TV entering new technological age.

Byline: Martha McKay

Mar. 5--It used to be a question of brand: Sony? Zenith? Panasonic?

And size: 20-inch? 27? And if you were really flush and wanted to impress your neighbors, a 32-inch color set.

But walk into any electronics store these days and prepare to be overwhelmed.

We're talking flat-screen, wide-screen, flat-panel, rear-projection, high-definition, micro-display, 40-inch LCD, 65-inch plasma and the list goes on.

The choices are dizzying and soon will become more so.

Earlier this year, Congress set a deadline of Feb. 17, 2009, for broadcasters to turn off over-the-air analog TV signals. Instead of the magnetic waves used for decades, TV stations will switch to an all-digital broadcast.

Most of us with cable or satellite subscriptions aren't likely to be affected by this change, but millions of Americans who get their TV signal over the air using an antenna with an older-model TV will need to buy an analog-to-digital converter box -- or buy a new digital TV -- in order to watch television.

Some details of the switchover have yet to be determined. Congress set aside a $1.5 billion subsidy to help people with older-model TVs purchase the converter boxes (two $40 vouchers will be …