I finally pulled the trigger last weekend and grabbed a 32" Sony Bravio LCD TV at Walmart for $498 bucks.

I hit my first bit of frustration when I noticed that the coxial cable port on the tv for my cable line was in a vertical position so I had to bend the cable at a 90 degree angle to screw it in. I turned on the tv, and immediately it showed the channels. I was quite disappointed. The tv station looked very grainy, even fuzzy. Sometimes the image appeared sharp in the foreground, and crappy in the background.

I hooked up my dvd player, and was relieved when the picture was gorgeous and very sharp. I tried watching ABC News tonight which says they are in HD, and it still looked grainy.

Is there something I am missing? Do I have to go through a digital box to get a HD signal? Also, what is the HDMI for? Total noob here. Thanks guys.

By the sound if it, you only have analog cable. Which means it's only in standard definition. Even when something says its in HD, your cable is only delivering it to you in 480 -- and even then, it's going to be in variable quality.

Call your cable company. You need to get a HD box. I have Cablevision cable, and I just stopped by one of their service centers and picked one up. Order a hdmi cable from monoprice.com and run that cable from your cable box to an hdmi input on your tv. When you want to watch cable you sellect the hdmi input not the "tv" input (my wife ALWAYS screws this up). Enjoy!

Depending on your cable company you can still get unscrambled HD signals through your coaxial. I can get ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CW and some local stations in HD through cable without an HD box. You should do a scan. Most times the HD channel will be right next to it's SD equivalent.

BTW, did you calibrate your TV?

Yes.

A lot of people are realizing the benefits of HDTVs and buying them.

If your HDTV has a digital tuner built into it, you don't have to go through a cable or satellite company to get HD programming. If you hook up your new TV to rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, you will be able to receive HD programming from your local channels for free... assuming you live close enough to the transmitter. Of course, you'll get more channels in HD if you choose to go with cable or satellite.

But that's if you only want the 6 or so major networks in HD.

Um, I pretty much implied this when I said he'd be able to get his local channels for free with an antenna, and then I admitted he'd get more channels from cable or satellite.

Then there's the added fee for the HD programming tier of service from your cable company.