March 13th, 2007
High Def, Does It Matter?
By Kyle Reasons
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
The push for HD content/technology is popular amongst the geek culture but do average people really care? Do people really care about their televisions screen resolution or is it more the fact that the screen is so slick and thin? It’s going to take a long time for your average every day person to even care about HD content and I will tell you why:
- People don’t really know what HD means. When your non tech friends talk about getting a new TV do they say “Dude, I’m getting a flat screen” or “Dude, I’m getting an HD TV!”? Let’s face it, most people buying flat screen televisions do so because it’s thin and is going to look great on their wall. Do you honestly believe that the rappers you see on MTV Cribs bought their flat screens to meet their need of HD content? As of now, the attraction is more towards sleek hardware rather then HD content itself. The fact of the matter is, most people view flatscreen televisions as being nothing but big screen TV’s that are flat. They have no clue what HD even is.
- Many people have a hard time telling the difference between HD and Non HD content.
- HD DVD/Blueray isn’t helping very much either. Nobody wants their choice to end up in a box in the attic next to their Betamax. People like DVD’s, they’re cheaper then HD DVD/Blueray movies and are far more robust. I also predict their being a problem with early adopters buying these players and hooking them up to non HD TV’s thus causing the inability to “tell the difference” in content.
The solution? Forcing people into HD content. In 2009, all television broadcasts will be digital thus forcing people to upgrade their analog TV’s or to convert the signal using an add on. HD content is great, but your average person doesn’t know this or why thus making me believe that most consumers could care less about HD content at the moment.
Freud says:
Horse Hockey. The general, non-technical public is being given information on HD TV by the cable companies in their marketing campaigns. In particular, guys (and girls) who watch sports know they want HD reception.
My wife was the driving force in our purchase of a 50 inch HD TV. She wanted it in the house, up and running, before the first regular season Giants and Jets games. She knows nothing about technology but she knew she wanted the clearest picture she could find. She also didn’t want a big box taking up half the living room and that’s why we have a flat panel. She knew the term HD but didn’t know the term flat panel, by the way. She referred to it as ‘The TV you hang on the wall.’ LOL
Sports are the killer app for large, flat screen HD TV and sports are the reason why HD is what people want.
March 13th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Jason says:
I second that. My 60 year old mother may not know how to work a DVD player or what HD stands for but even with failing eye sight she is always amazed when an HD channel comes on and that is not even 1080P. People might not understand the technology and the acronyms but as much as anyone can tell the difference between a 640×480 res image on a computer monitor to a 1920×1080 image they can do the same on a TV.
March 13th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
allen says:
My mom got an HD flat panel for Desperate Housewives.. which promptly sucked but she kept the TV anyway. I love her TV, it’s beautiful, the pictures amazing on it.
I hate the programming. I’m at her house mostly during the day when I visit and watching Judge Judy HD is as bad as watching Judge Judy regular. The KET public stations are gorgeous, but instead of being fun news shows, it’s oscar and big bird stuff, bleh.
I was dying for an HDtv, started shopping around and everything. Then I started noticing lack of content for so much and that half the shows I watch are regular stations anyway and look miserable on an HD screen. So, now I’m riding my old big screen until I get an Xbox 360, and that might get put off just because I’m too cheap now.
March 13th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Mike says:
I tend to think people know about HD also, heck my wifes 78 year old uncle was asking me yesterday about programming choices!
People however do NOT know about the 720p, 1080i, 1080p crap! If 1080p is the highest and best signal, why are all stations broadcasting in 720p or 1080i?
Question I get most often - why should i buy a 1080p television when nothing uses it except the hd-dvd/blu-ray?
Tis a good question, and one I have to say the only reason is for the high end dvds, which you shouldnt buy until the pissing contest is over. So buy that cheaper 720p, use it for 3 or 4 years, then go to 1080p. Maybe by that time they will have some REAL content out also
Mike
I have also have heard people like the picture quality rather than the pertiness
Only to find out when they get hom, that their analog cable looks like crap so they have to spend more money.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:50 am
Peter says:
Most people I know are either getting it because it’s flat… or getting it because it’s big. All my relatives with bad eyesights wants a big-screen TV that doesn’t cause them huge amounts of money — and the current crop of “HD-ish” TVs fit the bill.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:32 am
metermax says:
32 inch Samsung square 1080i set, with no tuner. At this point in time, I find it the best possible set. There’s just over the air HD content available, so I haven’t even bought a tuner for it. I just watch Dish 480P content on it with their DVR and DVD’s with a 1080i upconversion player. 480P looks better on it than on any standard definition set. To get HD broadcast content in just 720P, I’d have to be able to downconvert that to 1080i with a tuner or buy a different set that accepts either signal. No thanks! I’ll wait until the content exists and the DVR’s don’t cost ridiculous sums of money. Then I’ll get a bigger screen with 1080P.
You know, there’s still a lot of content that doesn’t letterbox on my square screen yet, and I don’t have to crop or stretch the image. It drives me crazy going into a sports bar/restaurant and seeing HD sets on the walls with a stretched or squashed images on them. What is the point of displaying a 480P image in the wrong aspect ratio?
March 14th, 2007 at 5:31 am
John Corliss says:
Given the quality of the garbage that is being broadcast, the ludicrous and over the top amount of advertising that’s continually interrupting any viewing AND my resulting lack of interest in television overall, I will continue to use the same 19 inch color television I bought in 1983. When 2009 rolls around, I’ll buy a signal converter. There is no way that I am interested in a high definition television, just so I can watch commercials with more detail. Period.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:47 am
metermax says:
By the way, what do you mean by rappers on MTV cribs? It sounds like you should issue a public apology to the entire hip hop community and meet with Dr. Dre or something.
I can guarantee that you’re wrong about whether they know its Hi-Def or not. They know.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Kyle Reasons says:
Wow, a few of you know people that have some sort of background knowledge in what HD is.
Giving my experience with friends and family, the selling point is usually how big or flat the TV is rather then the fact that it’s HD. “It’s so big! I mean, it takes up like half the wall! I’m not used to having a TV so big. That and its so thin! I have it hanging on the wall, it’s soo cool!” and if I’m lucky I’ll get a “and the picture isn’t bad either”.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:17 am
John says:
I’m probably on of the few, but, I won’t be forced into another ‘cable box’. When they get rid of analog TV, I’ll stop watching TV. I’ve been needing some way to give it up and for me, this is it. I don’t have cable because I don’t think you should have to pay for TV. Get rid of analog, I dare ya!
March 14th, 2007 at 8:57 am
ikaruga says:
Most people have a hard time telling the difference between HD and non-HD content? Kyle, by “most people” do you mean “just you”? I remember a while back reading an article about how all the soap stars were scared of HD because in HD all the cracks in their faces were crystal clear… See for example this 3 year old article:
http://broadcastengineering.com/news/broadcasting_hd_changing_face/
Dude you should do some actual investigative reporting before making unsubstantiated claims like that…
March 14th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Kyle Reasons says:
@ ikaruga
I wasn’t reporting on anything. This was an opinionated article. It’s purpose was to spark controversy/ start a discussion (which it did).
March 14th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
cheap televisions says:
lol well it did start a discussion but I have a friend who isn’t a tech geek or avid TV junky like myself and he will watch HD shows if the option is available. If he can tell the difference then everyone (apart from maybe my nan) can.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
ZCZC says:
窃听器
August 8th, 2008 at 12:37 am