic 50-inch plasma HDTV. To us, it simply had the best picture.
It helped that the experts agree.
The single best investment you can make when shopping for a high-definition television is $26 for an annual subscription at ConsumerReports.org.
The site puts out HDTV guides and reviews several times per year, and its trusted, in-depth analysis surpassed anything else I could find. We would print the ratings tables and go to the store. Almost always, we agreed with the findings.
I also spent a lot of time reading consumer reviews on the televisions I was considering. Cnet.com is a good place to start to see what your peers think of the TVs they bought. (Do a search for the specific model.)
Nextag.com, Shopping.com and Epinions.com are also good sources for reviews from real people.
We went for a 50-inch instead of the more affordable 42-inch TV because regrets abound in these reviews. "I only wish we got the bigger one," people say. Size does matter. So we got the bigger one.
The other finalist for our TV purchase was a Sony 46-inch liquid-crystal-display set. LCD sets only recently reached true big-screen proportions. (Plasmas have dominated the 42-inch and bigger flat-panel market for years.) Thus, the colors and, experts say, the technology are still catching up to plasma big screens. This was apparent in our comparison.
The Panasonic plasma simply had a better picture than the Sony LCD.
This was interesting because the Sony displayed a 1080p resolution (about 2 million pixels on the screen, the highest resolution available), while the Panasonic we bought only offered a 1080i resolution (about 1 million pixels).
Here's what you need to know about these techie numbers: cable and satellite providers currently transmit at 720p. The high-definition DVD players that are hitting the market now--you've probably seen the first batch of HD DVDs in your local video aisle selling for about $25--do take advantage of the 1080p resolution.
But even with a high-definition DVD player, you really can't tell the difference from normal viewing distance. It's like the difference between a computer with a 2.5 gigahertz processor compared with one with a 2.2 gHz processor. There's no discernible difference.
Plus, the plasma had a better picture. So we bought the plasma.
To mount, to stand or to furnish?
Most people don't realize this, but what you do with the TV is probably more important than the TV itself. At least in my home, which has WAF (wife acceptance factor) rules.
We didn't want to mount the TV because it would look funny on the lower third of the wall, which is eye-level when sitting. So, we bought a modern piece of furniture made by JSP Industries (
www.jsp-industries.com).
It has a typical stand for the components and a "backsplash" on which the TV is mounted.
The furniture cost more than the TV, but it's the central piece of furniture in our home.
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Comcast vs. DirecTV vs. antenna
We'd been DirecTV customers for about six years.
But the company's HD signal comes from two separate satellites and, for some reason, we had trouble picking up one of them.
It's also widely discussed online that DirecTV compresses its HD signal for easier, faster transmission through the air.
Comcast also compresses its signal, but because it travels through cables there is consensus among enthusiasts that Comcast's HD picture is better. So we signed up with Comcast, taking advantage of the "DirecTV Buyback" deal, which means $25 off our monthly bill for 16 months.
Also, there's no question that Comcast's all-in-one high-definition receiver/video recorder is better than DirecTV's. As a TiVo devotee, I can tell you Comcast's Motorola-made box offers a more elegant, easier-to-use interface than DirecTV's unit.
Plus, there's word that Comcast DVR users in December will be able to download the TiVo interface straight through the cable and turn their box into a full-fledged TiVo.
Dish Network also offers service in our area, but I have not experienced its service.
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The Mac mini
For photos and music, we connected a Mac mini to our TV and audio receiver. Now we can browse through our entire music collection on TV, select a song and see the album cover right on the screen as the song plays.
Photo slide shows set to music are great, too, making a unique way to experience the memories of our lives.
And thanks to the Mac's full-screen Front Row software, there's no mouse or keyboard required. Everything is controlled by remote control.
The remote control
The WAF rules dictate that seven remotes are too many. So I went back to consumer reviews of all-in-one remote controls. The winner for my needs: Universal Remote Control's URC-200 (
www.universalremote.com).
It controls up to 10 components and features hard buttons as well as an LCD screen that offers unique, programmable commands for each component.
Retail price on the URC-200 is about $130. Price at Amazon.com: a steal at about $50.
I realize it feels like I've spent nearly 7 percent of my life shopping for an HDTV. But now that I know what I've been missing, don't make the same mistake.
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Alex L. Goldfayn is host of "The Technology Tailor Show" on WGN-AM 720 on Saturdays from 6 to 8 p.m.
alex@technologytailor.com