DENVER -- There is good news if you're going to be watching the Super Bowl on Denver's 7 Sunday. The game will be broadcast in high definition on Channel 17 and on Comcast digital cable.

But some people with high-definition television sets are not getting what they paid for.

"I'm not a guy. I'm not going to spend all day playing with the remote," said a woman named Joanne.

She is one of the many consumers buying a high-definition set just before Super Bowl weekend. When her TV was delivered she received a 10-minute lesson in how to make her new TV set look and sound its best.

The first task was adjusting the picture.

"The pre-sets from the factory aren't going to be exactly what you're looking for. But they're going to be close," said Chris Laxson, with Ultimate Electronics.

The techs show Joanne how to adjust for something that looks best to her eyes. But Laxson said just having a high-def set doesn't make your picture truly high definition.

"Anybody can plug in a high-definition set and get a picture. Will it be a true high-definition signal or will they experience everything they paid for? Probably not," Laxson said.

Laxson advises that you start with the cables. Use something better than the cheapies that came with the set, something to carry the enormous amount of information that goes into a high-def picture, he said.

"If you're using the wrong kind of cables, you may think you're getting a high-definition picture when in fact you're not. You're getting a compromised version of it," he said.

The best high-def video comes from something called the HDMI connection.

"It's just a small plug. It looks like a USB port on your computer," said Laxson.

And remember, just buying a high-def television set doesn't mean your new picture is going to be high definition.

The high-def broadcast of Sunday's Super bowl is on Channel 17 if you're using an antenna and it's on Comcast digital channel 652.

More Information:

There are five kinds of inputs that can bring a television signal into the set. But only three of them can handle the HDTV signal.

Laxson of Ultimate Electronics pointed out that two of the three (component and DVI) work with a compressed signal and there's a loss in video quality. What makes the HDMI so superior is that it works with an uncompressed signal.

Now for the tricky part: adjusting the picture.

Roy Furchgott of the New York Times said the simplest way, the least expensive way as well, to calibrate the picture is with any DVD that had the label "THX certified."

THX is a set of standards used on both home video and motion picture presentations. DVDs with the THX label have instructions on how to set color, tint, contrast and sharpness with on-screen tests. For more information, go to THX.com.

Another good option is the Sound and Vision Magazine Home Theater Tune Up. This is a DVD that contains step-by-step instructions, tips and test patterns for adjusting the picture. It's $21.95 at SoundAndVisionMag.

Monster Cable also has a DVD set-up program for just under $30 and it uses video clips instead of test patterns to help you squeeze the last final bit of excellence out of the new screen.

If you're a technophile, you may know that television screens vary in both color quality and ability to produce the finest of details.

Sometimes it requires a certified technician to coax the best possible picture out of your set because some of the controls are beyond your reach, either physically or mentally.

If you've done everything you can to get a picture that shows true colors and are unsuccessful, you may need to contact a certified tech. To find out how to contact one, check the Web site for the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF). These people will show up at your front door with electronic color analyzers and enough know-how to do the job.

Ultimate Electronics has probably the largest team of ISF-certified technicians, but there are others listed as well.

In any case, be patient. Sometimes the best picture comes from reconnecting the cables back behind the set and that means trial and error on your part.

But when all is said and done, you'll get the picture (and sound) for which you are paying.