TV is going digital — Are you ready to go along?

Published 10:27 pm Saturday, January 26, 2008

EVERETT ­— Football fan Monte Pratt’s television just went out. It couldn’t have happened at a better time.

“I’m trying to find a TV before the Super Bowl,” said Pratt, of Everett, as he perused a daunting wall of televisions at Video Only in Lynnwood.

For many sports fans, January is TV-buying season when the biggest football games — and sales — are on. The Super Bowl is a week from today. But those who buy now, like Pratt, get an added bonus: They’ll make the leap into the digital world well in time for the big changeover.

Congress has decreed that by February 2009, all broadcast signals must be digital, as opposed to the age-old analog format, to free up bandwidth space for public safety agencies. The problem is that analog TVs cannot display digital signals without having a way of converting the signal.

While cable and satellite customers with analog televisions will be taken care of by their service providers, viewers who get their signals over the airwaves through antennas will be on their own. They’ll have to buy either a converter box for $50 to $70 or a new digital-compatible TV.

Anthony Vicari of Everett knows his analog TV’s days are running short.

“That’s what I’m trying to get rid of,” he said while shopping recently at Judd &Black on Hewitt Avenue. Vicari said he’s much more concerned with getting a TV for his new condo than getting one in time for the Super Bowl.

Digital takes up less bandwidth and is considered a more efficient technology that allows broadcasters to offer improved picture and sound quality, as well as more programming and other services. Most stations already broadcast a digital signal in addition to the analog broadcast, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Very few, if any, analog TVs are still sold new, said John Hoelzel, manager of the Judd &Black store in Everett.

All new TVs sold now must either contain a digital tuner or be identified as not having one.

Digital pictures are sharper and clearer than analog, and also are high-definition compatible. High-definition broadcasts, usually called HD, are becoming increasingly common.

Clarity and depth are the advantages of high definition, said Charles Hassa, a sales associate at Video Only. It’s great for live feeds, such as with sports, he said.

“You can feel the grass,” he said.

While not all digital signals are high-definition, practically all the new TVs are high-definition or high-definition compatible, Hoelzel said. They either come with high-definition capacity built in or can accommodate it through a separate box.

Almost all TVs now sold feature flat screens, which have dropped in price by more than half in the past two years, Hoelzel said. Flat-screen TVs are compact, portable and can be mounted on a wall. Only very large, rear-projection TVs sold now are not flat screens, he said.

“Two years ago, a 40-inch TV that cost $3,000 and took four guys to lift is now a 42-inch plasma that costs $1,100 and takes one person to lift,” he said.

Flat-screen TVs run anywhere from about $300 for a 15-inch television to $3,000 or more depending on size and features, Hoelzel said.

“You can still buy a $70,000 TV,” he said. This would get you 103 inches of raw viewing power.

A 37-inch TV now runs between about $750 and $1,300, he said.

Those willing to wait could benefit from even bigger reduction in price, Hassa said, noting that they’ll likely keep going down.

Flat-screens come in two types: plasma or liquid crystal display, also known as LCD. Plasma televisions use neon gas to illuminate tiny colored fluorescent lights, while LCDs project images through many tiny lights. Plasma TVs have a glass screen, LCDs a plastic one, making LCDs better in brighter, more reflective rooms. Sports bars, with darker rooms, often use plasma TVs.

Plasmas are widely considered better for sports, movies or anything fast-moving except video games, while LCDs are touted for better resolution. LCDs also use less power.

Richard Carmen, owner of the HomePlate Pub in Marysville, has bought four large plasma TVs in the past two years.

“The customers love them; it made a huge improvement,” he said.

When he bought the bar several years ago, it had outdated equipment, Carmen said. He had to upgrade to keep up with the casinos, he said.

“It’s a matter of competition,” he said.

For serious, discriminating viewers with money to spend, more bells and whistles are available: higher resolution, enhanced color, processing speed and more.

“It’s a pretty exciting time for electronics,” Hoelzel said.

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.