News Feature
 10 Ways HDTV Can
  Save You Money
  Buying a high-def set may bring
  some unseen rewards.
  By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 27, 2005) -- Did you get a new High-Definition TV for the holidays?

No? How come?

Oh, your spouse said it was too expensive.

Again.

HDTVs have dropped dramatically in price, with some sets under $1,000. But many consumers still feel they would drain the family budget.

As a public service, I have compiled a list of ways that HDTV can actually save you money. That's right. You may think a new high-def set will wipe out your savings, but it may actually add to them.

So now, with tongue partially in my cheek, here are:

Swanni's 10 Ways That HDTV Can Save You Money

1. You'll buy fewer tickets to sporting events.
There's nothing like watching a sporting event in high-def. The picture is so clear that it's better than being there. You can see individual blades of grass on a football field and beads of perspiration on an exhausted athlete. (Assuming you want to see beads of perspiration, that is.) In high-def, you get an up-close-and-personal feel that you never get in person.


2. You'll never have to go Hollywood to gawk at celebrities.
Cancel that trip to Los Angeles. In high-def, you can see the stars as they look in real-life. See, on HBO, there's Cameron Diaz's acne scars in Charlie's Angels. On ABC, Teri Hatcher is getting old (and skinnier) before your very eyes. And on NBC, the stars of Vegas are prettier and glitterier in high-def than the Strip itself.

3. You'll go to fewer movies.
HDTV provides a great picture -- and great sound with Dolby Digital 5.1. It's a perfect combination for your Home Theater. And no screaming babies or cell phone talkers are allowed. Several movie channels, including HBO, Showtime, HDNet Movies and Cinemax, broadcast in high-def. (HDNet Movies will actually air Steven Sodenbergh's Bubble the same day, Jan. 27, it premieres in the theaters.)

4. You'll go on fewer vacations.
 On Good Morning America's recent debut
 episode in high-def, the producers
 occasionally flashed HD shots from such
 scenic locations as the Grand Canyon,
 the Brooklyn Bridge and the Washington
 Monument. The pictures were breathtaking -- and more evidence that you can see the true beauty of America without ever leaving your couch. For instance, Discovery HD Theater's Sunrise Earth, which airs weekday mornings, is a feast for the eyes; the show's high-def cameras chronicle the early morning hours at some of the most beautiful spots in the world.

5. You'll cut back your DVD rentals.
After seeing movies in HDTV, you'll be less likely to watch a standard-definition DVD. The DVD picture will look like it's under water compared to crystal-clear HD.

6. You'll reduce your tax bill (and mine).
What? Reduce your tax bill? That's right. Congress has passed legislation that will set the U.S. transition to Digital TV in February, 2009. (The House and Senate must still work out some technical differences before President Bush can sign the bill into law.) As part of the legislation, lawmakers set aside $1.5 billion for subsidies for people who can't afford to buy a new Digital TV or Digital TV converter box.

If you -- and almost everyone else -- buys a HDTV, which can display digital signals, Congress won't have to spend the entire $1.5 billion for the subsidies. But if lawmakers are forced to spend the entire amount, well, you know those guys. They will probably raise taxes somehow to make up for the loss.

7. You'll buy fewer works of art.
Many people spend thousands of dollars on paintings and other art work to adorn the wall. However, if you mount a 42-inch Plasma TV on the living room wall, you'll get more oohs and aahs from your friends than any Van Gogh or Monet.

8. You'll buy less furniture.
Put a 73-inch, rear-projection HDTV in your living room and I guarantee that you won't have much room left for anything else.


9. You'll need fewer eye exams.
As someone who has squinted at analog TV since the age of three -- and has the thick eyeglasses to prove it -- I wonder if my vision would be better if I had watched high-def all these years.

10. You won't need a divorce attorney.
If you ask your spouse one more time to buy a high-def set, he/she will walk out the door. But if you show your spouse, "Swanni's 10 Ways That HDTV Can Save You Money," your spouse will continue to love you -- and agree to buy a new HDTV!

Disclosure note: HDNet is an advertising sponsor at TVPredictions.com

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The Chicago Tribune, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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