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Programming: Getting Set for HDTV

When I bought an HDTV in 2000, I was shocked to discover that there was almost no HDTV to watch. DVDs looked great on the high-res screen, but standard TV shows looked no better than on my 20-year-old Trinitron. By 2002 not much had changed. Satellite services had a few high-def channels, but only a handful of cable operators had taken the plunge--and fewer still bothered to tell customers about it.

Now, two years later, it's another world. All the major networks--including PBS, Discovery, WB, and the premium channels--produce several programs, and in some cases a majority of them, in HD. And a growing number of affiliates carry the programs that way. Three-quarters of the nation's cable markets--and 99 of the top 100--offer at least some HD programming. In 173 cities, at least one local station beams high-def signals over the air; in 80 cities, at least three do.

But getting HDTV isn't simply a matter of plugging in an HD-capable set. You need a satellite dish, cable hookup, or antenna (for those local stations) to get the HD signal--and a decoder (either integrated or in a set-top box) to unscramble it.

As for sources, satellites reign supreme in the HD realm. Even the most bountiful cable companies, such as Time Warner in New York City, offer a mere 7 high-def channels. DirecTV offers 8, Dish Network has 9, and upstart Voom boasts 37.

A few caveats: Of Voom's 37 channels, 21 are originals, not offered anyplace else, and for good reason: Most are filled with very bad movies (the sort of stuff Mystery Science Theater 3000 used to make fun of) or cheesy extreme-sports events. Still, Voom carries HD broadcasts of Bravo, Starz, Cinemax, The Movie Channel, Encore, Cinemax, and Playboy (channels other satellite companies carry only in standard definition), as well as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, TNT, and Discovery (which the other satellite services have in HD, too).

DirecTV and Dish also both carry HDNet and HDMovie Channel--which often show legitimate sports such as NASCAR racing, boxing, and NHL hockey; concerts; and good movies--while Voom does not. Dish has the high-def NBA channel, which neither of its rivals carries. For what it's worth, DirecTV is alone in carrying Spice HD, an after-midnight soft-core porn channel.

Dish and DirecTV both throw in the national CBS-HD broadcast. Some cable services, including Time Warner in New York, include local channels in their HD options; some don't. If yours doesn't, or if you go the satellite route, you'll have to put up an antenna. (Voom's package includes one.)

In any case, you'll need an HD decoder. Cable and satellite companies generally offer set-top boxes that include both a decoder and input jacks for an antenna wire. Some TVs have integrated HD tuners, and those with CableCard slots can bypass digital cable boxes. But you'll still need to hook up, whether to cable, satellite, or an antenna.

High-def has advanced so quickly, other popular gizmos--TiVos, for instance--have been slow to catch up. Dish offers an HD satellite receiver with a built-in high-def digital video recorder; it stores 25 hours of HD, 180 hours of standard def, or some mix of the two. DirecTV just came out with a device that offers 30 hours of HD and 200 hours of SD. Voom is scheduled to release its own product by year's end; it will come with a base station that lets you record a show on one TV and play it back on another.

Cable has lagged in this regard. Motorola recently rolled out two models of HD-DVRs--they're being offered by some cable operators in the Comcast, Insight, Armstrong, Bresnan, and MediaOne chains--but the boxes record only 10 to 15 hours of HD programming. LG makes a stand-alone HD-DVR that records 15 hours in HD, but it's clunky, costs over $1000, and doesn't let you watch one show live while recording another.

You can't have everything just yet. But at the rate things are going, you will soon.

Fred Kaplan

(For local HD services, see www.ce.org/hdtvguide.)

Sean Captain, a freelance journalist, specializes in technology. Fred Kaplan writes for Slate and other publications. Elliott Kirschling and Jeff Kuta are senior performance analysts in the Test Center.