A good starting point for big screen tv entertainment centers is the web. Store like Best Buy and Circuit City have plenty to offer. Furthermore their deals are especially low these days on big screen tv entertainment centers due to Wal-Mart. Yes, I did say Wal-Mart. Ever since Wal-Mart dropped their electronics prices so low, all competitors have had to take the plunge in order to compete. This is not good for them in any way, but it will benefit you in getting a nice flat panel television with pristine clarity and color.

I know what TV I want to get, but I can't quite decide on home theater audio systems. What kind of home theatre system should I get? Part of me wants to get one of those over the top, extremely high powered home theater systems. I want to be able to turn up the sound as loud as I want and scare the neighbors. Another part of me, however, thinks that I'm getting too old for that. Rationally, I think it would be better served by a home theater system with flat-panel speakers. I have heard that that kind of home theater system delivers the best sound quality, which is kind of the whole point.

The really tough thing is that there is nowhere I can try out a home theater system before I buy it. Oh sure, I can try it in the store, but the acoustics of the store have nothing in common with the acoustics in my house. How will I know if the home theater system will play the way I want it to if I don't get to listen to it inside? Oh well – sooner or later I'll make a decision.

Many newer plasma televisions have a set of high quality speakers attached on both sides of the screen. Although the built in speakers are sufficient enough to meet the needs of most causal television viewers, those that watch a lot of television or those who like the experience television or movies in “full movie theater quality” often prefer to add a home theater surround sound system to their plasma television.

The advertisers often talk about the benefits of having a plasma television at home but what they do not usually mention is what a plasma television really is and the technology behind it.

Plasma television provides a higher resolution than any other type of television monitors. A plasma screen contains literally millions of gas-filled cells (each one acting as a single image pixel) trapped between two pieces of glass. The most expensive and the most powerful plasma televisions can display over 16 million different colors.

A plasma television contains transistor electrodes. Instead of operating as a result of a laser hitting every single pixel like a traditional tube television, a plasma television is built with single transistor electrodes at each pixel. That is the reason why plasmas can be so small in size; you don’t need the massive space behind the television to accommodate an electrode gun. The picture on a plasma television is a result of each pixel varying in intensity to produce a different color, with this happening to every pixel a picture consisting of millions of pixels is produced.

No matter if you’re interested in the technology behind plasma televisions or not, if you’re looking for a high quality television that won’t take up a lot of space, plasma televisions are the way to go!

Choosing a high definition television can be confusing. When shopping for a new HDTV, do research and understand the product. It is recommend that you shop around and ask lots of questions before purchasing. HDTV set ups can be costly. Larger sets can run in the thousands of dollars just for the television. Most HDTV sets that are available for sale are big screen and they are generally expensive. Smaller-screened televisions with digital capabilities are slated to hit the market in 2007.

There are three types of digital television signals that currently broadcast. They are SD for standard definition, ED for enhanced definition and HD for high definitions. The SD and ED signals can be broadcast with a traditional square screen or in a movie-like wide-screen with reduced picture quality. HD signals however, are all wide-screen, which makes the picture crisper and clearer.

When looking at HDTV sets, there are many sizes and styles to choose from. LCD microdisplays are probably the most popular of the HDTV sets. It is a rear projector that uses three small LCD panels. Each panel is less than one inch diagonal and has the capability to produce high definition wide screen images up to 70 inches. The LCD panels are made up of a grid of transistors that create a pixel structure. When the transistors are charged, tiny rotating crystals suspend n a liquid inside the panel. The crystals are like tiny shutters that control the amount of light that passes through each panel. The light is reflected on a mirror and through a projection screen, which creates the full color high definition picture.

The choices for HDTV are staggering. Consumers can purchase plasma, LCD (liquid crystal display), DLP (digital light processing) or LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon), which are all types of monitors. There are also projection displays to consider. They also come in LCD, DLP, and LCOS. Many viewers prefer the wall display monitor that either plasma or LCD offers. But, these are usually most expensive of the high definition sets, especially the ones that are sized between 40 to 70 inches. Lower on the cost spectrum, but equally good, are the LCD displays that are sized at 42 inches and under.

There are great benefits of using high definition television. HDTV has over twice the sharpness and clarity of analog TV broadcasts. The color resolution for HDTV sets is far superior. For consumers who have already made the switch to HDTV, they feel this is the biggest advantage of high definition.

The lack of imperfections in the television screen often seen on traditional television is another reason why many prefer high definition to analog. With HDTV, problems such as snow caused from a weak signal, double images from ghosting or multi-path and picture sparkles from impulse noise are a thing of the past. These problems often seen on a conventional television broadcast just do not occur on HDTV.

Screen resolution from a high definition TV broadcast is almost five times as sharp as conventional broadcasts. High definition has double the lines of resolution compared to a traditional analog TV set. While a traditional analog set can only display 525 lines of resolution, HDTV technology takes this one step farther. HDTV broadcasts can display 1080 horizontal lines of resolution. This makes a huge difference in the picture clarity and quality. Often with big screen analog broadcasts, the picture is severely degraded because of the resolution lines.

Most consumers aren't satisfied to simply display broadcast or pre-recorded material. Since the advent of inexpensive VCRs in the 1980s viewers have expected to be able to record material for later playback or permanent storage.

The next logical step, since the internal technology is nearly identical in many cases, is to extend that functionality to and from the PC. Not long after that, the goal will be to connect the PC to the new HDTV and high definition players and recorders.

Whether digital photos or video, or full Hollywood movies, users want to be able to transfer and use content anywhere within the home. With the ubiquity of the Internet, they also want to be able to access and display that content on the road on a laptop, in a hotel or at work or someone else's home.

Thanks to advances in all the relevant technology, as well as leading edge business arrangements, that's now all possible. The long-promised convergence between TV, PC and the Internet is finally becoming a practical, affordable reality.

Hot on the heels of the new HDTVs, with ever lower prices, and the new high definition DVD players from Toshiba (HD-DVD), Samsung (Blu-ray) and others comes Blu-ray RECORDABLE devices.

That there's at least one Blu-ray recorder on (or soon to be on) the market shouldn't be too surprising. Sony has had a Blu-ray recorder on sale for two years. The near $3,000 cost (as they expected) kept it from any kind of mass-market adoption, but it no doubt helped them shake down the bugs.

Apart from that somewhat exotic offering, Sony is bringing out a laptop in their Vaio line that will have a Blu-ray player built in. At $3,600 it's pricey, but it does offer a 17in screen, making it viable for serious video folks who have to be on the road.

Connecting the laptop to an HDTV is as easy as obtaining a HDTV card, such as ATI's Wonder card. With a simple software installation and the use of a special cable, the PC connects to the component or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connectors on the set. Expect an Ethernet connection that does more than just transfer firmware to the HDTV before too long.

AMEX recently announced their Digital MPC-505BD Media Center PC with Blu-ray recorder. No price has been set, but the Windows Media Edition-enabled device can actually record onto Blu-ray DVDs.

The unit offers 7.1 channel audio and a hybrid analog/digital DVB-T TV tuner. It also houses a full terabyte (that's one thousand twenty-four gigabytes) of hard disk storage. It is, in effect, a Blu-ray DVD player/recorder and PC in one that can be connected to a HDTV. The future has arrived.

Toshiba's new HD-DVD player has hit the shelves, at an initial price of around $500. Several reviewers give it mixed marks, with the picture quality rated excellent and several of the features rated less than ideal.

Also, to Toshiba's credit they hit their expected delivery date so that early adopters can judge for themselves whether the premium over a standard DVD player is justified.

Beyond price and delivery, a full line of ports is available on the machine, including not just the expected component and HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) ports but also an Ethernet connection.

The HDMI port is essential for getting the highest quality out of HD discs and standard DVDs. Also, if the studios follow through on copy-protection, it will be required in order to play the discs in high definition.

Other features and behavior may or may not be acceptable, depending on the consumer's level of patience with first generation technology.

Since HD-DVD machines are as much a PC as a video player, they are slower and have many of the possible glitches that computers are prey to. The machines have an in-built operating system running on a Pentium 4, 2GHz chip. (It's rumored to be running a version of Linux, but with Microsoft strongly supporting HD-DVD over Blu-ray that may change, if it's even true.)

That's both a pro and a con. Any operating system, even running off a chip, is going to be slower to perform some functions than dedicated electronics. But it does open the door to increased functionality with a simple download (through the Ethernet port).

That may explain why the unit takes more than half a minute to display an inserted disc and why menu movement is sometimes a little slow.

Some reviewers had trouble with HDMI errors. They would hook up the cables and receive no picture, even after re-booting the unit, requiring the cables to be reconnected. That could be loose or defective cables, a semi-defective unit or a firmware error correctable via an update. Or, it may be a design flaw. There's no way to tell at this early stage.

In any case, it's something consumers should be wary of. You don't want to have to hassle with your DVD player the way you've (unfortunately) become used to with your PC.

Reviewers also gave poor marks to the remote, citing it as large and illogically arranged. Those things are often a matter of taste. What isn't a matter of taste are the semi-functional buttons that have to be repeatedly pressed. That could be a weak signal from poor batteries, but that's unlikely for a new unit. Buyer beware.

Back on the upside again, there's that undeniably excellent picture. Even standard DVDs look better, but that may be as much due to the HDTV used. In any case, the HD-DVD player is at least performing the minimum required by displaying standard DVDs in better than standard quality.

Sound quality, too, on the new unit is excellent - reproducing full Dolby quality. However, depending on your set, you may need to do some 're-engineering' to hook up your system differently to obtain the optimum sound.

Whether the units are 'ready for prime-time' is to some degree a matter of interest in HD material. Given that Sony is preparing to release (slated for Nov 2006) a $600 Playstation that will play Blu-ray discs, games and support downloads consumers may want to wait and see.

Technical side notes, before launching into the product reviews: 720 or 1080 represent the number of horizontal lines of pixels, with the larger number corresponding to 1920 x 1080 resolution. The letter 'p' or 'i' stands for progressive and interlaced, respectively. Interlacing 'paints' the screen in two passes, one for even lines another for odd, progressive does so in a single pass.

Overall picture quality is determined by several things, not just the total number of lines or pixels. Interlaced projection has to paint the lines in such a way as to fool the eye to avoid flicker. That depends on frame rates, which also come in a variety. Differing frame rates and projection methods introduce the need to convert signals. How, and how well, that conversion is done has a large effect on the perceived picture quality.

Blu-ray DVD uses a blue light laser to illuminate the pits found in any DVD disc (now known as BD discs). Blue light has a shorter wavelength, allowing the pits to be spaced closer together, so more information can be packed into the same space.

One of the advantages of the new Blu-ray players is their ability to output a 1080p signal via the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) jack. HD-DVD models are capable only of 1080i resolution. Most current sets convert the signal anyway, though, so you won't see any difference. But newer, 1080p native resolution sets are on the way and will become common in HDTV over the couple of years.

Any of the models we're about to look out will have this feature.

Samsung BD-P1000

The Samsung BD-P1000 is anticipated to be the least expensive, but at $1000 is still twice the cost of Toshiba's HD-DVD player. As with most consumer electronics, the price can be expected to drop, if not on this model then on future ones.

For that money the consumer can expect a slim, quality unit from one of the leaders in HDTV. Their DLP TVs are consistently rated among the best available in that class.

In addition, the player will have a 9-in-2 Multi Memory Card slot that will enable viewers to see digital photos on their set. That may or may not be a big advantage, since many HDTV sets come with a similar capacity built-in.

The Samsung will also offer the ability to set an alarm, presumably in order to alert the viewer to an upcoming show or event. Details are sketchy at this point.

Like the other models, the unit is a player only but recordable models are expected in another year or so.

Pioneer BDP-HD1

Pioneer's foray into the HD player market will offer some features not found on the Samsung. The BDP-HD1 is expected to make use of their proprietary Home Media Gallery software that allows viewers to display digital photos, listen to music or watch movies all stored on the home computer.

All that content can be displayed in 1080p, but of course this is useless unless the source material has sufficiently good resolution to take advantage of it.

Pioneer makes excellent quality consumer electronics goods (their CD changer is the best on the market) and has for decades. Their HDTV models are highly rated and consumers can expect a reliable, well-performing unit.

But those features and that quality will come with a stiff price tag. The BDP-HD1 is slated to premier for $1,800.

Panasonic DMP-BD10

Scheduled to arrive later than the others, the DMP-BD10 is slated for September 2006, along with Panasonic's new plasma-type 1080p HDTV.

Price, for a Blu-ray player, is anticipated to be in the middle of the pack at 'under $1,500' according to company data. Even at that price, the company has the advantage of being one of the most highly rated in the field. Their DVD player and HDTV sets are second to none.

The unit is promised to debut with the company's proprietary EZ-Sync HDAVI feature. The feature allows viewers to connect and control multiple HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) units with a single remote.

It remains to be seen whether Sony's hotly anticipated Playstation 3 will provide these 'full HD' players with further competition. The unit, slated for release November 2006, is reported to be able to play Blu-ray discs, along with downloading and playing games. At $600 it would radically alter the playing field.

You may soon be competing with the kids for control of the game console, just to play a great looking movie. Whichever brand or model you investigate, be sure to look past the hype and actually test the model in the store. First generation technology has a way of disappointing viewers who have only read about the features.

'Interlacing' is a technique in which the image is formed by 'painting' the screen in two passes, even lines in one pass, odd the next. Progressive scan recorder/players - which all good ones are these days - 'de-interlace' the picture before sending it to the display, if the TV can display a progressive picture. Traditionally, interlacing is performed by the TV circuitry.

When connected to a HDTV the recorder/player-TV system has additional conversion to do. By definition, HDTV offers more than 480i resolution. 480p is an interim standard, sometimes called EDTV (Enhanced Definition Television). HDTV native resolutions vary. Some are 720p, some 1080i, some newer ones even offer 1080p.

Whenever the source is one resolution, say 480p, and the display is another, more conversion has to take place. The system converts the 480 signal into either 720p or 1080i for display. How well that conversion, called upscaling or upconverting, is done plays a large role in the ultimate picture quality, no matter the contrast ratio and other specs.

Quality DVD recorders do a good job of producing a great picture even with all the conversion going on behind the scenes. Here are some units that offer that, plus some really useful additional features.

The Panasonic DMR-EH75 offers a DVD recorder that can use a single layer DVD-R or DVD-RAM disc to hold up to 8 hours of video.

It also houses an 80GB hard drive to record, time shift and play back material. That material can be from DVD (for non-copyright blocked sources) or directly from broadcasts. Depending on recording/playback quality, the hard drive can hold up to 142 hours of programming.

It provides a HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) interface for getting the maximum quality image out to the TV set. Price is currently in the $440 range for a unit that will display an excellent quality image on a good HDTV set.

For the really space-hungry crowd, Toshiba offers their RD-XS52 recorder, with 160GB hard drive that will hold up to 200 hours of video. Panasonic had larger units, from 120GB up to 400GB with an Ethernet connector. They may still be available from some merchants.

As with most Toshiba products, the quality is great and the price is stellar at around $350. But, for those less interested in recording than in the best possible playback, there's the new HD-A1. Retailing for around $500, it offers full high definition output at 1080i.

HDTV is, after all like every TV, a video reproduction system. Technical differences in frame rates and other factors always make conversion necessary for non-broadcast source material and even much broadcast material today. How well the set performs that conversion plays a large role in picture quality.

All sets offer a DCR (Digital Cable Ready) capability, making - in some cases - the use of an external cable box unnecessary. Beware that phrase 'in some cases'. Not all features are always supported, such as 'on demand', and not all cable companies broadcasts are compatible. Check with your area's provider.

As you would expect with a quality plasma set, color reproduction is excellent and deep blacks and good contrast are the norm. The bright, 1100 cd/m^2, screens are among the best.

The 50" PRO-1130HD is part of Pioneer's Elite line, the top of the line. Resolution is on the low side at 1024 x 768, but it includes detachable side-mounted speakers.

On the upside, the set provides excellent conversion capability for handling the wide variety of sources available today. Often HDTV sets do a poor job of converting 480i or 480p material to the 1080i that HDTV is capable of. Pioneer competes well in this area.

Scaling a standard analog TV broadcast to HDTV generally results in a degraded image below not only HDTV standards but even ordinary CRTs. Video 'noise' introduced by the conversion was non-existent and images were sharp with excellent contrast and brightness.

The set handles another kind of conversion well, also: scaling. Standard TV material is in 4:3 aspect ratio, films in the now-familiar 16:9 standard on HDTV sets. Sets can stretch the image to convert one to the other, or crop or zoom. The PRO-1130HD provides the option to select the one most comfortable to you.

But, not surprisingly, the set shines best with full-HD material. 1080i feeds provide fine detail with excellent color reproduction over a 170 degree viewing angle. When coupled with an HD-DVD or Blu-ray using a HD disc, we would expect the set to live up to its full capability.

Similar picture quality is available for much less (about $2,000 less) than the $6,500 price tag in the Pioneer PDP-5050HD. This set offers an excellent 4000:1 contrast ratio, using the same plasma element as the higher end unit.

Several TV networks now offer a variety of popular TV shows as downloads over the Internet. Disney, for example, provides some content exclusively found on the web and it's free. Other producers have made arrangements for episodes to be available the day after TV broadcast, sometimes for a subscription fee.

Finally, with the advent of large screen LCD and plasma panels, the differences between a TV and a computer monitor have been reduced in some cases to how the unit is connected and what software drives the display.

Most HDTV panels have one or more methods for connecting to your PC.

Some have RGB (red-green-blue) connectors of the type familiar to anyone who has hooked up a stereo. Cables run from the front or back of the TV into either the VGA connector on your PC's graphic card or into a similar connector on a HDTV card.

Another method involves connecting a VGA-to-component cable between the PC and the HDTV's component ports. In that setup the graphics card in the PC usually goes to a standard monitor, with a HDTV card providing the interface between the PC and your HDTV.

Either setup allows viewers to display digital photos or video on the HDTV. But there's more. To expand on that capability a card, such as ATI's HDTV card, can be used to receive over-the-air HDTV broadcasts.

Most homeowners have cable or satellite, but broadcasters still do what their name suggests: broadcast TV over the air. As time goes on, more and more of that content is in the form of high definition TV. Several popular shows, and many sports events, are now regularly shown in HD format.

Installing the ATI HDTV Wonder card and connecting it to your HDTV is simple and relatively inexpensive. The card retails for around $120. The limitation is you can only receive and display over-the-air material. The card is NOT a method for bypassing the cable or satellite companies' pay-for-play offerings.

More expensive, but more full-featured, options are available. For example, NEC has recently announced their ValueStar product. Combining a HDTV, a DVR (digital video recorder, ala Tivo) and a PC in one, it retails for about $2,800.

Lastly, several of the newer HDTV sets, as well as the new HD players (HD-DVD or Blu-ray) have an in-built Ethernet connector. Currently, its use is primarily for firmware upgrades to the TV or player, but that's likely to change over the next two years. Several vendors are promising movies and more shuttled between the PC and the HDTV, to the point that the distinction - after all these years - may finally, truly, disappear.

Manufacturers could, without too much difficulty, produce large quantities of equipment - TV sets, players and recorders, camcorders, etc. But if there was no hope of adequate content to take advantage of them, they wouldn't make the investment.

Content producers - filmmakers and studios, TV broadcasters, etc - were not going to go to the expense and trouble to create HD content until there was a large enough audience to buy or watch.

In the mix were the government bodies (the U.S. FCC, the UK Radio Authority, etc) who were either making the situation impossible or trying to arbitrate an impossible situation, depending on your point of view.

Fortunately for all concerned, many of those hurdles have now been overcome and all systems appear to be go for lift-off on the long-awaited superior pictures and sound.

As of July 1, 2006 (in the U.S.), all new 25" or larger sets are required to have digital tuners, or at least be DTV-ready. (By March 1, 2007 the figure reduces to all 13" or larger sets.) Finally, February 17, 2009 has been selected for the cutoff date for analog broadcasts. After that date, you'll either need a digital TV or a converter to receive broadcasts.

At the same time, as both cause and consequence, HDTV sets are coming down in price to the mass-market range, and headed further south. Some good quality, large-screen sets are now available for under $2,000. That seems high by today's standards, but less than 10 years ago an ordinary 36" Sony - twice the weight and several times the bulk - used to cost that.

HD (high definition) broadcasts are becoming more common. Where only a few years ago there were one or two special broadcasts, there are now several regular programs shown weekly in HD format.

And, as often happens, the player/recorder market is now ramping up release for HD equipment. Though saddled with two different formats - HD-DVD and Blu-ray - the new player/recorders have arrived.

Content for either HD-DVD or Blu-ray (primarily in the form of Hollywood movies) is thin, but so were DVDs not too many years ago. Now, there is only a small percentage of classic films that are NOT available for DVD, and nearly every new release is available a few months after theatrical runs.

Already a dozen films are available in the high definition format. With all the major studios committed to one or both formats, it won't be more than a few years before most films are released that way. Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray format players will play ordinary DVDs.

So for those who have long been clamoring for crystal clear pictures and stereo sound, it's now time to start looking at those big, flat-screen sets. You can now have your HDTV.

Most consumers aren't satisfied to simply display broadcast or pre-recorded material. Since the advent of inexpensive VCRs in the 1980s viewers have expected to be able to record material for later playback or permanent storage.

Whether digital photos or video, or full Hollywood movies, users want to be able to transfer and use content anywhere within the home. With the ubiquity of the Internet, they also want to be able to access and display that content on the road on a laptop, in a hotel or at work or someone else's home.

Thanks to advances in all the relevant technology, as well as leading edge business arrangements, that's now all possible. The long-promised convergence between TV, PC and the Internet is finally becoming a practical, affordable reality.

Hot on the heels of the new HDTVs, with ever lower prices, and the new high definition DVD players from Toshiba (HD-DVD), Samsung (Blu-ray) and others comes Blu-ray RECORDABLE devices.

That there's at least one Blu-ray recorder on (or soon to be on) the market shouldn't be too surprising. Sony has had a Blu-ray recorder on sale for two years. The near $3,000 cost (as they expected) kept it from any kind of mass-market adoption, but it no doubt helped them shake down the bugs.

Apart from that somewhat exotic offering, Sony is bringing out a laptop in their Vaio line that will have a Blu-ray player built in. At $3,600 it's pricey, but it does offer a 17in screen, making it viable for serious video folks who have to be on the road.

Connecting the laptop to an HDTV is as easy as obtaining a HDTV card, such as ATI's Wonder card. With a simple software installation and the use of a special cable, the PC connects to the component or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connectors on the set. Expect an Ethernet connection that does more than just transfer firmware to the HDTV before too long.

AMEX recently announced their Digital MPC-505BD Media Center PC with Blu-ray recorder. No price has been set, but the Windows Media Edition-enabled device can actually record onto Blu-ray DVDs.

The unit offers 7.1 channel audio and a hybrid analog/digital DVB-T TV tuner. It also houses a full terabyte (that's one thousand twenty-four gigabytes) of hard disk storage. It is, in effect, a Blu-ray DVD player/recorder and PC in one that can be connected to a HDTV. The future has arrived.

Double-layered discs are available as well. Here are the four types:
Type - Capacity - Maximum play time
- Single-sided, single-layered 4.7 GB 120 minutes
- Singled-sided, dual-layered 8.5 GB 4 hours
- Double-sided, single-layered 9.4 GB 4 hours
- Double-sided, dual-layered 17 GB 8 hours

Despite some early technical difficulties, the DVD soon became a read-write medium, not just read-only. With that change came another round of acronyms to understand. DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are the three most common. All types can be recorded on.

DVD-RAM is the more expensive option, but can (in theory, and to a large extent in practice) be re-written 100,000 times over many years. Also, since they store data non-sequentially, they're more useful for video editing than the other types. But, beware, not all players can play this type.

DVD-R can only be recorded onto once. Discs are cheap, so that isn't a problem these days and the format is compatible with nearly any player on the market.

DVD-RW, though, is only slightly more expensive and can be recorded onto many times. Not quite so many as DVD-RAM - only 1,000, in theory, but that's many more times than most people will need.

That was the state of things until very recently. Now comes the interesting part. Two new formats are coming onto the market and they're lining up for a good old-fashioned format battle. HD-DVD, developed by Toshiba, and Blu-ray from Sony have more in common than they have differences but one type will not play on a machine made for the other.

HD-DVD will store 15GB (30GB on dual-layer discs), while Blu-ray does better at 25GB (50GB on dual-layer). But the time differences are minimal. HD-DVD will hold about 8 hours of movies, etc and Blu-ray 9 hours. (100GB, quad-layer, Blu-ray discs are in development.)

Toshiba has lined-up support for its format from Microsoft, Intel and a few movie studios. Blu-ray is supported by nearly every major movie studio including Paramount and Disney along with Apple, Dell and several other PC companies.

Early HD-DVD machines from Toshiba (the HD-A1 and HD-XA1) are already on the market, retailing for around $500 and $800. Reviews are mixed, but that's usually the case with machines targeted at early-adopters.

On the upside, they can display high-definition discs in 720p or 1080i, and will show what your HDTV is really capable of. Blu-ray will display 1080p, the highest quality possible, assuming your TV has this capability. Few yet do.

A dozen HD movie discs are already available, including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Serenity, and Phantom of the Opera. More are slated to become available (in both formats) soon.

For those who like to adopt the latest and greatest and are willing to accept some of the limitations always found in first generation technology, the new formats offer astounding visual quality. Be prepared to replace your equipment, though, in a couple of years once the format situation settles out and the bugs in the early machines are overcome.

The DLP chip at the heart of the system is a proprietary technology invented by TI engineer Dr. Larry Hornbeck in 1987 and marketed by Texas Instruments starting in 1996.

All color combinations are produced from these three. The rapid 'switching' has the potential to cause a kind of visual 'flutter', but most good sets no longer suffer from that drawback. The signals are then converted into an image projected onto the rear of the screen.

DLPs paint the screen in one of two different ways - progressive or interlaced. 'Interlacing' consists of drawing every other line (like CRTs), 'progressive' scanning hits them all in one pass. The result is two different specifications for DLPs – p or i, following the number of lines making up the screen, 720 or 1,080. There are 480p sets, but they're not recommended for anyone willing to spend the money for an HDTV set.

Add to that already complicated picture the variation in resolution created by differing numbers of pixels. For example, 1366 x 768 resolution means: 1,366 times 768 = 1,049,088 pixels, 1920 x 1080 = 2,072,600. More pixels, better resolution (all other things being equal, which they rarely are).

The major TV networks already show many programs in 1080i format and 1080p is anticipated in the near future.

The final major element determining quality is the ability of the set to 'convert up or down'. Most sources (DVDs, commercial broadcasts, etc) don't fit neatly into the numbers shown above. For example, films are shown in 24 frames per second, video in 30 frames per second.

Some electronic wizardry has to be performed to get them to match without the picture looking odd. How well the set does that - and several other kinds of internal - conversion has a large effect on the resulting visual quality.

DLP HDTVs can produce a crisp, realistic looking image with no motion blur and excellent color fidelity. Gamers, sports fans and anyone who wants an unbelievably sharp picture should test view some sets. They are often less costly than other HDTV sets, such as LCD and plasmas, and (with the micro-projector type) don't suffer from burn-in problems.

Contrast ratios for a quality set are in the range of 12000:1, putting it at the top of the list for this important criterion. Unlike some plasmas and LCD sets, there's no 'screen door' effect, thanks to the mirrors being spaced less than a micron apart.

Digital Light Processing is a rear-projection technology that - in most commercial sets today - ranges in size from 40" to 80". They frequently have replaceable lamps, with a lamp life of 2,000-3,000 hours or more.

The systems can theoretically reproduce many millions more colors than the human eye can discern, and over a thousand shades of gray. The result is excellent color and shading realism in a large (near) flat-panel display.

Some models, such as the 32" 32HLX61, offer a USB connector, allowing for the display of digital photos. Others, including the 32HLX61, offer HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and component video ports. That's important if you want to get the best quality picture out of your DVD. Using S-video, for example, will result in less picture quality reproduction than the system is capable of.

All models come with Hitachi's excellent warranty, in this case 2 year parts and labor with in-home service.

Hitachi makes only two sizes in the plasma type, 42" and 55" but all are quality sets. All are in the thin-panel (4") style, suitable for wall mounting. There are real differences, though, even among sets of the same size.

The 55" 55HDS69, for example, houses Hitachi's Picture III video processor while the 55HDX62 uses the VirtualHD 1080p II.

More than just a techno-geek's difference, the VirtualHD analyzes and smooths film frames as they're delivered to the set. The result is a crystal clear image with no motion blur. While the 55HDS69 is still a great set, it supports only the 1080i signal, which is not the highest possible quality.

The 55" 5HDS52 offers a USB 'Photo File Viewer' connector for viewing digital photos on the large flat-panel and uses the VirtualHD processor, as well. Unusual for such a large set, it also offers an optional swivel stand.

Models in the 42" size offer essentially the same range of choices in connectors, video processor and so forth. The smaller, though hardly small, screen size offers the same visual quality with the main differences being weight, size and of course, price.

Several models offer CableCard, a PC-type card that fits in a slot in the back of the set. In theory, and often in practice, it can eliminate the need for a separate cable box. Not all features (such as TV on demand) are always supported and the card isn't compatible with all cable systems. Check with your area's provider before spending the extra money.

On-board audio is good and comes in either a 36-watt 3-way or 40-watt 2-way option, but it won't satisfy audiophiles. Fortunately, all models offer audio connectors that enable integration with a stereo or home theater system. Warranties on some of the plasma sets is lower, at 1-year parts and labor. Be sure to check the details of the particular model you're considering.