HDTV

Now let's do some geometry (or just trust me with the math). A standard 50-inch diagonal TV screen is 40 inches wide and 30 inches high. That provides a viewing area of 1,200 square inches. But a 50-inch diagonal HD screen with today's wider aspect ratio provides a mere 1,063 square inches of display area.

So HD manufacturers give you 11 percent less TV than you got for the same diagonal measurement in the old days. And they're charging considerably more. This makes TV the only household technology that's becoming more expensive.

This is very interesting. I didn't know the actual screen size was reduced.