OK, confession time. I'm a guy who's dreamed for years about owning a big-screen TV. My wife thinks I'm crazy and questions why anyone would want to spend that kind of money on a television set. I, on the other hand, argue that we spend more hours watching TV, especially during the winter, than anything else, so why not invest in a good one?

As I say, this is a guy thing. Just prior to the Super Bowl, I'd worn down my spouse to the point where she shouted at me, "Alright! Alright! Do what you want, but stop bothering me!"

I took that as a yes -- not that I really need my wife's permission to make a big decision for our family (yeah, right!) -- and raced out with my teenage sons to scout for new big-screen TVs. It's always a bad sign when you show more enthusiasm about this type of purchase than teenage boys.

Anyway, what I discovered is that it's a lot more complicated buying a TV today than it was a decade ago when we purchased our last one. You just don't walk into the store, select the model, carry the box to the car, take it home, plug it in and settle back in your favorite easy chair.

I learned that, not only do you need a lot more money for the basic purchase, you'll also probably need a new stand (about $200), or special brackets, special cords, speakers, tuners, etc., etc. I was prepared to spend about $2,000, including tax, but learned that what I wanted would actually cost closer to $3,000.

Even I, the big-screen-loving spendthrift, couldn't justify that kind of investment. So, I decided to put my dream TV on hold for a while longer.

After reading a front-page story in today's Erie Times-News, man, am I glad I did. Tom Matta, a 53-year-old Summitt Township man, recently spent $3,200 for a Toshiba high-definition TV, and the results have been less than what he expected.

Matta, according to Jim Martin's story, didn't realize that only a handful of HD broadcasts are available to the vast majority of viewers who subscribe to conventional cable. "And he certainly didn't realize that most of what he watched wasn't available in high definition," Martin wrote.

Most people who walk into an appliance store don't realize that the gorgeous picture they're seeing is actually playing a recorded loop.

Martin's story said that any of the HD viewing in Erie is of channels provided by DirectTV, Dish (Network) or Time Warner Cable and does not include any of the programming from NBC, ABC, CBS or Fox.

In other words, I could lay out big bucks for a big-screen TV and still not get a decent picture.

Had that happened, somebody who's very close to me would have had the last laugh at home. And it wouldn't have been a happy day for me.

-- Kevin Cuneo

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