It began as a spark: Every time I set foot into a major store, I headed straight for the television section. And there they were: Row after row of digital televisions, with pictures so crisp and clear you can count every blade of grass on the football field. And the sound quality: So realistic it was like sitting in a movie theater.

Modern technology never really scared me. I’ve been able to adapt to just about every new device over the last three decades or so. But HDTV was something different–a totally new technology that is now set to replace the analogue broadcasts Americans have watched since television began getting serious after World War Two. Was it time to take the plunge and pull out the credit card? I knew the time had come after I read a passage from the bible. The “shoppers bible,” that is. As I was debating the issue, my November issue of “Consumer Reports” landed in the mail with a report on HDTV. Its editors noted that “there’s no reason to hold off” on HDTV:

“Don’t be paralysed by fear of buyer’s remorse. There are always going to be bigger, better TV’s on the horizon, but at some point you have to jump in and start enjoying an HDTV.”
The toaster-testers were absolutely right. Why deprive myself of television pleasure for the fear of spending too much? (Heck, that never stopped me before.) So I decided just before Christmas 2005 I would have an HDTV in my living room for the new year.

Which led to the key decisions: Plasma. LCD or conventional tube set? Giant screen or something more modest?
A set with a built-in HDTV tuner or an “HDTV ready” set that just needed to be hooked up to a cable converter? Buying a well-known brand or one of the unfamiliar but cheaper makes such as ILQ, Insignia, BenQ or Maxent?

My first decision was simple: It would have to go into the beautiful home entertainment center I purchased for my living room in 2002. After some measuring, it turned out I could fit a 32 inch or smaller screen set in the space where a 27 inch Phillips once rested. So armed with my facts and figures (and a measuring tape) I began shopping. Quickly, I eliminated the plasma sets (better for wall mounting than fitting into a cabinet) and decided on an LCD set with a stand. I visited at least a dozen stores to get a good idea of what to buy. So many sets, so many prices, so many choices.
With just a week to go before Christmas, I was paralysed with indecision..

Then one Saturday, I happened to be in the neighbouring but fast-growing community of Henderson (a short distance from my Las Vegas home). Just as a lark, I walked into a Circuit City store in the town’s major shopping area. There among the various sets was the one I wanted: A 26 inch Sony LCD digital-ready set that was being sold as a demonstrator and worked beautifully. The price: Just under $900–several hundred less than other stores. I pulled the salesman aside and we began negotiating. In addition to the set, I picked out a new combo DVD recorder and VCR (my old VCR was on the way out), and a Dolby Digital surround sound system. (And after negotiating, I bought a three-year extended warranty for the Sony.) A “no interest for 18 months” offer sealed the deal.

The salesperson and I packed everything in my Saturn Ion sedan (folding down the rear seats made room for the big surround sound system box in my subcompact; the TV and recorder fit just fine in the trunk.) Somehow I managed to get everything home safely.

But the real challenge began: Getting everything inside my one-bedroom condo and into the entertainment centre of my living room without incident.

No sweat, I figured. I’ve hooked up VCR’s, stereo systems and TV’s with miles of cable. After all, the spokespersons of the major electronics firms told me it would be a breeze. For more than a decade, I covered the annual International Consumer Electronics Show when it arrived in Las Vegas each January. I told radio audiences about the latest products and interviewed the folks behind them. I also questioned those officials about their claims of “user friendly” systems and their “ease of use.” If my efforts to put together a digital home theatre system are any indication, those claims have become a bit bloated.

It was tough enough when TV was analogue and you could hook it up to a stereo system, with probably a VCR somewhere in the mix. But consider today’s average setup: TV, DVD, VCR, surround sound system, maybe even a cable or satellite box and a hard drive recorder. It took me more than a month to work out the bugs: Why couldn’t I record from my new DVD machine? Why couldn’t the Dolby Digital receiver pick up sound from the TV?

It took me over a month to work out the bugs, and I’m still fine-tuning in my spare time. My efforts have also resulted in a seemingly endless pile of cables and cords behind my entertainment centre. And “user friendly” controls? Ha! I now have no less than five instruction books on my coffee table, and a growing number of remote controls that I’m trying to consolidate.

Today’s Windows (and Mac) computer systems have made adding new hardware and/or software very easy, with a limited number of cables and fast installation. Why can’t the home entertainment industry do the same? You shouldn’t have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for the best system possible, and then scream in frustration trying to get the various devices to work the way they should. As one pundit recently put it, there are many people willing to shell out the money for entertainment, yet reluctant to spend several hundred dollars for installation. I’m one of those people.
But I must admit the blood, sweat and tears have been worth it.

The Sony is truly top-notch viewing–unbelievably crisp and clear with a wide screen that makes films come alive. And you haven’t really seen “24" in all its glory until you watch it in high definition. Jack Bauer seems to be more heroic on a wide-screen digital set. (It doesn’t do much for sitcoms or slower-going dramas. But the shows on the HD channels I receive are beautiful; you feel as if you are in the picture.) The crowning glory of my home entertainment system is a device I don’t own: It’s a hard-drive video recorder that stores up to 80 hours of HDTV.

Here in the US, TiVo has become a generic name for a hard-drive video recorder. But the current mainstream TiVo has one major fault: It’s not HDTV compatible, so what you record does not play back in HD. I had two choices: Buy a satellite system from DirecTV or DISH Network to get the HDTV recorder–or go with my cable provider and rent one.

I chose the latter for two reasons. First, it was easier. Second, it proved to be cheaper; as a long-time customer, I was able to get a special deal with discounted digital cable. My cable provider throws in HDTV channels at no charge, and the converter used to pick up the signals also has the hard-drive recorder built in. Result: One box, one cable, no phone line and just 15 minutes to set up. Now THAT is the way to put together a home theatre!

And I’ve become a hard drive convert. Unless I want to save something for eternity, I simply push a few buttons on the remote control, and the machine does the rest. I can watch at my leisure, with picture quality virtually as good as a live broadcast –and another push or two on the remote removes the show from the hard drive when I’m done. I can record based on subject, channel or title. I can record two shows that are on at the same time, and watch a third show live. If that’s not a TV lover’s dream come true, I don’t know what is.

So what happened to my old equipment? My old but trusty Phillips TV was sold (cheap) to my neighbour whose set gave up the ghost. The old VCR went into the landfill (it finally broke down); the DVD player moved into my bedroom and the stereo system was given to a good friend.

Truth is, I don’t miss them at all. I am truly a convert of the digital world, enjoying television as it was meant to be. Sure, down the road, there will be cheaper sets–and maybe I’ll put a plasma on my wall, sending the Sony to the bedroom. But I’m glad I made the plunge. After all, you can’t get to the Promised Land without a few detours along the way.