Elle wrote:
My ten-year-old television's display is mighty snowy much of
the time (when receiving local channels), until I give it a
good whack and I guess cause some connections to work
properly again. It's humongous and so hard to move by
myself. I am getting old and do not want to have to move it.
Rather than try to repair it, I am thinking of buying a new,
lighter, flat screen TV. I have been keeping an eye peeled
for specials at Circuit City, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart. I
looked at the latest Consumer Reports article on the
subject.

Yesterday at Best Buy a clerk there said buying any of the
flat screen TVs meant I would have HDTV. Without cable or
satellite with HD, the display would have black vertical
bars covering something like three inches on both sides. If
I wanted to continue using an ordinary antenna, I'd have to
go to a conventional TV with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Can someone please confirm or deny what the clerk said and
maybe elaborate? Meanwhile I am googling on the subject.

I do not want cable or satellite or any extra costs. OTOH, I
also do not want a huge television to move around.

TIA

so you're going to ditch an otherwise usable Tv for want of a bit of
resoldering on the tuner?? sounds wasteful to me. why don't you just
fix it? or get a tech on the case?
besides, when fixed up well it will probably outlive any of the crap on
sale today, to say nothign of the sharper picture CRT gives over plasma
and LCD smear-o-vision.

I'd give it a second chance if I were you!
-B.