As the market prepares for the inevitable HDTV blitz this year and next, one very important consideration consumers should be aware of is the choice of a high definition disc player. Many people are not aware that their standard DVD player is not a high definition device. While the picture quality of a DVD player should be better on a HDTV than a standard definition (SD) TV, it is actually possible for the picture quality of a DVD player to look fairly poor on an HDTV. This is especially true when using older DVD players or HDTVs. While most newer HDTVs have technology that improves the picture quality of SD sources, many people will notice that their old DVD player doesn’t look as good as a true HD source. So to get the most out of your new HDTV, you should consider an HD disc player.

As some may have been aware, until very recently a “format war” existed between two competing high definition disc formats. One format was named HD-DVD, the other named Blu-Ray. In January, the Blu-Ray format gained the exclusive support of all 6 major movie studios, effectively becoming the successor to DVD. By February all HD-DVD manufacturers cancelled further production and by now, retailers have cleared or are clearing their inventories of HD-DVD players and movies. Therefore, if you are looking for a high definition disc player, make sure you are shopping for Blu-Ray and not HD-DVD.

While Blu-Ray does not use the term “DVD”, all Blu-Ray players do in fact have backward compatibility with current DVD discs. And most Blu-Ray players will “upconvert” the resolution of DVD discs to look better on HDTVs. So while your old DVD movies won’t look as good as a true HD Blu-Ray movie, you will at least be able to watch your current DVD collection with a Blu-Ray player and your movies should look better than on your old TV.

Also, don’t confuse the cancellation of HD-DVD with the current DVD format. The current DVD format is still alive and well and will continue to be produced for quite some time in the future. Really the only thing HD-DVD and DVD have in common are the letters DVD. So don’t worry that you won’t be able to rent or purchase movies for your current DVD player.

Now the first question most people will have is, “which Blu-Ray player should I get?” As Blu-Ray is still a very young standard, only one generation of players have been produced. As manufacturers are readying to release a second generation of players, currently the common advice is to wait for the second generation of players. However, my answer may surprise you. If you’d like to get a good quality Blu-Ray player, yet still have some assurance that the player will have some upgradability to newer features of the second generation players, consider the Sony Playstation 3.

Yes, the Playstation 3 is a video game machine, however all Playstation 3 units can play Blu-Ray movies. Since Sony was one of the original supporters of the Blu-Ray format, it is no coincidence they did this. Already, Sony has updated the software of the Playstation 3 a few times, and each time they did, they have improved some aspect of the Blu-Ray feature. The real kicker is that the Playstation 3 is about the same price as a normal Blu-Ray player. So for about $400, you can purchase a Playstation 3 and be able to play games as well as play Blu-Ray discs. Prices are not expected to drop soon on Blu-Ray players, especially now that the HD-DVD format is no longer competing. In fact, it appears prices have actually risen on Blu-Ray players since since the format war ended, yet the price on the Playstation 3 has not changed.

If you have any questions about HDTV, please feel free to contact me.

Most people are aware that electrical surges can damage their electronics, so most people have surge protectors for their computer equipment. The problem is that a lot of people think a surge protector is all the protection they need. But these people aren’t aware that surges are simply one type of power problem, and in fact, are less common than other types of problems. While a toaster or simple electrical appliances won’t really suffer any consequences from common power problems, computers are much more complicated pieces of equipment and need more complete power protection.

Think of it this way – electrical power is the fuel for your computer just like gas is the fuel for your car. If your car is receiving poor quality fuel, it will not operate well. Really bad fuel can cause a car major problems. The same is true with comptuers. Poor quality electrical power can cause all sorts of malfunctions with your computer. Severe power problems can damage your computer. The reality is that most electrical power is not of a very good quality for computers.

A simple surge protector is not enough. Surge protectors do not protect against under-voltages, over-voltages, electrical noise, and other electrical disturbances. In order to get full protection for your computer equipment, you need a good quality uninterruptible power supply, UPS for short, or commonly called battery backups (not to be confused with a “data backup”). See my previous article about power protection for more information.

Many people also aren’t aware that electrical surges can also travel along phone, cable, or network lines. If you have Internet service though a modem or DSL, you should surge protect the phone line coming into your computer or DSL modem. If you have cable Internet service, you should surge protect the coaxial cable connected to your cable modem. Businesses can also protect the Ethernet lines that network their computers. Many UPS units include data line protectors, so this is a convenient way to make sure all aspects of your computer are protected from power events.

Finally, many people now have digital video recorders (DVRs) such as Tivo or devices like the Apple TV in their home theater systems. Products like these are basically computers, complete with hard drives susceptible to the same type of power problems as PC’s. I recommend UPS units for home theaters as well, in order to protect these newer computerized devices. They can also protect the coaxial lines that supply home theater with cable or satellite service.

If you are unsure about the status of your power protection for your computer or home theater, please let me know and I’ll be happy to help you ensure you are protected.

As many of you may be aware, on February 17th, 2009, federal law mandates that television broadcasters end their analog broadcasts and use digital broadcasts only. There is a misperception that this means everyone will need to have an HDTV by that date. While it will certainly be more convenient if you have an HDTV by that date, if you have an older “standard” definition TV, it will continue to work if you get a digital-to-analog converter, or if you have cable or satellite TV.

Regardless, many people will still think they will need an HDTV by that date – or at least they’ll use the excuse to get one! So 2008 will probably see unprecedented sales of HDTV’s, especially toward the end of the year as people wait until the holidays to get one. While TV manufacturers will probably have enough supply to meet demand, there exists a possibility that there may be a run on HDTVs this holiday or post-holiday season (January/February 2009). While you may be able to find an HDTV, you may not be able to find the one you really want. For this reason, as well as a few more I will talk about, my suggestion is to not wait until the holidays to purchase an HDTV.

For example, another reason is that you will also probably want to purchase other devices to go with your HDTV. For example, in order to get the best quality out of your HDTV, all your source devices (cable/satellite receiver, DVD player, A/V receiver, etc.) will need to be HD sources. If you don’t want to spend money on all these things at one time, you should purchase the HDTV first, then save the device purchases for the holidays.

As you will read in my Tech Toy of the Month article, the ability to rent movies over the Internet via the Apple TV will require the use of an HDTV. Technically, you could get an adapter for your older TV, but why spend the money on an adapter when you could just put the money towards a new HDTV? As the Apple TV will probably spur the sales of HDTVs as well, the possibility of not getting the HDTV you really want becomes more likely.

Finally, if you need help getting your new HDTV setup, it may become very difficult to find quality help during the holiday or post-holiday season, again because most people will probably put off their HDTV purchase until then. The early bird gets the worm in this case. Speaking of getting help with your HDTV, please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions on HDTV or home theater.