Thread: Why is HD not Selling Like It Should?

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This is so true, and so many think that if its digital it is HD.

I think the economy does have something to do with it. How many of us in the past bought our HD TV's when our current TV's were working fine. I Will raise my hand!, I think many people are baseing purchases these days on want VS need. If the TV they have now can provide them with a picture they are not going to bother changing at this time as people are trying to save a dollars where they can.

Though I have had some family members with a HD TV, and not have the equipment to see HD?

I know a LOT of people with HDTV's and no HD service. You forget what sells HDTV's these days--flat panels, not PQ. A lot of people just like a sleek flat panel and don't care that they are watching standard def. This is another reason why Blu-Ray is going nowhere right now. The economy isn't the issue although the extra $10 that Dish, AT&T and DirectTV charge for HD service is something many tend to decline, simply because many people don't see value in it.

BluRay going nowhere? They are blowing through figures a a faster pace than DVD did at this time in its' own life cycle.

They'd probably do even better if they narrowed the premium vs. standard def DVDs

Same old story. Until the kids get ahold of the sets and rig them right, nothing will change.

And I know a couple of people that are waiting for prices to drop. They think they'll be seeing flat thin 50" HDTVs for less than $1,000 "any day now."

Scott, great article!!!

I can only think of my fiancee and her parents. Her parents are 60+ and on a recent visit, they saw high definition via my 622 and 51" Hitachi CRT; mind you not the best set, but still very decent. They were shocked at the clarity and colors.

The real questions is not how do we get the word out, how do we show people what it looks like? Maybe we run some commercials with HD verses SD, but then again, it depends on the set they are using seeing the commercial.

I am sure higher ups are scratching their heads . . .

First intelligent blog of yours I've ever seen, Scott. Bout time you stopped talking about your love/hate relationship with Dish Network. Amen fellow videophile!

I have to point out that you ARE starting to see 46-50-52 inch lcd/plasmas occasionally near or at $1000... (every TV considered should now do 1080p). I know I bought my 52" LCD for 1199 at the end of 2008 - and the ONLY drawback to it is that it's not 120hz - all the other features are top of the line.

It wouldn't surprise me to start seeing off-brand stuff at Big Lots or clearanced at Target/Walmart for good prices - I think there was an Olevia 120hz 52" set recently for 1099 at Target if you could find one. Normal sale price on a Samsung 52" 120hz is coming down to something like $1400-$1500 - I wouldn't be surprised if we saw it at $1199 also come Black Friday 2009.

Anyhow, all this is the leftover result of the flat-panel glut we saw in 2008ish - a lot of that supply has been sorted out, and after you get 120hz with enough inputs/outputs, it's difficult to say what the next "major hurdle" is for TV's other than 3D, which is still a few years off in mainstream. Of course, the glut was exacerbated by the timing of this economic doldrums, and many factories are now either not at max capacity anymore or sitting idle. We'll see what happens in the long run - those are expensive factories to scrap!