[Villages Kahuna]

There isn't any HD programming broadcast over-the-air, on cable or satellite that has 1080 horizontal lines of resolution. The most currently available from any broadcast source is 720 lines. That is what you're seeing when you watch High Definition, and I agree it is glorious!

The only 1080 input available is from DVD's created with that level of definition. Not all movies are--in fact, very few movies available for rent, other than the very newest, are created with 1080 lines. The worst part of the 1080 movie DVD's is that you will have to make a decision which DVD player to purchase--an HDTV or Blue Ray. There are some heavy hitter movie and hardware companies supporting each format and the market determination of which will prevail is far from being resolved. Because DVD players for either format cost about $1,000, it's a roll of the dice to buy one and bet that you picked the "right" format. If you pick one format, you won't be able to watch movies created with the other format. New movies are typically produced in one or the other formats, not both. So your selection of 1080 line "content" is even further limited.

In the meantime, the electronics retailers are making a big deal out of the "1080 sets" without telling buyers that they really have a very small selection of programming available in 1080, and to see anything in 1080 requires another $1,000 investment in one or the other DVD player formats.

You get the best picture currently avaialble with any newer TV that claims HD capability in 720 lines because that's really the maximum currently being broadcast. I'm not aware that any broadcast, cable or satellite provider is even thinking about providing 1080 resolution. It simply takes way more bandwidth than any of them have been authorized to use by the FCC.

Will the HDTV/Blue Ray competition be resolved soon? Will the cable companies or satellite providers broadcast in anything more than 720 lines soon? It's unlikely that answers to either question will be known before any 720 line set you buy is worn out. If you have no intention of rolling the dice on a $1,000 HDTV or Blue Ray DVD player, save your money and buy a High Definition TV set capable of displaying 720 lines of resolution. That's the most currently available. And you will find the picture magnificent!