Michael Patrick Brady

Sharpening Up Your New HDTV, my sixth article for Forbes.com, was published today. It covers the basic set-up and connections, and should help people who are making the change from standard televisions to HDTV.

With great resolution comes great responsibility, and simply plugging in your new TV isn’t enough to ensure that you’re getting the absolute best picture. This article details the crucial steps (and common pitfalls) that people need to be aware of once they unbox their new toy.

It’s kind of interesting to see televisions getting more complicated. When I was young, they seemed pretty complicated: I remember dealing with separate VHF and UHF dials, adjusting rabbit ear antennas trying to tune in over-the-air broadcasts, things like that.

Then as I got older and cable became more prevalent, it became very easy. Everything just worked whenever you needed it to, there wasn’t any fussing with the box. Now HDTVs have taken things to a whole new level, and you have to study up before you even attempt to use one. Hopefully these articles take some of the mystery out of it all.

Update: This article has been linked by Lifehacker, was picked up by Yahoo! Shopping, and for a brief hour was the top story on Yahoo.com. Which is pretty cool. It’s also been picked up by this Polish portal.

Update 4.8.08: This recently appeared in the tech section of MSN