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Reality of HDTV nearing for Warner area enthusiasts

By Riley Gay

As Warner area residents who have followed the evolution know, the future of television has been hovering just over the horizon for more than 10 years.

Like a desert oasis, affordable high definition TV (HDTV) remains an elusive phantom, beyond the reach of all but the most ardent (and well-heeled) technophiles.

Recent developments, however, may signal a trend toward realization of the dream of truly immersive digital entertainment.

Five years ago, the FCC issued a mandate to replace analog signals with high-bandwidth digital signals by January 2006.

The aim was to ensure that at least 85 percent of U.S. households would be capable of receiving digital signals at that time, as well. That meant an effort by both broadcasters and television manufacturers to meet this goal.

Although the first digital broadcast was aired in late 1998, very little progress has been made toward achieving the FCC’s objective.

The FCC blames manufacturers for not making enough TVs capable of receiving digital signals, and at a price that’s affordable. The manufacturers blame the broadcasters for dragging their feet in making compelling digital content available to make consumers want to turn in their old analog sets.

Meanwhile, most consumers are sitting on their wallets, waiting for the dust to settle and for both content and equipment to become available and affordable.

Worse yet, for most people, the whole HDTV state of affairs, if they’re even aware of it, is confusing.

To add to the confusion, there are 18 different digital TV formats and two different types of digital TVs from which to choose.

Even salespeople have trouble sorting out the mess. An informal survey on separate days of two different sales reps at Fry’s Electronics in Tempe yielded some confusing, and somewhat contradictory, information about the technology and the products they offered for sale.

Given the apparent lack of standards in format, and the scarcity of clear and consistent information available to the average consumer, it’s little wonder that most people should be shaking their heads in bewilderment.

Manufacturers are trying to address these problems, and spur sales in the process. In addition to HDTVs capable of receiving, decoding and displaying digital signals a variety of formats, TV makers are offering “HD-capable” sets that require a separate DTV tuner and decoder.

One advantage of this strategy is that the set can be purchased now and the decoder later when content becomes more widely available. Moreover, the price of the set-top decoder is likely to be cheaper in the near future than it is today, and may include additional capabilities not yet available in today’s decoders.

One manufacturer, Mitsubishi, even makes a rear-projection, big-screen TV that it guarantees to be upgradeable to whatever technology becomes the industry standard in the future.

Meanwhile, you get to enjoy an upgraded digital TV with HDTV’s higher resolution and 16:9 (width-to-height) aspect ratio, as compared with the 4:3 ratio found on standard TVs, at a much lower cost. And if you currently enjoy DVD movies on your old analog box, just think what they‘d look like on the kind of set for which they were really made.

Broadcasters are also coming around, albeit slowly, with more and varied content in digital format. While only a portion of each station’s broadcast day is devoted to transmitting digital signals, South Tempe and Northwest Chandler residents can now view digital broadcasts from the major networks throughout their prime-time broadcast periods and at least part of the daytime schedule.

Additionally, many sports events, movies, specials and other popular shows are being broadcast digitally, and many of those are presented in true HDTV format.

One thing to be aware of when considering the purchase of an HDTV, or HD-capable set and decoder:

You need an antenna to receive broadcast, high-bandwidth digital signals, so you may have to ditch your current cable provider and look into DirecTV or a similar service.

So if you’re looking for DVD-like picture and sound from your TV viewing experience, you can find a solution to fit your budget now, and be ready for the 2006 when TV broadcasting goes digital.

Riley Gay is Wrangler News’ technical services director.

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