Pocket, Portable and battery powered HDTV's

[colorfixer]

I think it goes without saying, I have not seen a single ATSC set top box (STB), yet Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, etc. have been flogging "HDTV ready" sets left right and center, and are quiet about the 2k7 sets with DTV tuners built in.

The less educated consumer who (foolishly) purchases a "HD Ready" set will be in for a shock.

The only STB I've seen (at a wholesale distributor), lists it for $300+.

I have to date not seen a single STB from a major manufacturer of HD ready TVs on the shelves let alone in their catalogs, except for the former Thompson brands and LG-Zenith, which you have to scout for off the net.

When I go into (insert consumer junktronics/box store name here) and ask for this elusive device, the acne laden sales associates are at first confused, trying to sell me a GI digital cable terminal, then when confronted with "No, I want to watch ____-DT off air" they tell me that I have to buy a new TV. "Uh, but I just bought my 300+lb progressive scanning 43" FD-wega hernia-tron and its HD-ready?"

OK, here's what really gets me going: How many DVD video recorders have ATSC tuners? Aren't these things supposed to be nearing the top of the consumer tech food chain? They too will be "obsolete" soon.

I totally agree that NTSC, when presented on a quality TV, with proper wide gamut phosphors (not the brightness over color crap that became the norm during the 70's), and processed correctly, still looks really good.

Considering how much noise is present on analog and some digital cable systems' offerings, its no wonder DTV looks so good to some. -the same people who can't figure how to hook their progressive scan DVD player to their component equipped tv, other than with RF (yes, the guy at berserkit city sold them a modulator).

In my office, I have a Sony PVM-2950, being fed composite video from a DBS receiver. Everyone who happened (trapped) by it during the World Cup remarked how vibrant the colors were. Yellow on the uniforms was intense bright yellow, not some dirty greenish-orange. Greens and purples were dark and true.
Now I see what Pete Deksnis was on about, but I digress...

I'm thinking of that quote from MIB: "This'll eventually make the CD obsolete... guess I'll have to buy the White Album again"