High-Def TVs?

they're great for anomorphic dvd's

seems like a bit of an over reaction - might I suggest doing an audit of what you actually watch - chances are that most all of it is available in HD

Dave:

The switchover takes affect on February 17, 2009. By then, won't have a choice. Because TV Stations will no longer broadcast shows in an analog signal. Everything will be broadcasted in an all digital signal.

So, that's when it would be wise to invest in a new HDTV (if not before then).

It would either have to be that??? Or else keep your old analog TV, but you'll have to buy a DTV Converter Box, or otherwise, your old analog TV will no longer be working on that date and beyond.

So, I wouldn't jump the gun as far as buying a Plasma TV is concerned. If you see one that is available at an incredible price, now might be the time to dive in and make the purchase.

Believe me, you won't be sorry that you have done so come February 17th of next year.

--Charles--

Some HDTVs do a much better job upscaling standard def pictures than others. Don't know which model(s) you were looking at, but my Panasonic 50" plasma does a pretty darn good job with a good standard def signal to the point that I don't mind watching it at all (sometimes I even have to doublecheck the channel to see if that I'm not on an HD channel). That said, there are some substandard broadcasts that will never look good on any HDTV, but those are in the minority and most are very watchable (this will obviously vary by area/provider). I've seen standard broadcasts in the stores too, and they always look much worse than they do in my home. I tend to think they have a poor signal spread among too many TVs, and the HDTVs themselves are almost universally poorly set up, which only makes the situation worse. Even the HD broadcasts don't look that great in the stores, which is probably why you often see them using blu ray to demo HD.

Anyway, most of the stuff I watch is available in HD and that content is and will only continue to expand. Everybody's different, but in my experience I end up seeing a stunning HD picture the majority of the time, which far, far outweighs those times when I have to watch a standard broadcast. I think you'd be throwing the baby out with the bathwater if you're using that as an excuse to not buy an HDTV, and there are some scorching deals to be had now since stores/manufacturers are desperate for sales. For what it's worth...

Three points:

-- A standard definition program blown up to the size of a 50 inch screen WILL look horrible, unless viewed from a considerable distance. One of the most fundamental reasons for hd is to support large screen sizes.

-- Different hd sets will differ in picture quality when displaying sd material.

-- The February 2009 changeover to all-digital broadcasting only affects over-the-air broadcasts, that are received through an antenna. It has no relevance to cable users.

Regards,
-- Al