Be alert, amigos. I’m spending this chilly Saturday afternoon watching my fair share of Fox Soccer Channel, and some company named Sylvania is advertising heavily. My concern is that someone, maybe someone you know, watching their commercials will be under the impression that an HDTV will improve their Fox Soccer Channel watching experience. I don’t see how, seeing as though the channel is only broadcast in standard definition. The commercial shows a TV with various match footage filling up the screen, as if it were broadcast in a 1.78:1 ratio; it’s not. All it is is a stretched image. You don’t want that.

The commercial also boasts that games will look great, awesome, etc. The obvious implication is that, with a Svlania HDTV, these standard-def broadcasts will look, you know, amazing. As if the TV will magically make an SD broadcast something more than what it is.

Basically, just be aware that advertising is a tricky business, one that’s not always as forthright as I’d like. With the holidays right around the corner, and things being what they are in the economy, I don’t want any of you unnecessarily spending money as a result of some silly ad.