Hi Shelly! Yep, I hear you: all the numbers and abbreviations that TV manufacturers throw at you can be pretty confusing—not to mention all the features that you supposedly “must” have on your new HDTV.

Well, don’t worry; I can help clear up the whole “Hz” vs. “p” issue—and as you’ll soon see, you don’t need to pick one over the other.

What’s the story with “Hz”?

Let’s start with “Hz,” which refers to the “refresh” rate of your TV—that is, how many times per second it can refresh the image on the screen. Generally speaking, the faster your TV’s refresh rate, the smoother and less blurry the picture.

Back in the day, an HDTV with a refresh rate of 60Hz (or 60 refreshes a second) was considered pretty good. About five or six years ago, TV makers began crowing about the ultra-smooth picture of 120Hz sets; nowadays, refresh rates of 240Hz and up are all the rage.

But here’s the thing: An HDTV with a refresh rate of 240Hz doesn’t necessarily look twice as good as a set with a 120Hz refresh rate. Indeed, even the experts have a hard time telling the difference between a 240Hz HDTV and a 120Hz model—or even between a 120Hz set and one with just a 60Hz refresh rate. In other words, there’s a point of diminishing returns once you hit a refresh rate of about 60Hz or so.

You’ll also see HDTVs with cool-sounding features like “MotionFlow” (from Sony) and “Motion Plus” (on Samsung sets) that use their high refresh rates to artificially smooth the picture on your TV screen, resulting in images that glide across the screen with nary a judder.

Some viewers love the way movies and TV shows look with, say, Sony’s MotionFlow feature turned on. Personally, I find it unnatural and somewhat unnerving, particularly when it comes to movies (which are typically still shot and displayed at just 24 frames per second). Home video experts call the too-smooth picture generated by features like MotionFlow and Motion Plus the “soap opera” effect, with good reason.

Bottom line? An HDTV with a refresh rate of 60Hz or 120Hz will probably look perfectly fine to your eyes. If a blue-shirted sales clerk tries to upsell you to 240Hz, don’t take the bait.

…and what’s the story with 1080p?

OK, so what’s the difference between Hz (as in 120Hz) and “p” (as in 1080p)?

While Hz refers to the refresh rate of your HDTV’s screen, the “p” number tells you the actual resolution of your TV’s display—in other words, how many rows of “pixels” are packed into your HDTV’s display panel. (Incidentally, the “p” in “1080p” stands for “progressive,” not “pixels.” Check out the Bonus Tip below for more details.)

A 1080p HDTV, for example, has 1,080 horizontal lines of resolution, with each line containing 1,920 pixels from one end to the other, for a grand total of more than 2 million pixels.

Meanwhile, a 720p display boasts 1,280 by 720 pixels, for a total of about 920,000 pixels—about half as many as on a 1080p display.

So, does that mean a 1080p HDTV will look twice as sharp as a 720p HD set? Not necessarily.

As with the whole Hz issue, there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution—and as I’ve written in an earlier post, many TV experts agree that on a 40-inch or smaller HDTV, the human eye can’t tell the difference between 1080p and 720p.

My recommendation: If you’re shopping for an HDTV set with a screen that’s 40 inches or smaller, 720p should do the trick. Want a screen that’s 42 inches or bigger? Go ahead and spring for 1080p.

Bonus tip

As I mentioned above, the “p” in “1080p” stands for “progressive”—meaning a TV screen that’s capable of drawing a complete frame in a single pass, resulting in a smooth, solid image.

Most older “tube” TV sets, on the other hand,  only support “interlaced” display technology—that is, a display that draws just the even lines of a frame in one pass, and then the odd lines in a second pass.

Confused? Don’t worry. All modern HDTV models boast a progressive-scan display, so there’s really no need to stress over the difference between “progressive” and “interlaced” when shopping for a new big-screen set.

Have more HDTV questions? Let me know in the comments below, or send me an email.

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But after a recent (and quasi-accidental) Passbook-assisted trip to the movies, my interest is suddenly piqued.

Passbook, as you may recall, is basically a digital wallet that lets you store concert tickets, coupons, loyalty cards, boarding passes, and more, all in a single iPhone app.

The list of Passbook-friendly apps is limited, but (slowly) growing.

Well, not all your tickets and coupons, unfortunately. One of the biggest limitations of Passbook is that it only works with Passbook-supported iPhone apps, of which there were only 10 or so when Passbook launched last fall.

The Passbook app situation has improved somewhat in the past several months; there are now more than 30 Passbook-friendly apps, ranging from American Airlines and United to Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks.

Still, I hadn’t bothered to fiddle with Passbook again until just a few days ago, as my wife and I were heading to the movies.

We’d decided to stop for coffee and I figured I’d go ahead and buy the tickets (for “Before Midnight”—loved it, but whoa) while we were sitting at the counter.

Have a movie ticket stored in Passbook? When you approach the theater, a banner will appear on your iPhone’s screen; just swipe it to access your tickets.

I opened the Fandango movie app, bought our tickets, and was about to slip my iPhone back in my pocket when I noticed an “Add this ticket to Passbook” button. What the heck, I figured.

I tapped the button, opened Passbook (you’ll find the Passbook app on one of your iPhone home screens, provided you’ve updated your handset to the latest iOS 6 software), and a digital ticket for our movie slid into view, complete with theater details and a QR code.

So far, so good—but I was even more impressed when a banner that read “Fandango: Nearby” flashed on my iPhone’s lock screen as we arrived at the theater.

Tap the little “i” in the bottom corner of a Passbook card to see details and notification settings for your ticket or coupon.

Approaching the box office, I swiped the Fandango banner on my iPhone, and our tickets appeared on the screen.

The usher pulled out a handheld scanner, “dinged” the QR code on my iPhone’s display, and that was that. Easy.

Now, just to be clear, you can’t buy tickets at every movie theater with Fandango—and for that matter, Passbook won’t do you much good if you’re shopping at Walmart (although Target has a Passbook-ready app), nor will it help with daily deals at Rite Aid (but Walgreens is a go).

That said, I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly and efficiently Passbook works when it’s in its element—and indeed, I used Passbook again a couple of days later for another movie night (“Star Trek Into Darkness”—loud, lots of punching).

So, got questions about Passbook, or a Passbook story you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Bonus tips

• You can change the notification settings for your individual Passbook items by tapping the little “i” icon in the bottom corner of the digital card.
• The settings screen also displays the venue’s location, as well as instructions on how to redeem your ticket or coupon.
• Also: Want to see the current list of Passbook-compatible apps? Just open Passbook, then tap the “Apps for Passbook” button on the Welcome card.

Looking for more iPhone tips? Click here!

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A new update to Pinterest’s iPhone app finally adds its own web browser complete with a “Pin It” button, perfect for pinning the latest fashions, books, tasty delights, or any other goodies you discover online.

(In case you’re wondering, the iPad version of the Pinterest app already has its own web browser, while Pinterest for Android adds a handy “Create pin” sharing option to your phone’s native Android browser.)

The updated Pinterest app makes it much easier to pin items on the web from an iPhone.

Granted, the new browser in Pinterest’s iPhone app isn’t perfect—you won’t find any bookmarks, for example, nor is there any tabbed browsing.

That said, pinning from the app’s “Pin It”-ready browser is better than nothing—and indeed, it’s probably better than trying to install a Pin It button in Safari on the iPhone’s tiny screen.

So, ready to pin? Let’s get started…

• First, make sure you’ve updated the Pinterest iPhone app to the latest version (2.4, to be exact). Tap App Store, Updates, and tap the Update button next to the Pinterest entry.
• Go ahead and launch Pinterest—and when you do, you’ll notice the old camera button at the bottom of the screen has been replaced by a new “+” button.
• Tap the button, and you’ll get a couple choices for pinning: either by snapping a photo with your iPhone’s camera (which used to be the only way of pinning something from the Pinterest iPhone app), or by browsing a website. Tap the Website button.
• Now, the new Pinterest web browser will slide into view. You can enter a web address into the form at the top, or (probably easier) just type in a word or phrase—like, say, “Amazon” or “Penguin shirts”—and tap “Go” for Google search results.
• Found something to pin? Tap the red “Pin It” button at the bottom of the screen, then pick an image, edit your pin, select a board (or not), then tap the final “Pin It” button in the top-right corner. All done!

Looking for more Pinterest tips? Click here!

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Hey Celia! So, in the market for a used MacBook? You can certainly save cash by going with a used Mac, but remember: you get what you pay for.

You’ll probably find the biggest savings by scouring the listings at eBay or Craigslist, but think twice before snapping up a “pre-owned” Mac (or any used PC, for that matter) from a private party—and if you ask me, you should never buy a second-hand laptop or desktop sight unseen, even if it’s dirt cheap.

After all, what good is a $100 MacBook if it up and dies in a week, taking your data along with it?

 
If you do decide to buy an older Mac from someone on eBay or Craigslist, take a test drive before plunking down your cash (tricky, if the seller isn’t in the same town as you are), and keep in mind that you likely won’t have the protection of a warranty.

Want more assurance that you won’t get stuck with a lemon? If so, consider a refurbished laptop, which will typically have a fresh battery, new components, and perhaps even a new shell.

Yes, a refurbished system will probably be pricier than a plain-old used one, but there will be fewer question marks in terms of reliability—and you may get some type of money-back guarantee or even a (brief) warranty in the bargain.

Apple sells refurbished iMacs and MacBooks for as cheap as $750 or so, and you can find refurbished MacBooks for even cheaper at Amazon (I found an older, white 13-inch MacBook for less than $400). You’ll probably find more refurbished Macs on sale at big-name electronics retailers if you look. Just make sure to check the seller’s warranty and return policy before you buy.

As far as specifications go, I’d suggest getting a Mac that’s capable of running Mountain Lion—the latest version of the Mac operating system.

 
Anything older, and you may end up with a system that’s so sluggish, it’s barely usable.

Most iMacs made since 2007 and the majority of MacBooks manufactured after late 2008 should support Mountain Lion, although the requirements vary depending on the specific system. (Click here for more.)

At the very least, I’d recommend getting a Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor; an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 chip is even better. Avoid older PowerPC processors altogether.

Also, shoot for a minimum of 2 GB of RAM—the internal memory your system uses for running programs and “core” computing chores. The more RAM your system has, the more digital duties it can handle at once, and the less often you’ll see that aggravating spinning beach ball.

Note: Is the used Mac you’re eyeing have less than 2GB of RAM? If so, keep in mind you can often add more RAM for a reasonable amount of cash. For example, you can double the memory of an old white MacBook from 1GB of RAM to 2GB for less than $40 (more if you want an expert to handle the installation).

Hope that helps, Celia, and best of luck!

Have more questions about what to look for in a used Mac or PC? Post ’em in the comments below.

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But what if you’re not so keen on sharing your latest online finds? It is, after all, the holiday shopping season (what, you haven’t started shopping yet?), and maybe you want to keep your best gift ideas secret.

Meet Pinterest’s latest feature: “secret” boards, which let you hide any “pinned” items on your holiday shopping list from the world, or share them with just a few selected Pinterest friends.

Just flick the “Secret” switch to “On” to keep a Pinterest board private.

Here’s how to do it:

• Log into your Pinterest account, hover your mouse over your account name in the upper-right corner of the browser window, then select “Boards” from the pull-down menu.
• On the next page, you’ll see all your existing boards displayed in a grid—and at the bottom of the page, you should see a new, grayed-out section labeled “Secret Boards,” complete with three empty boards. Go ahead and click one of the outlines.
• Next, the standard “Create a Board” pop-up window will appear—except in the middle, where you’ll see a switch marked “Secret.” The switch should already be set to “On.” Type in a name (like, say, “Holiday shopping list 2012”), pick a category, invite anyone else you’d like peek at your picks, then click the big “Create Board” button.
• Go ahead and start pinning—and when you do, make sure to select your “secret” board (it’s marked with a padlock icon) before you click the “Pin it” button.

Now, there is a key limitation to Pinterest’s secret boards: you can only have three of them at a time.

If you already have three secret board and you want to create another one, you’ll have to expose one of your existing secret boards. Just click a secret board to edit it, then switch the “Secret” setting to “Off.”

Before revealing a secret board to the world, though, make sure to let any other members of your board know that their pins are about to go public.

Looking for more Pinterest tips? Click here!

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