I was listening to a call in radio show on WNYC last week. The segment of the show was called Please Explain and featured anchor Leonard Lopate interviewing Jim Barrie, CES' Answer Man, and Phillip Swan (aka Swannee), author of "TV dot COM: The Future of Interactive Television" and creator of TV predictions.

It was evident that both of the guests were knowledgeable about high definition TV, flat panels, cable subscriptions, and more, but there were two problems with the show (and the state of digital television). First: There wasn't one simple easy, yes or no answer! Second: Experts give more information than they have to (I am just as guilty).

Listening to the show left me wondering how anyone would ever have the courage to make the leap to digital television. As a matter of fact, even the experts agreed that this new world is pretty confusing. I jotted down some of the caller questions and I'm hoping that some of them are questions you've had about digital television.

Is a digital TV the same as an HDTV?

A digital TV (DTV) receives its programming in digital form rather than the older analog form. HDTV stands for high definition television. It represents the highest quality image of DTV available today. All HDTVs are digital TVs, but the reverse is not true.

Do I need to subscribe to a service for HDTV?

All of the networks broadcast a signal over the air. Some of these are in DTV and some in HD. You can get an over the air signal without subscribing to any service, but you may need to buy special antennae. If you live in crowded urban areas, there may be too much interference for over the air signals to be very good. To see what's available without a subscription, you can check out AntennaWeb. It lists stations available based on your address, though I found the list to be a bit optimistic based on what I can really get with an antenna.

Most people will want a digital TV subscription, available from cable (Time Warner, Comcast, etc.) and satellite vendors (Dish Networks). They have many stations available, some still in analog, some in DTV, and some in HD. To find out more about the cable and satellite offerings in your area, use HDTV Pub.

Do I need a special tuner with my TV?

What you need all depends on whether you decide to buy an all-in-one solution or the individual pieces. New digital televisions have built in tuners that receive over-the-air TV signals. To add cable or satellite HDTV, you need to call your local provider and get the set top box they require to receive and unscramble television programs. Some TVs use "cards" that you get from the cable or satellite provider instead of tuner boxes. For more on over-the-air HD here's a good read.

How can I tell if I'm really watching an HD program?

Tough question and good luck. Last year, a much talked about survey was released that said that millions of people who think they are watching high definition television, aren't. They're watching some digital variant.

You need to become "digital TV conscious" and start looking at the picture in a different way. Once you've seen a HD signal on your HDTV, you should usually be able to just 'see' the difference. But sometimes, it's hard to tell. On some sets, SD (standard definition) pictures are stretched to fit. If the bottom or top is cut off, or if the TV characters look distorted (too heavy and short), then you're probably watching SDTV stretched to fit. Is there a black border surrounding all or two sides of your picture? Then what you're watching is SDTV plunked down in the middle of your HDTV set. These are some of the telltale signs that you've got your TV set to receive a high definition signal, but you are watching something else. Most providers have specific instructions for troubleshooting their own services, so check with yours on how to optimize the picture. Popular Mechanics has some good troubleshooting tips for when your picture looks bad. Unfortunately, most of them involve calling your service provider.

Can I just hang on to my old TV?

You should be so lucky. It's going to be tough. At the moment, the TV networks all use two channels to transmit their programs—one for their analog and one for their digital programming. That's why you may be watching CBS on Channel 2, but the HD version of CBS is way up on the channel guide—somewhere in the 700s.

The FCC has required that all TVs sold should be digital (not HD) by 2007. That's coming right up. By February 2009, the analog broadcasts will stop and stations have to give back their channels. The word is that channels will be auctioned off or made free to use for things like homeland security.

So complicated or not, it's time to jump in the water. The water's not fine, but it's swim or sink.