What consumers should know about TV choices

Considering buying a new TV? Here's what you should know:

To get digital broadcast television, you need not just a digital monitor but also a tuner and decoder usually sold in a separate set-top box that generally starts at $400.

Some sets have the decoder built in. Most usually called ``HDTV-ready'' still don't.

You will also need a digital source, getting the signal from cable or satellite providers that sometimes charge extra for HDTV content. It's also possible, with an antenna, to get HDTV broadcasts over the air.

A further consideration: special installation and related fees are often required.

Do consumers need to rush out and buy one? No.

But if someone is prepared to spend more than $1,500 on a television today, Jim Barry of the Consumer Electronics Association recommends getting one that is HDTV-ready.

Digital televisions come in various formats:

Cathode ray tube, or CRT, also known as direct-view TVs. They have an electron gun that scans across the phosphor-coated screen, causing the red, green and blue phosphors to illuminate.

Liquid crystal displays, or LCDs, have liquid crystals that control the amount of light passing through them based on the amount of electrical current supplied by a thin film of transistors.

Plasma monitors have tiny pixels of gas that are illuminated when charged by electrodes, similar to how a fluorescent light works. Red, green and blue phosphors are found in each pixel, allowing for panels as thin as 3 inches.

Rear-projection TVs, also long known as big-screen TVs, have three cathode ray tubes that project video signals onto a mirror, which bounces the image onto a screen.

Front-projection TVs operate similarly to rear-projection ones except that the system is not contained in a television case. Instead, they operate more like a film projector and require a dark room.

Digital light processing, or DLP, TVs use a sort of micro-projection technology, using a million tiny mirrors on a semiconductor chip that flip on or off in response to information encoded in the video signal. DLP TVs are boxy but are more shallow and lighter than CRT counterparts.

Experts say that among the choices, plasma has some drawbacks.

For one, plasma monitors' pictures degrade slowly over time, and manufacturers claim the newest models will last 30,000 hours an estimated eight years for average American use, said Michael Heiss, an industry consultant. And static images can be ``burned'' into the display if a set is left on for 24 hours or longer.

LCD and CRT models are expected to last at least 10 years, though the light bulbs in some LCD displays can burn out after about two years, requiring replacement at roughly $200 apiece.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)