FAQ > HDTV Purchasing Questions

Should I Buy an Integrated HDTV Televsion? Some would argue yes, but we say no. If you buy an integrated High Defintion Television you are buying a television and a receiver/decoder all integrated as one unit. We say you should buy them seperately because it allows you to shop around and get the best television for your needs and the best decoder for your needs. If you get everything all as one package, you might be paying too much if you decide to only watch HDTV through the local cable company and so forth. Then again if you are looking for convenience when making your HDTV purchase, or if you want more free space on your shelves, then an integrated television is for you.

What is DVI/HDCP and Should I Care? DVI/HDCP stands for Digital Video Interface and High Definition Content Protection. Manufacturers of TVs are trying to agree to use DVI/HDCP as a way of protecting copyrighted material that is broadcasted to your home. When using DVI/HDCP you will not be able to copy material that is copyrighted like you can so easily do right now with a VCR. The problem with DVI/HDCP is that ideally you would not be able to watch copyrighted material in its full resolution unless you were using a DVI/HDCP input on your TV. However, only a minimal amount of TVs right now have a DVI/HDCP input and this is not a factor at this time. It could be in a few years, but we will have to wait and see what comes of it. Another thing to wonder is what do producers want to copyright? Most likely public TV broadcasts such as Fox, ABC, CBS and so on will not be protected against copying, but once again we will have to wait and see what comes of it.

Should I Buy a CRT, Rear Projection, Front Projection, Plasma, DLP, D-ILA...? This is up to you. Each technology has its ups and downs. CRT is much cheaper but larger. Rear Projection is fairly cheap these days to and can go much larger then a CRT monitor. Front Projection is great if you want to build a true "Home Theater". Plasma is the latest craze and is thin enough to fit anywhere. Plasma also has a reputation of much higer quality, though you will be paying for these features. DLP and D-ILA are newer technologies that are truly amazing, but most people would rater buy a nicer car then spend $15,000 + on a television set.

Should I Buy a Widescreen (16:9) or Regular (4:3) TV? A high definition television is 16:9 Widescreen by default. Many companies produce higher resolution TVs that are still in the 4:3 format and market these as HDTVs, though they are not "true" HDTVs. Either way when buying a new TV most people want to know if they should get 4:3 or 16:9. The answer is not as simple. A 16:9 TV is great for watching DVDs and High Definition programming as both are in wide screen formats. However, all 16:9 televisions will either show grey borders on the sides of SDTV programming or stretch the screen to fill the entire screen. The later makes people and objects on the TV look stretched and often people find annoying. The framing of the picture in grey borders is annoying to some people as well. Which you will use is up to you. This is one of the reasons people are still sticking to regular 4:3 TVs and many times don't make the high definition upgrade.

Should I Buy SDTV or HDTV? This too is completely up to you. If you watch a lot of TV and have a little bit extra money then HDTV is for you. If you are looking for a replacement TV that might only last for a few years then a regular TV will work too. Making the HD upgrade will cost more today then it will to do so a few years from now. But if you wait you will be missing out on a lot of great high definition programming.

What Products Are High Definition Cabable? There are a lot of resources on the Internet which list high defintion products. One site we have found to be simple is HDTV Reviews over at HDTV HQ.com. They also have sections specifically relating to Plasma, DLP and LCD products. We also suggest going to Google and typing in "hdtv", "hdtv receivers", "plasma" or the specific products that you are looking for.