HDTV Myths

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,122629,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,122629,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Plasma TV sets start out bright and beautiful, but burn out to an early death. Every single high-definition television program looks equally crisp and gorgeous. The higher resolution of a 1080p high-def set means that your shows and DVDs will always look better than on a more ordinary 720p set. Are these gospel truths about HDTV? Nope. Just a sampling of the many popular factoids, half-truths, and myths that can make choosing and enjoying a high-def television set complicated and confusing--and in some cases, needlessly expensive."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/122629-2312p165-1b.jpg" /> <br /><br />PC World has put together a nice article debunking many of the myths surrounding HDTV.

[klinux]

Overall a good summary.

This is the reason why I went with a high quality Panasonic 480p plasma today instead of a $$$ set today. With the money saved, I feel much more justifiable years down the light when I purchase that 1080p, one inch thin, super bright (and dark) set, runs on 10W of power based on pixie-dust technology!

[randalllewis]

As a new HDTV user I confess to having heard EVERY one of these myths while shopping for the TV. Not all of the myths came from the sales staff at stores. I was amazed at how often other customers would offer up myths on plasma vs LCD or ED vs HD or DCR vs non or monitor vs tuner. It went on and on. Sometimes the information from sales staff and customers was helpful, usually it was not. My favorite was from one very self-assured customer at my local Best Buy who chided me for my interest in one model that did not have an HDMI connector but "only" DVI. Even telling him that I planned to use a cable box as my HD source and that Comcast's cable boxes (at least in Washington state) use DVI, not HDMI, did not convince him. As far as he was concerned, I wasn't smart enough to own an HDTV.