Except for Apple, most electronics manufacturers are having trouble creating enthusiasm for their wares among customers. Take Sony as an example. The Japanese giant spent big bucks partnering with the major Hollywood studios for their Blu-ray DVD technology. But with the movies themselves costing a small fortune, consumers haven't fully embraced Blu-ray.

As you may recall, Blu-ray's main competition came from Toshiba's HD-DVD technology. One of Clark's kooky strategies was to buy an HD-DVD player after Toshiba lost the format war. Why? Because he got it extra cheap! HD movies were only $5 or $7 each.

But back to Sony: Suddenly, Blu-ray is unloved after all the money they spent to beat Toshiba. So what to do? Cut the price! Dow Jones is predicting that you'll see Blu-ray players for $149 on Black Friday. Just remember, don't be automatically enticed by the cheap player; you still have to spend a zillion bucks for every single movie.

Meanwhile, this is the first Christmas that the Wii should be widely available. Clark loves the gaming system's interactivity -- you actually have to go through the physical motions of the game in order to play. It's a great way to combat childhood obesity. The penny-pincher's 9 year old particularly loves playing tennis and bowling on the Wii system.

Back in the 1990s, Clark told you about a company called Replay TV that changed TV as we know it. The service allowed you to use a computer hard-drive to record TV and watch it as you wished. Replay TV was soon eclipsed by TiVo. Now TiVo faces its own threat from a new technology that could be a boon to cable providers.

Cablevision is the first provider eyeing the launch of network DVR capability in early 2009. You'll be able to watch something and just decide to record it -- without TiVo or an actual DVR. Cablevision will allow customers to store content on their servers -- no hardware to buy, nothing to break, you just pay them a monthly fee. It's cheaper to store what you want on a mainframe than for everyone to have their own individual machine.

Meanwhile, Clark also wants to let you know about the poor man's DVR -- which is any inexpensive computer that has a built-in DVR. When you want to watch what you've recorded, just hook your computer up to a TV or watch it on the computer itself. No monthly fees!

Clark despises monopolies. He has a built-in prejudice that makes him automatically expect bad things from them. One of his least favorite monopolies (one that invariably gets some of the lowest score in customer satisfaction ratings) is the cable industry. Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, is not only raising rates by around 5%, but it's recently begun to put caps on the usage of its Comcast internet service. What's driving this? Clark says to look toward South Korea, which has one of the most advanced internet systems in the world. Younger Koreans no longer subscribe in large numbers to pay television. They watch TV mainly over the internet and on their advanced-technology media phones. Over the next year or two it will become much easier to get internet programming onto your big screen in this country as well. Comcast is very afraid of this trend, and has responded with this cap on internet usage. If you exceed their limit, they'll fire you as a customer. Time Warner Cable is looking at metering internet usage as well.

Even though the US pioneered the web, our internet capacity is now at third world standards. Other countries are much more advanced, and pricing reflects that. For example, Korea's ultra-fast high speed connection costs only about $7 a month - compare that to what you're paying here in the States! You can thank the cable monopolies for that.

Targeted TV ads have traditionally been too expensive for small business owners to buy. But a new website called SaysMe.tv is leveling the playing field. It allows you to target specific parts of a town and get ad quotes on a variety of channels.

For example, SaysMe.tv lists an ad on MTV in the Raleigh, N.C. market at 4 p.m. as costing $130. If you wait until midnight, the price drops to $44.

This service was developed with small business owners in mind, but it has really been embraced by people who are passionate about the '08 election. They're buying ad time and populating it with their own content. So you've got a slew of homemade ads airing that are either for or against McCain or Obama!

One final word on advertising: Repetition counts. If you are a small business owner, don't think that buying a single ad will net you results. You need a strategic plan to buy a number of spots on the right channel at the right time.

Several months ago, Clark told you about a fight that's going on in the TV world between Verizon and the monopoly cable companies. The issue of contention has been Verizon's build-out of its FiOS (high-speed fiber-optic broadband Internet) network.

FiOS comes with the promise of a wide range of programming choices, which has the monopoly cable companies running scared and fighting it every step of the way. The hand-to-hand combat became so intense that Verizon began offering free HDTVs to new FiOS customers.

But now it turns out that Verizon has not been delivering on its promise. Adding insult to injury, Verizon is also refusing to grant media interviews about the "customer no service" debacle. They instead released a statement that simply confirms that there have been delivery delays.

The one-two punch of the statement and the refusal to talk to the media smells of a monopoly mentality, according to Clark. What would Verizon's "Customer Care Czar" Tom Maguire -- a former guest on the show -- have to say about this debacle? And will it result in a proposed class-action suit years from now, in which case nobody wins??

Clark would like to extend an offer to be the personal shopper for Verizon's CEO, helping him find the best deals on HDTVs. That way Verizon can honor its word to all FiOS customers. After all, Clark assumes Verizon wasn't actually trying to scam people -- they just don't have their act together, right?

In the early days of NetFlix, no one was quite sure if the company's business model would work. Now they've become an enormous success and have practically demolished competitors like Blockbuster.

The next challenge NetFlix has to face is the on-demand movie threat. So the company has come up with a $99 box that delivers on-demand flicks directly to your TV. A monthly subscription fee of about $9 is required to have access to some 10,000 movies.

Netflix is hoping this device will help them counter the on-demand services from some of the cable companies. But do you really want another box on top of your TV? That's become valuable real estate.

In related news, expect to see more tiny computers during the next few years. This trend should be a real boon for all the road warriors who have to lug around heavy laptops.

Clark has a new Hewlett Packard mini-laptop ($599) that weighs 2 pounds and has a full keyboard. It can fit easily in a woman's purse or inside a carry-on bag -- no need for a separate computer bag.

Think of it as HP's response to Clark's beloved "Triple E" PC. Clark was an early adopter of the "Triple E" and bought it for $399. Now he recently saw BJ's selling it for $274!

So business travelers and others, take heart. The days of hurting your shoulder are over. You no longer need to lug a heavy laptop and create a living for the chiropractors!

The Blu-ray technology is not selling all that well, between it being too expensive and a serious dearth of titles in the format. Clark says let the early adopters have the bragging rights and hang back for now.

When we think of TV, we think of getting it from cable, satellite or even a monopoly phone company. But there's a big change coming from a company called Sezmi.com, which is in testing right now.

This new technology aims to offer TV at a projected lower cost than anywhere else. It also promises the ability to watch just about anything on your schedule. It's like TiVo on steroids, yet it could turn out to be vaporware.

Sezmi pulls programming from multiple sources, including the Internet, your local broadcast stations and the traditional cable/satellite fare. Plus it has its own massive on-demand library.

Is it going to work? Clark doesn't know. But something like it should.

The point is that technology provides the solution that destroys monopolies. We've suffered for too long because of an ill-fated government decision to create cable monopolies in our communities. That decision stifled innovation, destroyed choice and subjected us to untold amounts of customer no service.

If you're a longtime listener, you know this isn't the first time Clark has gotten excited about some new, oddball technology.

During a recent staff meeting, Christa was recalling how Clark's initial discussions of replay TV in the '90s drew blank stares around the table. Replay TV was a predecessor to TiVo, and now that's become a part of our culture. Clark also came in one day during the '90s talking about 802.11 protocol. Never heard of it? Perhaps you're familiar with its new name -- wifi.

Let's fast-forward to 2011. Clark predicts that 3 years from now, you will have the ability to do what the Sezmi people say: Watch video content from any source, at any time, all for cheaper than what we pay for ordinary cable/satellite today.

We're currently experiencing a revolution in the way we watch TV and movies. Clark was recently watching the Disney channel with his 2-year-old son Grant. When the segment ended, Grant wanted to continue watching more of the same programming. Clark explained the show was over, but Grant didn't get it. And you know what? Grant is right: TV and film content should be available on demand wherever you are. What Clark's talking about is way beyond TiVo -- it's more along the lines of Hulu.com, which has now made it past the beta testing stage. A couple of Clark Howard Show staffers tried that service and really liked it.

Clark recalls back in the late '80s when he came to a staff meeting and started talking about his replay TV. He immediately drew blank stares. Now Christa, who laughed at him back then, is a TiVo addict. In fact, Christa's daughter recently wanted her mom to pause a TV out at a restaurant; she had no idea that Christa couldn't do it like she would at home. Soon kids may have handheld IAAs (Internet application appliances) and be able to watch whatever they want when and where they want it. The idea of watching TV on a schedule published by a network is over. The next home revolution will involve taking programming from the Internet and popping it on your home TV screen. Future generations of flat screen TVs will likely be able to do this.

There's still a lot of mystery surrounding the upcoming February 2009 switch from analog to digital broadcasts in the TV world.

Here's the scoop: If you are among the 88% of people who get TV via cable or satellite, it is irrelevant to you that analog TV signals are going away next year. However, if you are one of the 12% who uses rabbit ears, listen up: Your rabbit ears will no longer work as they did come February 2009. You can keep your old TV, but you'll need to get a converter box.

The government is offering each American two $40 vouchers to help subsidize the purchase of the boxes. Please note the vouchers are only good for 90 days.

Dish Network, meanwhile, is offering free converter boxes to people who have the vouchers. Shipping and handling fees of $8.95 may apply.

PIRG recently sent secret shoppers out to electronics stores in about a dozen states seeking info about the digital TV switch. More than 80% of the time they were given false info by sales associates, who then tried to sell them an expensive multi-function box that would have been useless to them. Almost half of the time they also got wrong info about the time table for the conversion.

Stats from other organizations show that about 4 in 10 Americans haven't heard a word about the coming switch. Clark encourages everyone to help out elderly relatives who may still be getting TV via rabbit ears.

Clark sometimes gives advice on air that he doesn't take -- and then he gets hit with the consequences. Here's an example of his self-proclaimed financial stupidity: Clark predicted that there would be a big push during the Christmas shopping season for hi-def DVD players, either Sony's Blu-ray or Toshiba's HD DVD. The two formats were in a war and he advised consumers to stay out on the sidelines until the marketplace sorted things out. But then he turned around and got a steal of a deal on a Toshiba HD DVD player. Clark jumped because the deal included the player and 5 free movies. He and his wife both loved the picture quality from their HD DVD player.

But now Blu-ray has won the format war, so Clark is stuck with a largely worthless piece of equipment. Now he'll have to wait until the studios put their remaining HD DVD titles on quadruple markdown clearance and snatch them up. As for you, this coming Christmas will be a good time to buy a Blu-ray player or a Sony PlayStation 3, which features built-in Blu-ray. If you're in the same boat as Clark with his dinosaur player, you can also get an HD up-convert DVD player that uses computer technology to simulate a hi-def picture from your existing standard-def DVDs. Clark and his family watched the third Indiana Jones flick on an up-convert and it looked great.

The Hollywood writer's strike has inadvertently changed the way people watch TV. People in their 20s and 30s have turned to watching the equivalent of TV on their computers. The growth of sites like YouTube and JibJab has definitely helped out. Nielsen Media Research reports that almost 50 percent of viewers 34 or younger now watch full-length TV shows on a computer.

TiVo allowed you to watch TV on your schedule; the next generation of developments will allow you to watch what you want, where you want across platform. Imagine being a cable company and seeing your vice grip on the market blown apart by tech innovations. Now ESPN is making its programming available to military personnel and educators/students anywhere in the world for free on their computers. That's going to be a major blow to the cable and satellite companies who rely on business from customers signing up to get ESPN. It's now also very easy to take your computer and run a cable to your TV, allowing you to watch Internet content on the boob tube. The next thing coming down the pike will be watching Internet content on your TV in hi-def. One day Clark's 2-year-old son will marvel at the fact that TV used to be something you watched on a schedule decided by the cable or satellite company.

Remember the format war between Betamax and VHS? Sony's Betamax offered a superior picture and technology, but lost out to VHS in the home marketplace. Today Betamax is only used in TV newsrooms across the country. Now Sony's Blu Ray hi-def DVD format is competing with Toshiba's HD DVD format. Sony is trying to lock up the film studios for their format, so Toshiba has countered by lowering prices on its player. The new street price is $149, but you can probably find it for about $110-$130.

The picture with either Blu Ray or HD DVD is shockingly good. We're talking about better resolution than broadcast HDTV. But here's the problem: Nobody knows which format will be the winner, so some early adopters will end up with a player that becomes a dinosaur down the road. Clark has a couple of strategies to help you win this war. The cheapest option is for you to take your traditional DVDs and buy an up-convert DVD player ($60 and up) with an HDMI cable ($5-$50). This setup will use digital voodoo to take the picture from your existing DVDs and simulate what hi-def will look like. The second option is sure to please gamers: Get a Sony PlayStation 3 ($399) that plays Blu Ray. Or you can simply buy the Toshiba player for $149. No matter which choice you make, remember to rent your DVDs for the next several years. Do not own -- that way you lower your risk while the format war rages on. The big risk comes when you develop a library of movies in a format that becomes obsolete.

There's been a lot of misinformation out there about the February 2009 switch from analog to digital broadcasts in the TV world. Digital signals take up a much smaller chunk of spectrum than analog ones. So this change will allow the government to reclaim wireless real estate from TV stations and then sell it off at auction. You might think that your old, non-digital TV will be useless when the change is made. But that's not entirely correct. First, let's clarify who this coming change will affect. The more than 80 percent of people who use cable or satellite to get TV won't have to worry about anything. It's the less than 20 percent who watch TV for free with rabbit ears who will have to make a change.

Here's what you need to know if you fall into the latter category: Your old TV will not be trash in 2009. It just needs a converter box that allows it to accept digital signals. The feds are subsidizing two $40 vouchers for each person with an old TV. But don't run out to get them just yet; the coupons are only good for 90 days and the boxes are still fairly expensive. By the fall, Clark expects that they'll be at a price point where the vouchers should cover most of the cost. The neat thing is that the picture on your old TV will improve once you get a digital signal.

Comcast recently announced that it's pushing through price increases that will be roughly double the rate of inflation. No surprise there. The real story is that the nation's largest cable company has also awoken from its tech slumber. Comcast is getting ready to launch a new system where you can control your DVR from a computer. You'll be able to watch 1000s of programs on demand on your TV. This is just one of many developments in the future of TV. Panasonic has a portable DVR that makes it easy to record programming and take it with you on an 8.5-inch screen. You can store about 30 movies (or 60 hours of content) instead of carrying tons of DVDs around with you. Panasonic also has a 150-inch TV that's big news. In 5 years, Clark thinks we'll have TVs of superior size, shape and cost. The experience of where, when and how you watch will dramatically change too.

One thing that won't be changing this year is the price you pay for Dish Network. They are not raising rates because they're afraid the economic slowdown may make them lose customers. Meanwhile, the feds have started issuing digital-to-analog converter box coupon vouchers in anticipation of the 2009 HDTV switch. Dish Network also has a subsidiary that will provide free converter boxes to those who have the vouchers. Dish says this move will help them boost brand recognition. Clark admits he doesn't really understand the business strategy here. But if they're happy and you're happy, then he's happy too!

Last year, Clark stated that women would rather buy and receive jewelry than electronics. Boy, did he get an earful from that! A poll on Clarkhoward.com proved that Clark's statement was a chauvinistic one. Now when he's in stores, more women than men ask him for advice on buying HDTVs. Women have their heads spinning like Linda Blair in The Exorcist with all the choices out there. With that in mind, Clark wants to offer a primer on the three types of HDTVs that dominate the market: LCDs (liquid crystal display); DLPs (digital light processing); and Plasma TVs.

Get an LCD if you're looking to reduce energy consumption and want something with a small cabinet. LCDs are also good if there's a lot of natural sunlight available. DLPs are great if you have space for footlong cabinets and huge screens. They may look huge, but they are actually very light. One drawback with DLPs is that you have to look straight at your TV to see the image. They're not good if your room has lots of side viewing angles. In that instance, you probably want a Plasma because the picture is rich and true from any angle. But Plasmas are bad in rooms with natural sunlight, which washes out the picture. For his money, Clark prefers Plasmas over LCDs for picture quality. But keep in mind that Plasmas use more energy though than LCDs.

A lot of shoppers also get confused by the 1080p vs. 720p resolution issue. The manufacturing industry is moving toward 1080p, but all the programming is in 720p. Clark's advice is to buy a cheaper 720p set for now. By the time all the programming switches over, 1080p sets will be more affordable than they are now. Don't overbuy at today's prices for something that is steadily dropping in price. Finally, here are some target price points to keep in mind. For 32-inch LCDs, look for deals in the $400s. Don't pay more than $600. 42-inch Plasmas should go for around $700, while 50-inch ones will go up to $900. If you're going to spend around $900 for a DLP, make sure you get a 60-inch set. DLPs tend to have more repair issues than the other two, but they're all basically reliable. Do not under any circumstance buy an extended warranty!

Have you been hearing all about the coming switch to high-definition TV? There's some misinformation floating around that Clark wants to clear up. If you still get your reception via rabbit ears or a roof-based antenna, your old TV will not be obsolete when the switch is made from analog to digital signals in early 2009. That's because you'll be able to get a converter box for around $50 -- and the feds will even subsidize around $40 of it. So there's no need to buy a new HDTV -- unless you really want one! Meanwhile, how you watch TV is going to be changing. Hulu.com is a new website that will make network TV shows available via your high-speed internet connection. But the really big news that Clark's excited about is that 32-inch LCDs are being designed to hook up to your computer. You can even split the signal so that you don't have to check your e-mail on the boob tube. Clark loves all the changes and choices that are coming -- even though he doesn't really watch TV! We're moving into era where you'll be able to be anywhere in the world and watch the shows you love if you have a high-speed Internet connection.

There's a new product that could impact the way you watch TV. While TiVo allowed people to alter their viewing schedule, Sling Box allows you to change where you watch TV. This should really appeal to travelers. Here's how it works: Say there's a football team you love and you're on the road when a game is being broadcast locally at home. By synching up your computer and your TV with the Sling Box, you can watch the game on your computer wherever you are in the world via your Internet connection. This idea is so strong that Dish Network just paid $380 million to buy Sling Box from the two brothers who founded the company. People who own vacation or second homes also are poised to benefit from the Sling Box. While they previously had to pay two cable or satellite bills, Sling Box will soon allow them to only pay for service at their main home and then get the programming at their second home for free!

There's going to be a marriage of TV and Internet in the coming years and the level of interactivity will be incredible. Clark was really excited when TechNewsWorld.com recently reported about upcoming innovations that will integrate e-commerce and TV programming in a new way. Say you're watching a TV show and you notice some really fashionable clothing or shoes being worn by an actor or actress. You'll be able to click with your mouse or TV remote and purchase the clothing or shoes right then and there via a pop-up purchase window. People who watch TV shows on the web are already experiencing this kind of cross-promotion on their computers.

An MTV reality series called The Hills is trying out this new business model. So TV viewers like Christa, Clark's executive producer, can purchase clothing worn by the show's Lauren Conrad while she experiences daily drama in the chic setting of her Teen Vogue internship. Not exactly the kind of advancement Clark was hoping this technology would bring us! He's looking forward to the day when there will be one junction box on your TV that bring together lots of programming from multiple platforms -- satellite, cable, the web, mobile and more.

This is going to be a great year for high definition on your TV set. According to new statistics from the electronics industry, 25 percent of households are now hi-def. Just 18 months ago, that number was probably seven or eight percent. There's more hi-def programming being churned out, too. The Discovery Channel made a big ratings comeback thanks to Discovery HD, which features incredible photography that renders beautifully in hi-def and has really captivated viewers. Now, Direct TV's goal is to have 100 HD channels before the end of the year. What's happening there is that they're scared of the triple-play packages from the cable companies -- where you get cable, Internet and phone -- so they're fighting back with this promise to offer more hi-def programming.

Clark's approach to hi-def is to let the early adopters get in the game and drive the price down as the quality of programming up. That's already happening. Many of the major TV networks now put out hi-def transmissions in addition to regular broadcast signals. Meanwhile, a plasma TV today costs a quarter of what it did 36 months ago. And this Christmas, you can get a hi-def set for under $500 bucks. Still too expensive for your taste? The irony here is that you get a better picture from a hi-def transmission if you use conventional rabbit ears on your old TV set than if you actually pay for the hi-def programming and equipment. On the retail front, the way people purchase hi-def equipment is changing as well. Electronics retailers like Circuit City and Tweeter are in trouble because people buy their equipment at Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam's Club. In fact, the only electronics retailer doing well in hi-def sales is Best Buy.

Have you ever wanted to see a film but didn't want to order it on Netflix and wait for it to come in the mail? And what if you just couldn't find the time to get out to your local Blockbuster and rent a copy? TiVo has teamed up with Amazon to make sure that you can get a wide variety of films delivered directly to your TV screen without ever leaving home. The pricing for the newly revamped "Amazon Unbox on TiVo" service runs about $2 for older films and $4 for new releases. The service was initially launched last winter, but back then you had to select your movie and watch it on your computer. This new upgrade is great for self-professed "techno-idiots" like Clark, who can now get their favorite flicks directly on the boob tube!

Best of all, this new technology marks a great stride toward IPTV or internet protocol television. With IPTV, the internet offers the ability to completely control the content on your screen. Here in America, we lag behind many other countries in internet and tech advances because of the shared monopoly of the cable and phone companies. But there's more neat stuff like this coming down the pike. Imagine the day when you'll basically have the entire Hollywood archive of movies at your fingertips. Get ready to break out the microwave popcorn!

In 1983, the government broke up the phone company monopoly. Back then, if you wanted phone service, you could only lease the phone from the phone company, and the phone could only do what the phone company said it could do. Up until 1983, it was typical to have one telephone. It was illegal to buy a phone from somewhere else (overseas), but people still would find a way to get around this monopoly. Once that monopoly broke up, the cordless phone came along, along with fancy new phone sets. Thus, once the market is unleashed, the innovation is extraordinary. Now, we are in the midst of that in the cable industry! Starting July 1st 2007, you will be free from buying the cable companies’ cable box. For a while, this will only be noticed by “techno-nerds”. Around Christmas 2008, this will be a craze! The technologies that will be unleashed will be phenomenal! DVR and electronic devices may have one cable signal—one device sending signals all around the house! You can feed the internet, such as YouTube videos or other signals, onto your TV. You will be in control, not the cable company! Remember 1999 with Replay TV (that preceded technologies like Tivo.) No one understood that for years. It’s the same with the new cable technology.

If you have a traditional television, don’t think that it will be obsolete when the HD deadline hits in 2009. The only people affected are the ones that pick up signals with rabbit ears. Even then, you can buy converter boxes for little to nothing because the government will be subsidizing them. The television industry is trying to get people to panic buy so that they can increase their sales. If you don’t care about a huge new flat screen or getting a high definition picture, then don’t even worry about it. Your television will be able to work for a long time to come. Look out though, if it turns out you want a new TV with a better picture when the HD deadline comes around, the prices are dropping rapidly. You can get a nice TV for cheap.

Tivo and DVR's have changed the way advertisers think about reaching consumers now. Since you can fast forward through all the commercials on your DVR, the TV companies have to find another way to make money. The major networks are using the internet as a free place to post their shows but they don't allow the viewer to blow past the commercials. The CW, a merger of UPN and the WB, is trying something creative and new as well. Their idea is to have the hosts of their shows mention products within the show. This is already being done in Spain and has sort of made their shows look a lot like infomercials.

The monopoly phone companies are trying to break into the television industry. Verizon, AT&T and others, which have become irrelevant in the antiquated home phone industry, are becoming now key third competitors in the local TV business. This is great for the consumer to have other options and more ability to fire your TV company for bad service or high prices. So look in your market to see if it is close to happening where you are. Also, don’t deal with the companies that have terrible customer-no-service. This extra competition would be just one more avenue for the consumer if they are treated wrongly.

Tivo and other DVRs have reinvented how television works and how we watch it. These devices have grown in popularity, and as a result the monthly costs have gone up. How would you like to be able to do the equivalent for free? You basically get video-on-demand on your computer. The one caveat is that you aren’t able to skip commercials. It’s coming from a company named Joost, which is a creation of the folks who started Skype. It’s like YouTube for copyrighted television shows and movies. The Internet is going to become the new outlet for watching shows. NBC and ABC replay recently-aired shows on the Internet already, so there are a few ways you can do this. The player is usually small or the resolution not so good, but that will improve.

Netflix is about to experiment with streaming movies over computers. It’s about to replace the current business model, whereby people receive movies in the mail and send them back after they watch them. What will eventually happen is people will get the movie through the computer and then somehow play it on the television. Clark wonders if people will learn this easily or resist it. Ease of use will help decide how well it works. Either way, technology is always changing. The need to be in front of the TV when a show starts is going away. With DVRs and other technologies, people will decide what they want to watch and when. Exciting stuff!

Did you know that you can get HDTV for free? That’s right. There is an assumption that when something is free that others are paying for, it’s either being stolen or it can’t really be a deal. But this deal is for real. In fact, Clark is proof. At his vacation home in Florida, Clark has a high-def television but he didn’t pay for program because he gets it for free. How? The modern equivalent of rabbit ears makes it possible. Here’s how it works. Clark signed up for the poverty cable package with the local provider. It’s called “Broadcast Basic” or something similar, and it costs about $10 a month. The package includes the broadcast channels, Bravo, Home & Garden and a few more specialty channels that are in standard definition. Then, Clark purchased a high-definition antenna and the picture on those channels is amazing. It’s possible through something called digital compression, which Clark doesn’t really understand. But the free picture on the HDTV set at his vacation home is much better than the picture at his regular home, where he pays the cable company for high-def programming. In the old days, you got kind of a snowy, grainy picture with rabbit ears. But now, if you have high def and the antenna, the picture is great. Your TV must have a high def tuner, and about three-quarters do. You can figure out if you get the good signal by checking antennaweb.org.

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In other TV news, HDTV prices will go up around Superbowl time. You don’t want to buy one now. Wait until about two weeks after to buy. Also, standard-sized models continue to drop in price. Those include 42-inch plasma models (under $1,000), 37-inch and 32-inch LCDs ($under $500) and 50-inch DLPs (under $1,000). Salespeople are going to try and steer you into much larger models, but don’t feed into the hype. The smaller models are the sweet spots in the market, so look for them.

Picture the door leading into your home or apartment. Now turn it sideways and hang it on your wall. That is the size TV that Panasonic wants you to buy. It’s the next step in the process of televisions becoming home theaters. By Clark’s calculations, HDTVs cost about 65 percent less than they did in 2004. At the same time, the quality has gotten better. So, when do you buy? Well, it depends on what you want to buy. There are those for about $6,000. Then there are the middle of the road brands for about $2,500. And finally, Clark’s choice would be the 32-inch LCD or bigger DLP, which range from several hundred to about $1,700. So, there is a price curve and prices will continue to drop. Don’t buy what you don’t need.

Sharp has introduced a television that shows two different channels at the same time. In other words, the LCD screen basically has two sides. So, if you want to watch something but your spouse wants to see something else, you can now sit in the same room and do that. The article Clark read didn’t discuss how people hear the programs if they’re both playing at the same time, but Clark assumes people will wear headphones. He knows some people will jump on this idea, but he doesn’t get it. If you’re in the same room, you should be “together,” not in your own worlds watching different TV shows. It’s just like being in different rooms.

Clark predicted that this Christmas would be time to buy an HDTV. Maybe he’s right, but the jury is still out. One factor that may alter what happens is the influx of “certified calibrators” coming into the workforce. What is a certified calibrator? It’s someone who helps people set up their HDTVs to display programs to look like they do in the store. It can cost up to $1,000 to get the picture just right. And these people are going to make big bucks, with an estimated 7 million HDTVs being sold this year. Clark can't believe that people need a technician to do that much work this far alon gin the game. We’ll see what happens!

How do you watch TV? Do you have satellite, cable or rabbit years? Going back just a few years ago, an overwhelming number of people watched cable. Then the industry decided to boost prices to make more money. But new statistics from the FCC show that cable rates have gone up by only three times the rate of inflation. It may sound like a lot, but that’s a much smaller rise than cable companies have increased prices before. The reason is because cable companies are scared. Satellite has gotten so popular, that cable is getting crushed. When that happens, the cable industry will have to adapt and fight back. Another competitor is also coming into the market. Clark predicts that by 2007, phone companies will be offering TV to large numbers of houses. And then, there will be a three-way fight for your business. Eventually, we will have four ways to view television, once we can start viewing it over the Internet. So, we’re coming out of the Dark Ages and prices are going down!

Clark predicted last year that prices on LCDs and flat screen televisions would go down significantly, and it turns out he was right. Prices have fallen by two-thirds on “lead price” electronics because there is so much manufacturing going on. Clark saw a 32-inch flat screen television for $399 last week. It would have cost $1,200 to $1,400 in the fall. The 15- or 17-inch televisions that people put in the kitchen will get down to about $199. So, these TVs will soon move into every room in the house, including the bathroom. DLPs are also going down in price. So, the choices are everywhere. Factories are churning out televisions left and right, and this fall will be the time to buy.

Did you know that the average television size used to be 19 inches? A 13-inch TV was usually the second television in homes. But television sets are going through a massive transformation. At a recent electronics show, an 8-foot TV was on display. It will be available in electronics stores soon. One can already buy 6-foot screen televisions. And Clark predicts that by 2010, there will be giant screen televisions everywhere. In the process, there will be a lot of quicksand to muddle through. It starts with all of the variations of televisions and formats. There is EDTV (enhanced definition), which gives you a better picture on a traditional television and on a DVD. There is also HDTV, which requires a high definition signal to your television and will give you a very bad picture on regular televisions. So, it begs the question of whether you should buy HDTV yet. Clark knows this is going to sound nuts, but he recommends that you test an HDTV picture next to your regular television picture. That way you’ll see how it really looks. What they’re showing you in the stores is not what you’ll see at home. They always look great in the store but that’s because they are closed circuit. Also, if you have a buddy who has HDTV, go over to that person’s house and find out the ups and downs of having one of these televisions before you buy it. And, if you're going to buy a traditional, flat screen television you want to look at ED or HDTV. There are also projection units, DLP televisions and many more. Read about all of the choices at cnet.com.

Are you paying for television? About 85 out of 100 people are these days. It’s either with a cable company, satellite company or with Voom, the latest player in satellite the game. If you haven’t heard of Voom yet, it’s specifically for people who want HDTV, and it’s growing quickly. But with all of these players, you are paying big bucks each month in subscription rates. What if you could get your paid television for free? Doesn’t make sense does it? But it’s a concept that is spreading in Great Britain. The first service was called “Free View,” which offers 30 channels and 20 satellite radio stations for nothing. You simply pay $100 up front and you’re set. Already, 400 million people have signed up for “Free View.” To compete with this service, Rupert Murdoch, owner of DirecTV, will create “Free Sat.” It will offer 116 TV and 81 radio stations. It costs $225 for equipment and installation, but there is no monthly service fee. After that, it’s free! Why would Murdoch do this? He says if you give people the cable basics, they’ll buy all kinds of sports programming and other premium paid television. But, the bottom line is that eventually this will reach the United States and we will have free premium television. You can bet Clark will sign up for this in a heartbeat. He’s paying $61 a month for satellite.

Clark has been reading stories about the Consumer Electronics show held recently in Las Vegas. Apparently, there was a sideshow for people who buy ultra high-end audio systems. These are customized for your home and cost in the six-figure range. One reporter went to this show with an MP3 player to find out how the music would sound on his player. Turns out that it sounded just fine. So, there is no need to spend a fortune on these systems, when the bare minimum would do just fine. Clark paid $249 for his and it includes everything he needs to create a great system.

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In other technology news, Tivo has come up with a new device that allows you to transfer files from your Tivo to your laptop computer. It’s called “Tivo To Go.” What you do is download the show into the device, which then plugs into the USB port on your computer and you can play it there. This new technology is all over. It’s possible to watch shows through your eye glasses, for example. Is that a problem waiting to happen or what? Clark recommends that you buy current technology, not state-of-the-art products.