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Please let me know how you like the 32" Sony flat LCD HDTV after the cable guy is done.

OK! Cable guy brought us only a "digital" box - which is probably my fault partly, since I didn't know the proper lingo when phone ordering thru Time Warner...and the fact that he spoke only a tiny bit of English didn't help one bit - the digital box didn't do a thing, so we had him uninstall...

I phoned and expressed my frustration, and they told me if I was up to the challenge that I could go over to Indio and pick up a "High Definition" box, which I was now told should have been ordered all along.

Did that, had the usual phone consultation with support, but got it all set up - and can happily report that anything broadcast in HD is un-friggin-believable....flipped on some baseball game and you can count the blades of grass.

Therefore, I think we'll keep the LCD HD setup.....now all I'll have to do is someday go back and reincorporate the DVD!!

Which model Sony did you get, anyway?

Glad to hear you're up and running with the HD box and TV. Yep, HDTV really is good stuff. I think you'd have to be legally blind not to appreciate the difference it makes, at least when watching a decent sized set from a reasonable distance.

As to the DVD, have you got a component cable? Assuming your player has component (3 wires, red, green and blue colour coded) output, you'll definitely want to go that way, if you hadn't already. Set the player up for 16:9 output if you haven't already and your all set to enjoy the anamorphic widescreen DVDs in all their glory (720x480 which still looks pretty good).

Particularly for movie (DVD) viewing, you should take the time to set the TV up from that input and your viewing condtions (dark or lighted room, in particular). If you look around a little on the web, like at avsforum.com, you can find some tips on what you might want to achieve, and how to do it. A calibration disk like Avia or DVE (digital video essentials) can help you set the black levels, contrast, colour, tint, and so on. It's pretty simple and you can do a lot without going into the service menu (advanced users only!).

Do yourself a favour and turn on the (Tonight? Late Night? whatever) show with Jay Leno if you get a chance. The set and production values are fantastic. At times you almost feel like Jay and the guests are right in the room with you. Dave Letterman's show is also pretty nicely produced for HD.