New on the tube

In previous years I've been doing how-to-buy guides for Christmas TV shoppers. But this year I'm letting others do the heavy squinting.

The first is my colleague David Hayes, who gives a nice rundown of the basics a flummoxed consumer needs to shop without flummox for a new set:

Link: Kansas City Star | 12/11/2005 | New TVs put consumer to test.

And the other is a terrific electronic book from the folks who put out the long-running tech letter, TidBITS.

It's called Take Control of Digital TV, and it's a remarkably thorough, well-organized and plain-English-as-can-be guide to acquiring that special 16:9 aspect ratio device for your home. The fact that I am listed in the back of the book as one of a handful of essential TV information sites on the Web is purely coincidental.

Take Control of Digital TV is 10 now just 5 bucks, with 72 power-packed pages, 23 of which you can view for free at the book's website.