If I am planning to buy a new TV, should I invest in a high definition
TV? Is it worth the extra cost or is it just a hot new feature that
grossly overpriced? If I should buy HDTV, what should I look for?

Most televisions are coming out with the HDTV feature. Before too long
it will be the way of analog/cable connections on tv's went in the
80's. Early 80's almost all tv's had the analog (2 screws for
antennas) connector and you needed a converter to connect your cable
box to it. by the end of the 80s you needed a converter to hook your
antenna to the cable connector at the back of your tv.

Today you need a converter if your cable box or directv does not have
the HDTV converter. In time your tv will have to have a converter to
accept your HDTV connector.

In short I would say if you never plan on going to HDTV and you only
expect to keep the tv for 5-7 years I say don't worry about it. But if
you plan to keep the tv for a while and it is going to be a 'family
room' TV I think your only choice is to get it with HDTV.

I was a bit skeptical about HDTV. When our television, which was under
warranty, broke down and the factory couldn't fix it because parts
were not available, we were offered an HDTV set in its place. We
accepted the offer. I am more than pleased. I just wish my cable
service offered a greater range of high-def programming.

1.  HDTV via cable or satellite is a premium service, costing more $$
per month, and programming is limited.  Do you want to pay this extra
$$ each month for a picture with greater clarity of detail?  Do you
presently enjoy the greater clarity of movies on DVD, vs. VHS tape? 
If you greatly value this increase in picture clarity, then you will
probably appreciate the increased clarity of HDTV broadcasts, and the
$$ investment will be worth it.

2.  How much do you spend annually on DVD rentals?  If you spend
substantial $$ annually on DVD rentals, then the incremental cost of
an HDTV television might well be worth the investment.

3.  HDTV televisions, like computers, get better and cheaper every
year, so if you wait you'll get better value for your investment
dollar.

4.  Consider reliability.  For direct-view CRT televisions (the most
familiar kind, with pictures up to 36 or 40 inches), the non-HDTV sets
(e.g. Sony 27") are the most reliable, with typically 10-15 years of
trouble-free service, even when used 4-6 hours per day.  The HDTV
versions of CRT direct-view TV's are less reliable because they're in
lower-volume production, but may be expected to give trouble-free
performance for perhaps 5(?) years on average.  Moving beyond
direct-view CRT sets to the large-screen HDTV's -- plasma, LCD
projector, DLP projector, etc -- I would be very cautious about
spending $2,000 or more for these.  The projector bulbs burn out
fairly quickly and cost $300+ to replace; the early plasmas are
already land-fill.

5.  Do not assume that the HDTV you purchase today will be compatible
with tomorrow's cable or satellite service -- new interface standards
are being introduced every few months; expensive converter boxes will
likely be required to connect today's HDTV with next year's cable
content.

6.  Recorders (DVD, DVHS tape, TIVO) for HDTV are far more expensive
than their non-HDTV counterparts.  Also, future HDTV broadcasts of
movies and major sports events -- even prime time TV shows -- will
likely carry a "broadcast flag" which prevents consumers from
recording the broadcast in full HDTV quality.  Recording will still be
possible, but only in a down-converted or lesser-quality format.

7.  The above comments may sound rather negative, however my intent is
simply to identify the likely costs that will be incurred with HDTV. 
Lots of people have converted their basements or family rooms into
"home theaters" and love them.  A very informative site: 
www.projectorcentral.com .

Great comment, larry999.  Answered my question.  Thank you.

Nice comment larryg999.  Very helpful.  I was very curious about the
lifetime of HDTV tubes as I keep my tv on all the time and you said
what I speculated to be true.

Regarding the matter of recording HDTV broadcasts, many cable TV
providers offer a month-by-month deal on a digital video recorder
(similar to a TiVo) which is capable of recording high-definition
broadcasts and reproducing them flawlessly. To me, the playback looks
identical to the original broadcast, with no loss in picture or sound
quality. Unfortunately, HD files are huge, so these DVRs typically can
only save about 15 hours or so of HD programming, but that's good
enough for most timeshifting purposes. Our DVR, complete with digital
HDTV decoder, adds only $3 a month to our cable bill.

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Nenna-GA
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