OTHER TECH

THE PROBLEM Your old TV works just fine, so you've put off buying an HDTV. You used to have some good reasons for waiting. Prices for widescreen high-def sets were higher than you'd ever imagined paying for a TV, and a swarm of new technologies with strange names like plasma, DLP, and LCoS left you baffled. And it wasn't clear how you'd actually get HDTV programs. Sure, the network TV stations in big cities were broadcasting high-def, but the affiliates in your hometown took longer to get on the bandwagon. And when you called your cable company to see if they offered HDTV, the service rep just said, "HDTV - uh, what's that?" But now that the cable company is calling you to extol the virtues of HDTV, you're wondering how to get in the game.

THE SOLUTION High-def channels are now widely available on both satellite and cable, and broadcast stations in cities from Florida to Alaska are airing HDTV during prime-time. So programming's no longer a reason to put off buying an HDTV, and set prices continue to drop. But there's still the issue of too many TV types to choose from. With a little advice, though, you can zero in on the right one.

If you're tight on money, space, or both, your best bet is a direct-view CRT model. These HDTVs display high-def programs using the same cathode-ray tube technology found in your old TV, and most have a wide "16:9" screen. With screens ranging from 26 to 36 inches (measured diagonally), they can easily squeeze into small spaces, and prices go from a very reasonable $500 up to $2,000.

Another HDTV option for the space-challenged is flat-panel plasma and LCD sets - but you're going to have to spend a lot more. The key advantage here, of course, is that you can mount the TV on a wall like a picture. But flat HDTVs can also deliver exceptional pictures. Recent 42-inch plasmas that received glowing reviews in these pages include Pioneer's PDP-4350HD (May), Panasonic's TH-42XVS30U (May), and Dell's W4200 (September). Actual selling prices (as opposed to hyperinflated "list" prices) are $5,000, $4,500, and $2,899, respectively.

Flat-panel HDTV screen sizes can be as big as 71 inches for plasma and 45 inches for LCD. But prices for those mammoth models are unthinkably high for the average Joe. With screen sizes ranging from 42 to 73 inches and prices starting as low as a thousand bucks, a rear-projection TV (RPTV) provides a much bigger bang for your buck.

RPTVs use tubes or a light engine with DLP (Digital Light Processing), LCD, or LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology to project images onto the screen. While rear-projection sets can be bulky - especially those based on older CRT technology - most of the latest DLP and LCD sets are less than 20 inches deep, with many measuring only 15 to 18 inches. (You'll even find a handful of really slim DLP models that use a special lens assembly to get cabinet depth down to a mere 7 inches, though they're a lot more expensive.) Unlike direct-view tube and flat-panel plasma and LCD sets, which perform well in brightly lit rooms, RPTVs need a dim space to look their best. Even so, our reviewers have waxed poetic about such models as Mitsubishi's 48-inch WS-48515 (February/March), Toshiba's 52-inch 52HM94 (June), and Sony's Qualia 006 (May). Actual selling prices are as low as $1,999, $1,895, and $10,999, respectively.

LOOKING AHEAD With more high-def channels coming online all the time, HDTV is on a roll. You can expect to see even more set types unveiled in the near future, with HDTVs driven by exotic technologies like SED - short for Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display - which combines the best aspects of CRT technology with a flat-panel form factor. But with more companies adding their own unique spins to capture your high-def dollars, set prices can only continue to come down. As that happens, there'll be no reason left to sit on the sidelines.