Assorted Afflatuses

For the past six years, I have advised people not to upgrade to HDTV. After all, most cable and satellite providers have, at most, about ten HD channels, most of which air regular "standard definition" content the vast majority of the time. And neither HD-DVD nor Blu-Ray can claim a decisive victory in the so-called "format wars," making HD movies difficult to come by. Indeed, if not for the HDTV now sitting in my living room, I would still advise people to wait. But after experiencing HDTV, I cannot continue making that recommendation.

The picture quality of HDTV continues to blow me away: I often feel as if I am gazing through a window — albeit one with a restricted depth of field — not into a television set. Watching the second two hours of the 24 season premiere on Monday night, I could see the sweat coating the characters' faces and the minute imperfections in the actors' skin. Whether the makeup department needs to augment each actor's allocation of foundation, I don't know: it certainly looks more realistic, though, it is far from flattering. Even the on-screen clock, shown to indicate when in the chronology the episode takes place, looks sharper, almost becoming a feast for the eyes.

And with the promise of much more HD content — from CNN, the Food Network, FX, Sci Fi and TBS, among others — coming later this year, HDTV is even more compelling, as far more content will become available.

Granted, the HD movie situation does not look any better than it did a month ago. LG's new combination HD-DVD+Blu-Ray player costs far too much and, according to the various gadget blogs, it lacks the software to play interactive HD-DVDs. Warner Brothers' solution, to offer discs that will play in both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players, also offers no fix. While it may play in both players, consumers will still have to contend with the fact that some studios only release their films on one format or the other. Movie buffs who, for whatever reason, enjoyed Poseidon, for example, can only find that movie on Blu-Ray.

Nonetheless, now is the perfect time to upgrade to HDTV. The prices of small- and medium-sized displays have fallen significantly in the last 18 months, and, with new 8th generation manufacturing plants coming online, prices for larger sets will likely plummet in 2007, making price much less of an issue. HDTV has finally matured to the point where I can say, without a moment's hesitation: "Upgrade!"