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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Suzanne Kantra
Aired July 06, 2003 - 09:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're glad you're watching CNN. How's the picture on your TV set? Maybe it's time to buy a new one, but you should go for a wide screen or a flat screen, plasma, LCD, HDTV, which one? All that lingo can be confusing, and yes, overwhelming as well. But before you hit the stores, we're in luck because Suzanne Kantra of "Popular Science" magazine joins us from New York with some TV buying tips.
Hello and welcome to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE KANTRA, POPULAR SCIENCE MAGAZINE: Thank you.
OSBORN: Well, let's start with HD, high definition television, in effect, brings the movies into your home. Describe the allure and the difference.
KANTRA: Well, high definition television, what it does is, let's say you're watching a sporting event. You can actually see the individual blades of grass. You can see the pinholes in the jersey. So it gives you a level of realism that you just can't get with regular television.
OSBORN: Well, and about that, there's a sealed light engine which prevents dust from getting in? That's part of the technology that makes the picture so crystal clear?
KANTRA: Well, that's one of the various different types of technologies. So when you're looking for a high definition television, you can either go for one of the hang on the wall sets, and that includes an LCD TV or a plasma TV.
You can do projectors, which is what you're talking about. Having the engine protected so it doesn't get the dust in. You can get up to 300 inches projected onto any flat surface.
And then, of course, there are the traditional types of technologies, the direct view sets and the rear projection sets. And so one of the things that you need to look at when you're considering buying a television is how are you going to be watching it? Are you going to be walking around, playing with the kids, maybe cooking in the kitchen and you know, viewing it from across the room? If that's going to be the case, you're going to want to look at something that has a really wide viewing angle.
So you're looking at one of the hang on the wall technologies, the plasma and LCD TV, or one of the direct view sets, which is a traditional technology. But you can potentially get a good buy on a very large screen TV if you're just going to be watching it while you're sitting down. Those are rear projection TVs. And there's a bunch of different flavors out there right now. There's a regular tube TVs, which you can get at a very good price, under $2,000. And then there are the more, you know, exotic rear projection TVs, which include DLP, LCD and liquid crystal and silicon. That probably doesn't mean too much for you, but when you go into the showroom, when you get one of those more esoteric TVs, they're a lot lighter and a lot thinner than the regular type. So you can fit these more easily into your living room.
OSBORN: Now what about the digit optic image processor, uses fiber optic cables so that people who have different components, they're connected to one another? Because you were talking about what kind of viewing experience people might want.
KANTRA: Exactly. And we're talking about the sim 2 rear projection TV. That is one of those sort of more esoteric TVs that uses a DLP engine. And what they do is to be able to remove the TV from all the components, your DVD player, maybe you have a satellite receiver, any other kinds of components. It has what they're calling the digi optic processor. And that can be up to 1600 feet away from the TV.
So you can just stash all equipment into a closet so you don't even have to look at it and have the TV out some place. It's a beautiful looking set. So that gives you a lot of options in terms of setting up your living room.
OSBORN: Interesting. All of that equipment, not in sight. I wanted to ask you about PVRS, personal video recorders. But first, let's talk about price. Because I mean, what kind of money do you have to have if you're really looking for that kind of viewing experience? Some of this stuff is not cheap.
KANTRA: It's not. And you can, you know, spend upwards of $40,000 to get, you know, a beautiful, you know, latest generation, huge 60-inch plasma TV. But you can also get a small LCD TV or Direct View TV for under $700. So you don't have to spend quite as much as you might think.
OSBORN: Suzanne Kantra from "Popular Science" magazine. Thank you so much for your expertise and helping those consumers navigate the turbulent waters of trying to figure out sometimes which TV to buy.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 6, 2003 - 09:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're glad you're watching CNN. How's the picture on your TV set? Maybe it's time to buy a new one, but you should go for a wide screen or a flat screen, plasma, LCD, HDTV, which one? All that lingo can be confusing, and yes, overwhelming as well. But before you hit the stores, we're in luck because Suzanne Kantra of "Popular Science" magazine joins us from New York with some TV buying tips.
Hello and welcome to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE KANTRA, POPULAR SCIENCE MAGAZINE: Thank you.
OSBORN: Well, let's start with HD, high definition television, in effect, brings the movies into your home. Describe the allure and the difference.
KANTRA: Well, high definition television, what it does is, let's say you're watching a sporting event. You can actually see the individual blades of grass. You can see the pinholes in the jersey. So it gives you a level of realism that you just can't get with regular television.
OSBORN: Well, and about that, there's a sealed light engine which prevents dust from getting in? That's part of the technology that makes the picture so crystal clear?
KANTRA: Well, that's one of the various different types of technologies. So when you're looking for a high definition television, you can either go for one of the hang on the wall sets, and that includes an LCD TV or a plasma TV.
You can do projectors, which is what you're talking about. Having the engine protected so it doesn't get the dust in. You can get up to 300 inches projected onto any flat surface.
And then, of course, there are the traditional types of technologies, the direct view sets and the rear projection sets. And so one of the things that you need to look at when you're considering buying a television is how are you going to be watching it? Are you going to be walking around, playing with the kids, maybe cooking in the kitchen and you know, viewing it from across the room? If that's going to be the case, you're going to want to look at something that has a really wide viewing angle.
So you're looking at one of the hang on the wall technologies, the plasma and LCD TV, or one of the direct view sets, which is a traditional technology. But you can potentially get a good buy on a very large screen TV if you're just going to be watching it while you're sitting down. Those are rear projection TVs. And there's a bunch of different flavors out there right now. There's a regular tube TVs, which you can get at a very good price, under $2,000. And then there are the more, you know, exotic rear projection TVs, which include DLP, LCD and liquid crystal and silicon. That probably doesn't mean too much for you, but when you go into the showroom, when you get one of those more esoteric TVs, they're a lot lighter and a lot thinner than the regular type. So you can fit these more easily into your living room.
OSBORN: Now what about the digit optic image processor, uses fiber optic cables so that people who have different components, they're connected to one another? Because you were talking about what kind of viewing experience people might want.
KANTRA: Exactly. And we're talking about the sim 2 rear projection TV. That is one of those sort of more esoteric TVs that uses a DLP engine. And what they do is to be able to remove the TV from all the components, your DVD player, maybe you have a satellite receiver, any other kinds of components. It has what they're calling the digi optic processor. And that can be up to 1600 feet away from the TV.
So you can just stash all equipment into a closet so you don't even have to look at it and have the TV out some place. It's a beautiful looking set. So that gives you a lot of options in terms of setting up your living room.
OSBORN: Interesting. All of that equipment, not in sight. I wanted to ask you about PVRS, personal video recorders. But first, let's talk about price. Because I mean, what kind of money do you have to have if you're really looking for that kind of viewing experience? Some of this stuff is not cheap.
KANTRA: It's not. And you can, you know, spend upwards of $40,000 to get, you know, a beautiful, you know, latest generation, huge 60-inch plasma TV. But you can also get a small LCD TV or Direct View TV for under $700. So you don't have to spend quite as much as you might think.
OSBORN: Suzanne Kantra from "Popular Science" magazine. Thank you so much for your expertise and helping those consumers navigate the turbulent waters of trying to figure out sometimes which TV to buy.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
