Your comments on HDTV?

I'm thinking of buying a 27" Samsung HDTV flat screen TV. A local place has it for $399, which seems like a really good deal.

I'm not going to buy the digital decoder just yet, will wait til the prices come down and there's more DTV programming.

But since the big switchover is supposed to take place in 2006, I figured it makes sense to buy a capable TV now. Does that sound right to all you savvy DUers?

Also, does anyone know what a decoder attaches to? Can you plug a coax cable to it directly or does it have to go through the cable box?

Any other thoughts/suggestions/recommendations you'd like to share?

The last I recall, the corps are implementing copy protection which will make life difficult for people who don't put the key signal or whatever the heck it is which will enable it to be played.

Like Microsoft's Palladium (Longhorn or whatever) with TCPA, I'm boycotting HDTV. If necessary, I can live without my DVDs and VHS tapes.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=HDTV+copy+protection&btnG=Google+Search

Especially http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002/04/08/digitaltv-usat.htm but you'll find a lot on this subject and that article has sheer relevance to you as you may have wasted every penny of that $399 plus tax.

Screw 'em, I'm tired of their damn games against consumers.

Do not adopt anything until a standard is made by these pigs. If these pigs abuse your rights as a consumer, boycott. This is what good Americans ought to do.

It's all so confusing, ain't it?

the HDTV standard was cast in stone about 5 years ago. There've been alot of advances in technology in the last few years that may make it irrelevant just like CD is lapsing towards DVD for data.

I just had to buy a new DVD player because my old one was obsolete and it's only two years old.

don't care to see it, won't buy it.

Who needs a more vivid and lifelike Lewis Black kvetching at them, anyway?