STATE OF THE ART For High-Definition Sets, Channels to Match By DAVID POGUE June 3, 2004 Correction Appended LET'S face it: those $5,000 plasma screens are popular not just because they're high-definition TV sets but also because they're status symbols. Look at Gateway's 42-inch $3,000 plasma screen, a runaway hit even though it can't actually display images in high definition. At this rate, someone will surely come up with a $200 plasma screen that doesn't even turn on. It would just hang on the wall and look cool. But however cool the screens, as the nine million people who have bought HDTV's have quickly discovered, the high-definition age is not yet fully upon us. If you buy an HDTV receiver connected to an antenna on your roof, you can enjoy a few hours of prime-time HDTV broadcasts each night on ABC, CBS and so on - if you're within about 50 miles of a big city. If you have cable or satellite, you can upgrade your plan to include a handful of high-def channels, like HBO HDTV and ESPN HD. Otherwise, what you'll mostly watch is low-definition shows, either stretched to fit your wide-screen set or with black bars on the sides. It will be years before the networks, cable and satellite outfits broadcast all HD, all the time. The executives at Voom, a new satellite service controlled by Cablevision and offered throughout the continental United States, don't think you can wait that long. Started in January, Voom already offers 39 HDTV channels, many more than you can get from any other source. Now, HDTV aficionados may already be furrowing their brows. "Thirty-nine high-def channels?" they're saying. "There aren't 39 high-def channels in the world!" Actually, there are now. For starters, Voom gives you those prime-time over-the-air network broadcasts, because Voom's installers put not one but two antennas on your roof: one satellite dish and one that picks up NBC, CBS, ABC and so on. (If you live in an apartment, check on your building's restrictions.) ... http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/technology/circuits/03stat.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.