Just watched SuperBowl XXXV with 20 or so new found (new since they heard I had H.D.) friends. WOW! For more than a year now I have been receiving six clear channels of High Definition over the air from Sutro Towers in San Francisco, plus two channels of H.D. from DirecTV satellite. Iíve become accustomed to lots of H.D. imagery, but every time I turn it on for the first time that day --WOW! We journalist are pretty well equipped with superlatives and when trying to describe what Hi Def looks like to someone who hasn't seen it, words like stunning, spectacular, gorgeous and unbelievable compete, but in the end, somehow "wow" says it best. It's as if what's taking place before your eyes is so overwhelming as to be debilitating to your communication skills and leaves you to grasp for the most readily available exclamation you can find--WOW!
Faithful readers will recognize the name Dale Cripps. He, and others, have diligently chronicled the ups and downs of HDTV in these pages as it has fought for it's very existence. You may not know that Dale hosts an H.D. newsletter on the internet that not only publishes a daily guide of all H.D. programming from all sources, but also provides regular "snippets" of events that influence HDTV issues. At $35 for a lifetime subscription, it's a huge bargain. Dale ends each day's offering with the understated admonition (and the inspiration for the month's column) " HDTV -- it's WOW T.V."
See, here's the thing.
I realize that for a good many of you reading this, I'm preaching to the choir. Still, by the time you read WSR, pass it on to a friend who then gives it to Ralph, who "is really into this stuff", our readership is considerably larger than the number of Hi Def decoder boxes currently in the hands of end users. You all deserve a steady diet of WOW!
The following account is absolutely true, so help me David Sarnoff.
I recently installed a home theatre system which included, amongst many other things, a 65î H.D. ready Toshiba rear projector, an RCA DTC-100 H.D. decoder and a DirecTV satellite. One afternoon I sat Mr. And Mrs. "W" down for their first system orientation. It happened that several others were also in the room at the time. I wanted to start things off on a positive note, so while I began to explain the ABC's of the Pronto remote control, I popped up the H.D. demo loop from DirecTV channel 199 on the screen for a backdrop to the conversation. Big mistake. I immediately lost their attention. All eyes in the room locked on to the near 3D image of Dennis Miller doing a short clip of his stand-up routine. As the demo loop was rolling into the scenes from FANTASIA 2000, someone reluctantly left the room to answer the front door. They (and I) thought someone was knocking. Turns out it was just Mickey looking for Donald in the right rear surround speaker! Then the most incredible thing happened. As we settled back to watch the remainder of the loop (I had long since given up the Pronto tutorial), we began to hear sirens in the distance. Even though I had the volume at reference level, the sirens became louder and louder, finally compelling one of the "observers" to go to the window to investigate. Then the report came. "There are fire trucks pulling into Frank's driveway!" (Next door neighbor). I looked at Mr. and Mrs. "W", preparing to get out of the way for "the dash". They hadn't moved or said a word, their eyes now fixed on the venerable football segment of the loop. Yes, you read correctly. THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR WAS (possibly) ON FIRE, AND THEY WOULD NOT SURRENDER their first-time-ever dose of High Definition. WOW! I can't imagine devising a stronger testimonial to the magic of HDTV if I could have scripted and directed it myself. Turns out, it was only a seized motor in a clothes dryer in the garage that produced more smoke than flames, but still---WOW!
Some of us gray haired enthusiasts may recall the first time we saw a T.V. program in "living" color -- probably BONANZA. Although the memory may be dim, we almost certainly remember it as a visual epiphany. More recently, we may all recall the first time we saw a laser disc on our video monitor. I'm sure I must have said something weighty like, er--"wow". I am now convinced that HDTV is "woweyer" than all the previous wows. Much like the Big Screen, Big Sound experience has drawn us into the movie, adding immeasurably to the world class escapism we call Home Theatre, a High Definition "mage "{suspends reality" in a way only rivaled by the very best footage shot on film, or by looking out a freshly cleaned window pane.
The message is this, and may be somewhat moot for current HDTV owners, for they already know it to be true; if you are among the many on the periphery, wanting H.D. but waiting for more program content -- wait no longer! Every minute waited is a minute wasted. While there may not be as many minutes of H.D. as we'd like to see, seeing every minute available is well worth the investment -- and the R.O.I. gets better everyday. First, CBS announces nearly all primetime in H.D., then ABC comes back with "NYPD BLUE" and nearly weekly in Dale's newsletter, we read about some new deal or alliance formed with the net objective of bringing us more H.D. content. The best news, of course, is that the argument over revisiting the U.S. standard for broadcasting a Hi-Def signal (8VSB) has been put to bed so that all interested parties, understandably tentative in their investments until now, are back to "full steam ahead" with a bright green light from the FCC.
Unfortunately, I have recently read in other H.T. related magazines, accounts of doom and gloom on the H.D. front. Don't be confused! Either the aforementioned writers are out-of-touch, or their editorial due dates and the eventual street date of their publications are so far apart as to have the effect of keeping you out of touch. HDTV is alive and well and pointed north! So if you have been on the fence, jump in -- the water's fine. This year's SuperBowl parties and the long awaited delivery of H.D. decoders from Toshiba and Panasonic have ensured the next wave of consumer commitment, thereby, in chicken and egg fashion, causing broadcasters and other content providers, politicians and hardware manufacturers to enhance their stake in the game. Who knows, before long it may be hard to find a 4X3 display ñ WOW!
Until then, itís just one installerís opinion.
