Why is HD not Selling Like It Should?

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!
 
no one buys HDTV's any more because

1 the bad economy

2 they know no matter what service they get they won't get absolutely every available channel in HD. Some specialize in sports (DirecTV), some in movies (FiOs), some in "basic cable channels" (Dish Network). None of them can make everyone happy at the same time
 
no one buys HDTV's any more because

1 the bad economy

2 they know no matter what service they get they won't get absolutely every available channel in HD. Some specialize in sports (DirecTV), some in movies (FiOs), some in "basic cable channels" (Dish Network). None of them can make everyone happy at the same time

Wrong, Skippy!
 
Sit outside any electronics store for an hour or two.
 
Well I don't have the exact figures but I'm guessing somewhere between 60-75% of the population only has SDTV's. I have like 60 relatives (a very small sample of the population yes, but a good representative sample since theres dozens of different income levels and types of jobs, family situations and lifestyles) but only me and 2 of my brothers have HDTV's. According to my calculations that's 5%! How's that for a statistic?

Sitting outside an electronics store is a poor way to do research, its not a true representation of the total population. That's like trying to do a survery of how much of the population likes jazz music, but only doing it at a jazz club.

To get a good representative sample you'd have to go to alot of stores on top of Best Buy: grocery stores, department stores, clothing stores, video stores, video game stores, computer stores, music stores, furniture stores, office supply stores, etc.
 
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Okay first, even in this economy most people plan to buy an HDTV.

Second, I think it's just stupidity. How the hell can you say an HDTV on a flat screen SHOWING SD looks better then a tub tv SHOWING SD?

The tube tv looked far better! Far better coloring, etc!

I personally think it's just idiots, the kind who need their hand held to do anything. They think if it says it's HD, as in HDTV, it is currently sending an HD signal.
 
We should leave it to the Government to educate people on HDTV. Just look at the great job they did so far with the February 17th cut off .............., Oh, Never mind.
 
u mean the June 12 cutoff?

FYI digital TV is NOT always HD.

No, The Feb 17th cutoff. And the point being is that they screwed that up.

My Opinion is that the same people slowing HDTV are the same people still buying Newspapers. The Older generation.
HDTV sets are a bargain. Just look at the price of a set back in the 1970's.
 
No, The Feb 17th cutoff. And the point being is that they screwed that up.

My Opinion is that the same people slowing HDTV are the same people still buying Newspapers. The Older generation.
HDTV sets are a bargain. Just look at the price of a set back in the 1970's.

i have to agree about the price of sets my parents saved 3 newspapers form the challanger explosion in 86 it had the sales and prices of tv i was amazed the prices were exactly the same as they were nearly 20 years later for the same size tube tv . you gotta remember 1000 dollars today means something different then 1000 dollars twenty years ago and will be different again in twenty years
 
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