I received a flood of e-mail from readers after I wrote an opinion piece about the problems with my HDTV, which showed all the crime scene tapes and yellow cabs in New York in pink (see Jan. 1, page 4).

The responses were all very sympathetic. To my surprise, many readers offered similar anecdotes about lousy OOBEs (out-of-box experiences)--although the causes varied--when they first purchased their HDTVs. Others suspected that my HDTV problems were caused by my cable TV service. A number of people shared tips on which brand of flat-panel TV and which package of HDTV broadcast services I should have bought. Some sent step-by-step instructions on how to adjust the color on my set. But most of the writers simply said they were as mystified as I was and asked me to follow up, because the repairman had not shown up at my home by press time for the earlier piece.

I can now report that two e-mail correspondents correctly identified the problem with my HDTV without even looking at it. It turns out that one of the cables connecting the cable set-top and the HDTV was loose.

Checking the cable connection is such an elementary step that I'm almost embarrassed to admit I missed it. But there's a lesson here. When you buy an expensive piece of equipment (a 32-inch LCD TV is definitely a luxury item for me) and it doesn't work, your immediate reaction is panic: "God, I spent so much money for this thing, and I don't know how to fix it!"

The more complex and expensive consumer electronics systems become, the more insecure consumers get. Many of us are afraid to touch anything, for fear of making a problem worse and voiding the warranty.

According to a Reuters report last year, thesis research by Elke den Ouden, a PhD candidate at Technical University Eindhoven in the Netherlands, found that "half of all 'malfunctioning products' returned to stores by consumers are in full working order, but customers can't figure out how to operate the device."

No wonder Panasonic last year started a "concierge service" for its customers. It's not a run-of-the-mill, call-in tech support service; Panasonic claims that it goes out of its way to make several phone calls to customers, to make sure its stuff works right after someone buys it.

As long as devices show no signs of getting simpler, this sort of service seems appropriate. I wish Sharp had offered it!