Taking the confusion out of HDTV

Sometimes an instruction manual doesn't cut it. At least, that's what high-definition television owners may be finding out.

Incorrect installation often leads buyers to return their new HDTV sets to the place where they bought them, thinking the sets are defective, said Jim Prescott, owner of Prescott's Electronics in Sterling.

"You don't just plug it in and get H.D.," he said. "People may save a little bit buying HD (T.V.s) on the Internet, but they should know ahead of time the little bit they save, we make up for in service."

With HDTV sales accounting for about one of every three new sets, or 11 million sets in 2006, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, the HDTV market is solid but not growing rapidly.