hdtv - questions answered
by Greg Gibson

April 4, 2005

NextGenElectronics' resident HDTV expert Greg Gibson answers your questions about HDTV and what you should do about this exciting emerging technology. If you have a question or comment you'd like Mr. Gibson to comment on, please feel free to email him personally by clicking here. All inquiries are subject to publication, however, no personal information will be given away or published.

Tracy S . : We purchased a Mitsubishi 48" HDTV integrated tv 3 months ago.  It was working good until recently.  We have problems with the turning the tv on after we shut it off.  The power light is flashing rapidly then there is no signal.  We have to unplug the tv then plug it back in.  The light starts flashing rapidly again then it slows down and it allows us to turn the tv back on.  This is not only happening once in awhile but all the time now.  Second...we will be watching tv and the tv just shuts off.....but this does happens once in awhile.  What can we do to try to fix this problem?

Greg Gibson: Return the set, it is defective... sorry the answer is so easy - but if your TV is new and it is acting wierd - RETURN IT IMMEDIATELY... it will only get worse and you know it isn't working properly!

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Richard P . : I lost my instructions and the cable guy hook my tv up with the hd reciver and ditital. i went into setup to set it to 980i and when i check on the tv it is only 480i. Can you help me please?!

Greg Gibson: Go to the mitsubishi website and download your instructions!

This is a quick tip to everyone - check your manufacturers website and save an extra copy of your tv's specifications and manual - never know when they will come in handy and it is good to have an electronic backup in case you need it like Richard did.

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Brett P . : I have a 61 in Toshiba projection television.  I bought it in May of 2000 and had bought the extended warranty.  There were some problems 3 weeks after buying it apparently there were some capacitors that were out of tolerance from what was explained to me.  The set has worked fine ever since that repair.  This set is on probably 12 hours a day on weekdays and 15 hours on weekends.  

My wife watches is constantly our extended warranty is up this April and the cost for 3 year extended warranty is $330.00 for next three years.  This would carry the set until May 2008 under the new coverage and the set would be 8 years old at that time.  Would you advise to purchase the extra warranty for this set?  Your thoughts are appreciated my wife thinks its a waste of money but I know she would not be happy paying for repair bills.

Greg Gibson:

Good question - sort of like the line from DIRTY HARRY - "Do you feel lucky?"

There are a number of reasons to buy an extended warantee with an HD set - the most important of which is that many of the "new technologies" don't have the decades of experience that tube sets have... hence, an extended warantee for DLP, plasma, and LCD technologies is a smart idea (and one we have always recommended).

Second reason is that a set costing $2000+ is a significant investment, and repairmen know that you would likely shell out $600 to repair a used set rather than go out and purchase a new set for $2K+.  So it is likely that if you need a repair in the next 3 years, its going to cost you more than $300 for a single visit.

Therefore, the question is whether the set will have "end of life" issues from years 5 (today) through year 8 (when the extended warantee might expire)... and the answer is a stastical one - you might not have any trouble at all... but the odds are that between years 5 and 8 something will need fixing.

So, do you feel lucky?

Good luck!

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Damon F. : I'm looking at the Sharp LC-26GA4U for use as a multimedia monitor.  I've been searching all over for any articles that discuss this for the Sharp Acquos to no avail.  It's purpose would include being a main PC monitor, but I'm worried about the picture quality being good for that, my 17" monitor has 1280x1024 resolution so it seems that 1366x768 on a bigger screen would be poor for text.  I also couldn't find where they published the dot pitch anywhere.  I have heard mentioned as well that non HD content on this TV is not good, like over the air analog for example, is that true for all HD's?

Greg Gibson: Yes, you have hit the nail on the head - HD monitors which display at a fixed 768 are not as good for PC use as a monitor with higher resolutions.  Fortunately, we are about to get a number of 1080p monitors (SAMSUNG 5688) which are significantly better for this application.

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Carl E . : I just got a HDTV tuner thru Dish. I'm learning the in's & out's of this new technology. One thing I was wondering about is that I saw an old 1960's Steve McQueen movie on HD the other day. How can a movie not shot in digital or HD be presented in HD?

Greg Gibson: Easy - the FILM is played and a digital HT camera rerecords the image.

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Commentary By: Greg Gibson - email