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PUBLISHER’S LETTER www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Production Manager Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Peter Smith Ross Tester Rick Walters Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Enquiries Rick Winkler Phone (02) 9979 5644 Fax (02) 9979 6503 Mobile: 0414 34 6669 Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Louis Challis Rodney Champness Garry Cratt, VK2YBX Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Bob Young SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490 All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Hannanprint, Dubbo, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $69.50 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial & advertising offices: Unit 8, 101 Darley St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 * Recommended and maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip Don’t wait for digital broadcasts if buying a new TV set One of the questions we are often asked at SILICON CHIP concerns digital broadcasting and whether it is worth waiting to buy a digital TV receiver. Often the person concerned has a relatively old TV set, maybe 10 years old or more, and is looking for an excuse to upgrade to a new set. But with all the puff about digital TV at the moment there are doubts. Supposedly, digital TV will be so much better than present-day broadcasts and people do not want to be caught with a newish but obsolete set. The short answer to these questions is to go out and buy a new set, if that’s what you want. If you do, you will get the immediate benefit of a new set - a much brighter and sharper picture and at a price that is not likely to reduce in the short term now that GST is in force. Perhaps you still have doubts. If so, perhaps I can dispel them. First, if you do not intend buying a large screen set, say 80cm or larger, there is little point in worrying about whether you will get a better picture when digital broadcasting comes in. With the smaller screen sizes, it is just not possible for the average viewer to discern any improvement in picture quality, even if you had high definition broadcasts. Perhaps I should qualify that. If you are comparing the picture quality with good ghost free reception and studio broadcasts or DVD playback on a 68cm or smaller set, there will be very little, if any, improve­ment when digital broadcasting comes in. If you can afford it, you should seriously consider buying an 80cm or larger set because that’s where the real developments are happening and where prices are dropping the most. For exam­ple, it is now possible to purchase an 80cm Teac set for as little as $1499. Not comfortable with a low-cost brand? Then what about a Philips or Panasonic 80cm set for under $2000? Not only can you get features such as picture-in-picture and NTSC playback, you can also expect “component video” inputs which are desirable for the very best picture quality from DVD players. Alternatively, you might decide to go for one of the larger rear projection sets and here you really do get a large screen for quite reasonable amounts of money. Well, OK, for many people $3500 or more is not a reasonable amount of money but it is a good deal less than you would have paid a few years ago. And some of the new rear projection sets are now coming out with ghost-free line-doubling (100Hz horizontal scan rate for flicker-free pictures) and pixel doubling as well. When digital broadcasting does come in, you can expect the new digital TV receivers to be a great deal more expensive and most people will opt for a set-top converter. But even then, if we follow overseas experience, such set-top converters will be available as part of the deal from Pay-TV companies and they look like having more features such as multi-cameras and so on. So if you are thinking of buying a new set, there is not much reason to hold back. Go out and buy it. Remember, the price of a new TV set will be the cheapest entertainment you will ever buy. Leo Simpson