The players won't quite come out of the screen but it will look that way.

TV innovations for $500

This new technology combines high-resolution digital television (DTV) with Dolby Digital surround. It offers sports fans an incredibly detailed picture and a wide screen panoramic view reminiscent of a movie theater.

Answer: HDTV of course.

Does anyone else have a problem viewing Jeopardy seriously after all the SNL skits of Wil Ferrell as Alex Trebeck and his constant bickering with Sean Connery and Burt Reynolds? "You'll rule the day Trebeck."

	The 16:9 ratio allows you to see more of the field of play.

HDTV programming benefits from a widescreen projection ratio of 16:9 compared to the traditional "square" projection ratio of 4:3 offered by most traditional sets. This panoramic view allows you to see more of the field, ice surface or court. So now you will be able to see and read plays like the Bucs secondary. You'll spot those Gannon lame ducks a mile away. Or you'll be able to watch how far out of position Ilya Kovalchuk is on his back checking assignment. A study was done by Martin Hecht, a psychology professor at the Louisiana College to determine which programs were best suited for the HDTV format and sports programs ranked atop the list and received rave reviews. Hecht, who is also an expert in human emotion research, said, "When you view sports such as football and you can see the emotion on the faces of the players and individual audience members, it creates a heightened sense of reality and involvement with the game, compared to regular television."

Before you get too excited about HDTV in an R. Kelly walking by a high school type way there's more you need to know. First you need to buy an HDTV set which range in monitor size from 30 to 64 inches along with an antenna receptor which can run you a total anywhere between $1,500 and $10,000. Not only that, but in order to enjoy the benefits of HDTV you need to know which programs you plan on watching are being broadcast in the HDTV format. At the current time only a few select programs are being broadcast in HDTV format by sports networks such as the major championships of the four major sports as well as some regular season games. Right now an HDTV set is like Barry Zito in that they're both much more useful with the proper support, or in Barry's case run support.

At the recent Canadian Sports Forum held in Gatineau the topic of discussion touched on the advent of HDTV and the impact it would have on sports. Many Canadian NHL teams and sports networks spoke on the topic and the impact they felt HDTV would have on fans. Of course with any new technology people get carried away and this topic was no exception. Allan Watt, the Edmonton Oilers' vice-president of marketing and communications provided a gem of a quote when he said "the advent of high definition TV should help broaden support for hockey within the U.S. because it'll make the game more comprehensible to the average American. With a clear, crisper image on a large screen, the people will get it."

I'm sorry but that quote has to be the biggest overstatement since Alexandre Daigle and Eric Lindros drew Mario Lemieux comparison's when they entered the league. Speaking of Lindros and Daigle have there ever been two guys whose stock fell quicker in a shorter period of time? I mean if these guys were stocks on the NYSE they would have been profiled heavily on MSNBC for their disappointment and heavy downturn in the market.

	Is this Canadian flavoured?

Making a statement about hockey popularity in the US being directly attributed to poor quality of television broadcast is absurd. "With a clear, crisper image on a large screen, the people will get it". Are you kidding me? Do you really expect Americans to tune into ESPN's HD broadcast and say "I don't understand icing, offsides or any of the strategies in hockey but with this new HDTV broadcast I understand everything. I feel like a Canadian in my ability to properly interpret a game." The US's aversion to hockey comes from an assortment of variables which I covered in a previous commentary, the least of which is desire for improved broadcast of games. As promising as HDTV is it will not reverse this trend. Believing in Mr.Watt's viewpoint would be the equivalent of understanding why it is that food makers always stereotype flavours of foods on country of origin. I'm sure you've all seen this in a grocery store. Instead of calling a snack pizza flavoured they'll call it Italian. Or if something is flavoured like salsa they'll call it Mexican. I mean, following this rationale I guess if something were flavoured like hamburger's it would be called American or poutine flavoured would be Canadian. Am I right on this?

HDTV seems like a worthwhile venture but until networks fully commit to broadcasting the majority of programs in this format and the price of these sets comes down I'm going to treat my decision to invest in one these sets like the Miami Dolphins treat their annual race for the Playoffs in December; I'll wait till next year to think about it seriously.