This is a bad time to buy an HDTV. Prices are sure to drop. Besides, sets just now reaching the pipeline promise better pictures for not much more money. Wait for a while before buying.

This is a great time to buy an HDTV. Prices have already come down a lot. The picture is great right now. So why wait?

Does any of that sound familiar?

Substitute the words personal computer for HDTV and you'll see what I mean. Less expensive and better computers are always just around the corner. Meanwhile, the ones at the store are great and have already benefited from earlier price drops.

It is a constant of life in consumer electronics that prices drop and quality improves. Don't you wish you had the same problem with the other stuff you buy?

When it comes to buying a computer, I made my decision long ago. I buy a PC when I need one. So it made sense to follow that path with HDTV. I decided to enjoy the set now and then ignore ads showing less expensive sets with better features.

I can't tell you to wait, and I can't tell you to buy. What I can do is help provide information that will let you make your own decision.

Better pictures

Let's start by talking about new technology that will provide better HDTV pictures. It's already arrived in a few high-end --- that's tech talk for very expensive --- sets.

I'll have to get technical to explain why the technology makes for better pictures. Let's start with how the picture gets on your set in the first place.

The easiest way to think about any television picture --- HDTV or the one on your Aunt Sally's 23-inch console --- is to imagine a very artistic elf who paints the picture on the screen line by line. It happens in less than the blink of an eye. This elf has very fast hands. So, instead of seeing the lines appear one by one, you see the complete picture.

The more lines, the better the picture. The minimum requirement for an HDTV set is 720 lines. Many HDTV sets can show 1,080 lines.

The number of lines isn't the complete story, though. The way the lines are painted also makes a difference.

One painting technique is called interlaced. It's a little like cheating. When the elf paints a screen, he skips every other line. Then when it paints the screen the next time, he paints only the lines he skipped. So it takes two complete passes before each line has been painted.

This process of painting the screen takes just milliseconds, and your eye and brain fill in the missing lines. The picture suffers a bit, and it also adds a touch of flicker to the image. But it is still a wonderful HDTV picture.

Progressive method

The other method of painting a screen is called progressive scan. The difference is easy to explain. There's no skipping of lines. Every line is used each time the screen is painted.

When you see an HDTV set advertised that uses the interlaced technique --- that's most of them --- it might be touted as 1080i. That means the screen is painted with 1,080 lines, and the interlaced method is used.

By now you may have figured out that the new technology for HDTV --- the one that will offer better pictures --- is progressive scan. A set like that would be advertised as 1080p.

Here's the kicker: For now, there isn't a huge benefit in owning a 1080p set. Broadcasters, satellite companies and cable companies broadcast a picture that is interlaced. You won't see much difference in picture quality between a 1080i and a 1080p set right now.

But down the line, all those signals will come in as 1080p. And DVDs in HDTV format --- probably just a year down the road --- will use progressive scan. When that happens, 1080p will really shine.

This means two things. One is that the 1080i set you buy today will not be state-of-the-art anymore.

The other is that the new technology will accelerate a drop in prices for the 1080i sets, which will still be excellent choices for many of us with income impairment.

Besides, as the number of sets sold rises, economies of scale will bring down prices down for all sets. You're already seeing that happen. But we haven't reached the steep downhill slope yet.

The bottom line

Whew. I feel as if I've done a lot of explaining today. But it's the only way I could tell you why there are reasons to wait for an HDTV set.

The reason not to wait is easier to explain.

During the time you wait for the perfect HDTV deal, you're missing out on TV so crisp and clear it feels like you're looking out a window instead of at a screen.

I can't put a price tag on that. You'll have to decide what it's worth.

The prudent might want to spend money on luxuries such as bacon and eggs, sending the kids to college, or paying the mortgage on time.

So watch both your p's and q's, and the p's and i's. Then make your own decision. Meanwhile, I'm going to tune in the Braves tonight in high-definition.

tecbud@ajc.com