HDTV vs. EDTV

I was interviewed last week by Bill Lammers, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's tech columnist, for a piece he was writing on HD vs. ED. Specifically, a reader wanted to know if an EDTV (enhanced-definition TV) was money well-spent. In my opinion, it used to be but probably isn't anymore, and here's why.

Let's use the example of Panasonic plasmas, since they happen to be the market leader. Panasonic's 42-inch EDTV plasma (model TH42PD50U) retails for about $2,250 at CircuitCity.com, while the 42-inch HDTV (model TH42PX50U) goes for $3,325 -- 48% more than the ED model. The picture resolution on the ED unit is 480 progressive lines (480p) compared to 768 progressive lines (768p) on the HD -- which equates to 60% more lines. Now will your eye be able to tell that the resolution is 60% better? Maybe not. And resolution is certainly not the only criteria to examine when deciding what to buy.

However, consider that the industry trend is toward even better resolution --1,080 progressive lines (1080p) -- which will be the industry standard for next-generation DVDs and eventually, for broadcast programming. Also consider that whatever you buy, you should plan on having it for awhile. $2,000 or $3,000 for a television is no small purchase, and I'd advise you to future-proof it as much as possible. Many plasmas these days are rated at 60,000 hours, which means that if you watched them for 5 hours a day, they'd last for 33 years. You'd probably want a new one before then due to the advent of better technology, but it's like buying a PC -- you'll never regret buying the one with the bigger hard drive, upgraded memory or faster processor.

Bottom line -- buy the best digital TV you can afford, and if you can justify spending $2,500 for a luxury item like this, you can probably spend a little more to get something that you'll be happy with for years to come.

Read Bill's full column here:

http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1122543360121290.xml&coll=2