Animal Deaths, Sad. Animal Deaths in HD, Hot!

I'm a fiscally conservative guy. I've been known to create a mess in Duane Reade rifling through packages of cold medicine just to find the one with 30% More Free! (they're usually in the back, you just have to dig around a bit). And that's just for Dayquil, with major purchases I hem and haw for months, research my eyes out, talk to friends and family, retreat, wait a while, start the process over again, and then, maybe (usually), I pull the trigger.

Despite my penny pinching ways, I recently purchased a new 37 inch LCD HDTV. Once I decided to do it, there was no holding back, and what started out as a relatively budget conscious toe-dip into the world of HDTV became an outright baptism (as my old preacher used to say, "you can't be partially committed to the Lord"; the same holds true for HDTV - in for a penny, in for 300,000). What good is an HDTV, I asked, without a gaming system that could take advantage of all that resolution? What good is a High Def gaming system without a handful of games? What good is an obscenely priced cable package without the added expense of every friggin' HD channel available? Shit, why even bother with High Def TV and games if that beautiful signal won't be travelling through the proper gas-insulated, ferrite core, silver plated cables? It would defeat the purpose. What's the big deal about going $1500 over budget, anyway? It's just, well, you get the picture (in all its silky perfection).

So now, as the proud papa of a new High Def entertainment system, some may wonder, was it worth it? Do the Japanese sell square watermelons? Hell yes, kind of. HDTV kicks ass, but only a few ass. What? Let me explain.

Buying an HDTV has been quite an education. Sites like AVSForum help, but frankly, it becomes clear early on that just about every HD product out there has its pros and cons, its strengths and weaknesses, its loyal supporters and merciless detractors. All that debate can be confusing, and I'm no dummy. Frankly, however, the tech side of the equation only takes you so far, content is the real issue.

You see, while luxuriating in the glow of an HD signal is a truly wonderful experience, the experience is seriously rationed these days. My mega super-duper, maxxed the F out cable package from Time Warner, it of the aforementioned obscene cost, includes a less than overwhelming 17 HD channels, many of which display HD programming only some of the time. Are you with me? PBS, Discovery, HBO, ESPN, are great, but where are the other major networks? In times like these I have no choice but to suspect a conspiracy. It feels like the networks and cable companies are intentionally dragging their feet, delaying HD roll out - and the attendant expense - as long as possible. It's a disgrace. I'm fortunate in that most of what I watch is sports and sports are well represented in HD but I can't help but feel cheated. I want to live in an HD world; right now I feel like a tourist who only visits the major attractions, they're cool and all, but there's so much more to be seen.

Until more content is rolled out I'll find a way to endure. At least a lot of the current programming is educational. Let me tell you, you haven't seen anything until you've seen a pack of hyenas ripping the viscera out of an oh so cute, but tragically unlucky lion cub. Talk about a wow factor. Hakuna Matada, Mutha F#ck#r!