(March 23, 2004 - Thomasville, Georgia) The plasma TV hanging on the wall at city hall offers an incredibly sharp picture. It won't come into complete focus for another few weeks, however.

The state-of-the-art machine at 111 Victoria Place will soon be hooked up to HDTV (high definition). HDTV is on track to become available to CNS Thomasville customers in May or June.

It's pretty cool, but it will be cooler when we get HDTV up," said Lynn Williams, marketing director at Thomasville Utilities. "That's when people need to come see it. The picture is absolutely incredible. The detail is so incredible you can count hairs on people's heads."

The impetus for HDTV came from wide-screen movies. Its greater field of view increases the sense of "being there."

"It's amazing," Williams said. "It'll make you want to go out and buy an HD set."

The FCC is requiring that all stations start broadcasting in HDTV by 2006. A few are already doing so.

"We're preparing for the future when all our channels go HD," Williams said. "Right now, Discovery and a lot of the premium channels offer HD, like HBO and Starz. Some of our local channels will be operating in HD soon."

HD will cost CNS customers more than regular cable, but it will offer more channels. The rates for it have not been determined.

For more information, call (229) 227-7001.