[...]... for when shopping for just the right HDTV set for you You can have too much HDTV (believe it or not) and the wrong type of TV for your intended use Before you plunk down a lot of money on your well-earned HDTV surprise, make sure you’re the best- informed buyer out there Read on 18 Part I: HDTV Fundamentals The 50,000-Foot View of HDTV When you’re trying to pick out the right HDTV for your needs, the... selecting the right HDTV for your home ߜ Installing and configuring the HDTV equipment in your home ߜ Hooking up your HDTV to the right high-definition programming sources ߜ Adding A/V entertainment gear and accessories to your HDTV 2 HDTV For Dummies ߜ Playing video games on your Xbox, in high-def splendor ߜ Accessing your HDTV from around the house over a home network ߜ Enhancing your HDTV environment... install your HDTV system It helps you decide what you will be connecting to the HDTV, how to enhance your HDTV so that it is tuned perfectly for your use, and also tells you about a range of little “black boxes” that can help you optimize all of the non -HDTV signals you send to your HDTV, making them look better on your HDTV big screen Part III: HDTV Channels Part III discusses all the different forms of... complicated, requires setup/focus/ maintenance ߜ Rear projection HDTVs: The picture is projected on the back of a screen that is built into the HDTV itself • Pros: best bargain, no burn-in with microprojectors, near flat-panel thinness for microprojector • Cons: burn-in for CRT, expense for microprojector, size for CRT CRT HDTVs The final category of HDTVs is based on the good old-fashioned picture tube — also... “Huh???” The whole purpose of HDTV For Dummies is to help you wade through the marketing manure and to get you up to speed on HDTV So without further ado, here’s a list of HDTV danger zones: ߜ Digital confusion: The biggest (and most prevalent) myth we see in the HDTV world is the notion that any kind of digital TV signal (such as digital cable, digital satellite, or DVD) is HDTV This simply isn’t true... HDTVs They just convert DTV signals to NTSC for display on an analog TV 16 Part I: HDTV Fundamentals Chapter 2 Shopping Smart In This Chapter ᮣ Understanding your HDTV options ᮣ Zeroing in on what’s important in an HDTV ᮣ Budgeting for your whole HDTV system ᮣ Sizing your HDTV system ᮣ Discerning the right feature set for your needs W e’ve all been there — you’re standing in the electronics store looking... 6 Part I: HDTV Fundamentals 7 Chapter 1: What the Heck Is HDTV? 9 Oh, Say, Can You ATSC? 9 Powerful Performance 10 Video standards 10 Audio standards 12 Perplexing Pitfalls .14 Chapter 2: Shopping Smart 17 The 50,000-Foot View of HDTV 18 Flat-panel HDTVs 18 Projection HDTVs 19 CRT HDTVs ... a hurry or you just don’t care to know 6 HDTV For Dummies Where to Go from Here Where you should go next in this book depends on where you are in the process of planning, buying, installing, configuring, and/or using your HDTV If HDTV in particular is totally new to you, we recommend that you start at the beginning with Part I If you feel comfortable with HDTVs and all of its connections, you might... 254 Show HDTV Outdoors 255 Creature Double Feature in 3D .256 Wireless Headphones 258 In Search of That Great Remote Control .259 Types of remotes 259 Sexy remotes 260 Bring Hollywood Home 262 Index .263 Introduction W elcome to HDTV For Dummies HDTV is the hottest technology to hit your local electronics store since the advent of cell phones HDTVs are... into HDTV Don’t believe it Image scalers can improve SDTV and NTSC images with an HDTV, but they don’t make those images into HDTV images ߜ The DTV tuner: As HDTV (and DTV in general) becomes more prevalent, DTV tuners will become common These tuners (discussed in Chapter 8) let older TVs “watch” DTV broadcasts DTV tuners do not turn older analog TVs into HDTVs They just convert DTV signals to NTSC for . For Dummies, Smart Homes For Dummies, Wireless Home Networking For Dummies, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PC For Dummies, and Home Theater For Dummies. . Telephony For Dummies, Smart Homes For Dummies (now in its second edition), Wireless Home Networking For Dummies, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PC For Dummies,