ATLANTA — There's a real antique in our bedroom — other than me, I mean.
Like many of you, we replaced our main television with a big-screen HDTV long ago. But an old-fashioned analog television is perched atop a dresser in our bedroom. It's mainly used by my wife as a way to prevent me from sleeping or reading in bed at night.
The picture -- converted to analog by a cable box — isn't bad. But the set is heavy and boxy compared to a thin wide-screen HDTV. None of that was enough to put me in a shopping mode. The TV seemed adequate for my wife's late-night TV watching.
But with the advent of baseball season — it's the time of the year when a sensible man such as myself might watch TV in the bedroom — the old television's days are numbered.
Maybe something similar is going on at your house. If so, today's shopping tips for a second TV might come in handy. The rules change dramatically when it comes to selecting a smaller HDTV for a bedroom or a small den compared to buying a giant HDTV.
Your main television needs to be big enough for a crowd. But sets for the bedroom or a small den usually do just fine with a 32-inch or 34-inch screen. Not only will your screen size be smaller, the price tag also shrinks.
Unless you're a real videophile, you needn't be as picky about specifications when it comes to a smaller HDTV. Let's talk about resolution for instance. Resolution is an important yardstick that helps determine picture quality. You'll see sets advertised with either 720p resolution, or — moving up in quality — 1080i or 1080p.
When it comes to a set with a 50-inch screen, discriminating viewers will see a slight improvement when moving from 720p to 1080i or 1080p. But for a bedroom set? You'd need a magnifying glass to see any difference. However, many 32-inch sets are offered in 1080i at reasonable prices — so the whole notion of resolution probably won't be a pressing issue.
I'm guessing that those specifications are no longer mysteries to you. If you want to refresh your memory, this Web page will explain the science behind them: www.cnet.com/hdtv-resolution/.
Adding a sound system to your main big screen set makes a lot of sense. For a bedroom, the built-in speakers will usually be adequate.
Still, consider doing yourself and your spouse a big favor: Getting some wireless headphones. That way, your partner can sleep while you enjoy "CSI" reruns. Some are darn near expensive as that small television, but you can find adequate headphones for $50 or so.
An added benefit of headphones is sound quality, which will rival that of a $1,000 sound system with fancy speakers.
So now all that's left is the actual shopping.
Shopping around can really pay off. Many retailers use sets in this size range as loss leaders to draw shoppers. So frequently checking newspaper and online advertisements can really pay off. Plan to spend a month or so shopping and watching sale prices fluctuate to make sure you catch a genuine deal.
Also read about televisions at cnet.com. I've found that site to be among the most accurate and unbiased. And the reviews are usually written in a way that can easily be digested by techies and regular folks alike.
One last bit of advice. If your spouse gets overly excited when you tell her (or him) that you're replacing the antique in the bedroom, make sure she (or he) understands that you're talking about a television set.
Bill Husted writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: tecbud(at)bellsouth.net.