Nearly Half of HDTV Owners Aren't Watching HDTV

WJS - I'm sorry that you didn't have a salesperson that would explain the critical details of owning an HDTV or that you didn't learn that via your own research. You obviously aren't alone. Still other users surely do upgrade their equipment appropriately (cable or satellite box) but do not realize they have to use a certain type of cables to get an HD signal out of those receivers.

Not only do you probably need new hardware to view HD if you aren't simply using an antenna, the TVs are typically larger, which exposes the poor picture quality of an SD signal. It's not so much that HDTVs themselves make SD look bad, it's that a larger TV makes an inferior signal look much worse once it is "blown up". It's much the same as viewing an old 800x600 digital picture blown up on a large computer monitor - you see pixelation when the picture is magnified.

I've had HD for almost 7 years, and we now have 3 HDTV in our home. We virtually never watch any programming that is NOT in HD any more. The favorites list on our DirecTV receivers don't even contain any non-HD channels. And my wife who is by no means a techie even refuses to watch SD programming any more, even though at first she "couldn't tell the difference".

Just like anything, technology comes with requirements. When you bought your first digital camera, all the sudden you needed more hard drive space and a backup mechanism. Was that a "bat and switch" tactic by the computer companies to sell you new hardware? No, it was just a "side-effect" of adopting to new technology. There are many similar examples with computer technology.

I wish more people would do their homework before making the leap to HDTV, and I certainly wish the salesmen did a better job at educating their customers. Be thankful there are so many options today and so much HD programming. Back when I got my first HDTV, if I saw one or two HD programs a week, I was ecstatic. The quality of HD cannot even be compare to SD - and in MY opinion it is worth every penny.

Hopefully those that "don't know any better" soon learn what they are missing...

Scott of MN 10:38PM January 26, 2009