OTHER TECH

Q. If my local cable service won't carry the networks' digital feeds, does that mean I can't see them in high-def?A. You can see them - but you have to be willing to install an antenna to pull in the digital broadcasts from your local stations.

Q. This is all so 1960s. How do I figure out what antenna to get?A. It's simple. Go to AntennaWeb.org, the Consumer Electronics Association's site designed to help you figure out which antenna is best for you, and type in your address. You'll get a list of which digital stations are available in your area, suggestions on what type of antenna to use, and directions on where to point the antenna once you get it. The various types of antennas have been color-coded to help you tell them apart. Just match the recommended color to the color on the antenna's box. With the help of a few accessories, you'll find it's not too difficult to install the antenna yourself - as long as you're not afraid of heights.

Q. When I went to the local electronics store to see HDTV, the picture was all fuzzy and stretched. Why?A. Most likely the TV was displaying a standard-definition signal, not a true HDTV broadcast. Since standard-def programs are broadcast in the squarish, 4:3 aspect ratio, the store personnel probably put the TV in one of its stretch modes to fill its wider screen. (All HDTVs have display modes that stretch 4:3 images to fill the wide 16:9 screen, but some do a more convincing job than others. The worst offenders stretch the image in the middle, which can make a newscaster's head look like a basketball.) High-def images are so much sharper than those on standard TVs that you should have no trouble recognizing one when you see it.

Q. I love the look of those flat TVs that you can hang on a wall. They're all HDTVs, right?A. Nope. Some of the smallest LCD flat-panel TVs can only receive standard analog signals, and some of the larger widescreen plasma TVs are enhanced-definition TVs, or EDTVs, that can accept HDTV signals but can display them only in the lower-resolution 480p format. This is still better than the 480i picture you get with an analog TV and comparable to the image you can get with a progressive-scan DVD player.

But don't assume that EDTVs are vastly inferior to HDTVs. Some of the better-designed sets produce images that hold up extremely well next to their high-def brethren. And enhanced-definition sets are usually priced a heck of a lot less than HDTVs.

Q. All these new TVs are still too expensive for me. When will they cost the same as a conventional big-screen TV?A. If you're willing to forsake a flat-panel TV for a rear-projection model, you can find high-def sets with 40- to 47-inch screens for as little as $1,500 and smaller widescreen direct-view sets for less than $1,000. The price trend is definitely downward, even for those widescreen plasma models.

While most of the TVs sold today are still direct-view sets using cathode-ray tubes, industry analysts expect that to change within the next five to seven years as the prices of flat-panel displays continue to plummet. LCD sets, which currently max out at 40 inches and typically have much smaller screens, are expected to be available in sizes up to 50 inches in the next few years. By then, 50-inch plasma and LCD TVs are both predicted to cost about $3,000.