Want HDTV?

By Robert S. Anthony

If you remember televisions with knobs and dials but--gasp!--no remote control, then you probably grew up in the '50s or '60s. If you intend to watch the news tonight on one of those models, call the Smithsonian: you're a dinosaur. For as young shoppers head to electronics stores to buy the new high-definition TVs (HDTVs), the over-50 crowd is falling in right behind them.

Older consumers have a reputation for being slow to adopt new technologies, but big-screen TVs seem to be an exception. A January 2004 survey by the Consumer Electronics Association found that 18% of adults of all ages owned an HDTV and that the rate for those over 50 was on par, at 17% overall and 19% for over-50 men.

That is good news for TV manufacturers and retailers because people over 50 tend to have more disposable income. But boomers can be cheap, er, price conscious. When a March 2005 Harris Interactive survey asked consumers whether they planned to buy an HDTV within a year, it found a relatively small age gap: 32% of 18-to-27-year-olds said yes, as did 28% of those 40 to 58 and 23% of those 59 or older. But although 29% of consumers in the youngest group said they would be willing to spend up to $5,000 for a set, the older groups clung tighter to their wallets. Only 17% of the middle-agers and 15% of those 59 or older said they felt ready to plunk down that kind of money.

Waiting turns out to have been a wise move. HDTV prices have dropped dramatically over the past year. In March 2005 the average price for a 37-in. liquid-crystal display (LCD) HDTV was a hefty $4,113; a year later, the average price had dropped to $2,333. Bargain hunters can find even better deals. This summer under its low-cost label ILO, Wal-Mart was selling a 32-in. set with a built-in HDTVtuner for $848.

So if you've been holding back, now may be the time to buy. The problem, of course, is figuring out what to get. Alfred Poor, author of Professor Poor's Guide to Buying HDTV, suggests that instead of trying to sort through all the specifications and jargon at home, shoppers should go to a store. "The best thing you can do is trust your eyes," he advises. Here's what to look for:

o LCD vs. PLASMA LCD TVs have a backlight that's electronically filtered to produce the microscopic color pixels that make up the image, whereas plasma TVs have pixels that emit colored light themselves. LCD TVs are better than plasmas in bright rooms and are very affordable up to about 42 in. Plasma TVs offer deep blacks and rich colors and can be viewed from wider angles than LCD TVs and are available in larger sizes.

o CONTRAST RATIO This ratio (e.g., 600 to 1) represents the difference between a screen's brightest and darkest colors. A higher ratio is better. "Contrast as a concept is really important," says Poor. "The blacker your blacks, the more punch you have to your colors." But TV makers use differing standards to calculate the numbers, so comparing them is "almost useless," says Poor. So how do you judge contrast? First view the TV from the front, then see how badly the image fades from the side. If all the sets are on the same channel, it's fairly easy to tell which ones have deeper blacks and purer whites.

o SIZE You need to get a large screen if you want a true home-theater effect. "Buy big or sit close," says Poor, noting that a 42-in. HDTV isn't too big for an average-size bedroom if you watch it from the other side of the room. He says LCD is a good technology for HDTVs up to 40 in. and plasma is the technology of choice for larger units. Plasmas are available up to a gargantuan 102 in.

o RESOLUTION Beyond a certain distance, the human eye can't distinguish between an HDTV with a resolution of 720 lines and one with 1,080 lines. And those of us with "50-plus eyeballs," says Poor, are "less likely to see the difference." Both will look far better than the 480-line resolution of a conventional TV.

o CABLE COMPATIBILITY If you have cable- or satellite-TV service, then you don't need a special tuner for your new HDTV. But if you don't, you'll need an HDTV with a built-in HDTV tuner or an external HDTV tuner. You'll also need an HDTV antenna. Your old rabbit ears won't do. Digital broadcasts are all-or-nothing affairs. If you get a strong signal, you'll get a cable-quality image. If the signal is weak, however, you won't get a fuzzy image; you'll get a blank screen.