Posted by Goro on 12/09/05 17:00

This is so sad and so true. I just read a thread on one of the hdtv
groups about this very same thing.

-goro-

http://www.techliberation.com/archives/027416.php

Video Placebo: Is that Really HDTV You Are Watching?

News of the video bizarre: According to a just-released survey by
Scientific-Atlanta, millions of people who have HDTV sets apparently
think they are watching high definition television, but aren't. The
survey was spurred by an earlier Forrester Research projection that by
the end of the year some 16 million U.S. households will have HDTV
sets, but only seven million wll have HDTV reception. The Scientific
Atlanta survey found that, yes, some 49 percent of households were not
taking advantage of their HD equipment. About a quarter found that
their HD set itself provided better reception, without taking the
additional steps necessary to view HD. Eighteen percent said they
didn't even know needed additional equipment, such as a set-top box
or antenna. A quarter admitted they thought they were watching HD video
because, after all, the programs said at the beginning that they were
broadcast in HDTV.

The survey confirms the long-standing prejudice of many of us
non-videophiles that HDTV really isn't all that impressive. Still, it
is milding shocking that so many people plunk down money for an HD set,
but never catch on that it isn't actually turned on.

This could open up a slew of innovative policy options for the digital
transition. Perhaps, instead of actually allocating spectrum to HDTV
broadcasts, the FCC could just say it has done so, saving the spectrum
for more valued uses. And instead of requiring HD tuners on sets, the
FCC could just require a sticker saying the set has an HD tuner. The
possibilities are endless.

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