The future of flat screens in the home

The Boston Globe's Hiawatha Bray writes today about the next wave of flat screen TV technology - especially efforts to lower the price of plasma and LCD sets.

The phrase that caught my attention was "...consumers are going into hock for costly flat-panel TVs that are thin enough to hang on a wall and wide enough to simulate the look of a movie theater."

Once you've got your 60-inch high-definition plasma screen hanging in the living room, you want to go to the neighborhood multiplex why? Yes, teens will go because they enjoy navigating crowded parking lots in their new cars; they regard popcorn and nachos as haute cuisine; and they relish the social experience of going to the movies with friends or a date. But what about other people?

Hollywood's going to have to figure out the answer to that question, or figure out how to make more money delivering content to that 60-inch plasma screen.