'Round these parts, we expect most everywhere to own, or at least be familiar with, an HDTV. Still, there's a first time for everyone, and for folks just now looking to hop on in and see what this whole "high-definition" thing is all about, ExtremeTech's Joel Durham Jr. has a quick 'n dirty guide of things to do before tossing a set in your vehicle. Granted, a few of the tips seem glaringly obvious, but really, buying a new (or first, in particular) HDTV isn't always a simple process. What's your size requirement? What's your budget? What technology do you prefer? Do you have the wiring scheme all planned out? Can you afford to pull another all-nighter? If you've been wondering where to start when thinking of bringing a new set into your crib, you should definitely give the read link a look -- at worse, you can say you're a seasoned veteran for already knowing the dos and don'ts.

[Image courtesy of Radioru, thanks Jeremy]

We sincerely hope that this tale is more the exception than the rule, but poor LeendaDLL managed to burn through three solid hours when firing up a new LCD TV. Granted, we understand that tweaking the picture, running wires and tweaking further takes a good chunk of time, but it just shouldn't take the average joe / jane this long to get a new TV up and running. After reading this horrific story, we began to wonder if this experience is, well, experienced by more people than we might have assumed. Heck, we already found that millions of individuals didn't fully understand how to acquire HD signals on their HDTV after snapping one up last Christmas, and we've even seen companies dedicate help lines just to ease the confusion surrounding HDTV. So, dear readers, how many of you have been called in to set up a new TV after hours upon hours of failed attempts by its new owner?

[Image courtesy of APS]