HDTV - 25 years ago

I'm comfortably settled in front of my LG flat screen in the living room, and about two hours from being comfortably settled in bed, in front of my LG flat screen in the bedroom. Whether I'm watching a cool episode of "Life After People" on the History Channel or the latest installment of "Lost," the quality of the picture is absolutely stunning - especially when you compare it to, say, 25 years ago and the old, curved, not-quite-rectangular, heavy, static-y, vertical-hold-challenged TVs we all had to put up with then.

Except...the gorgeous picture we all take for granted today actually existed in 1983. I know because I saw it then.

Back a little more than 25 years ago, I was a post-college kid struggling to make KQMA work. This was the radio station I founded in my hometown. In between dealing with the sorta-evil competition (the local AM radio station) and the definitely evil stepbrothers with whom I depended on partnership funding, I had a chance to go to a National Broadcasters Association convention in Las Vegas.

I stayed at the Riveria, which back then was a classy hotel near to the convention site. I was overwhelmed by all the technology of that year - and in one special corner, JVC was showing off "high definition" television with an unbelievable 1,080 lines of resolution.

About all they could show were live pictures being taken on-site using models and props. And yet, we conventioneers were blown away by the quality of the broadcasts. "When will we see this in our living rooms?" I asked. The answer would make a salesman of any generation proud: "This will be in homes in two or three years."

Ten times that prediction had to pass before we actually got it. And, if you do actually look at your HDTV picture, no doubt you'll be reminded of what it used to be like: Constantly fiddling with the tint controls, adjusting antennas or turning the "rotor" control, and of course, when in doubt, banging on the side of the set encased in its real wood cabinet.

When it comes to watching sitcoms, we really have come a looooooong way.