DIY, 5 reasons HDTV might NOT boom
By Matt Burns 
posted Sep 11th 2006 11:03AM
posted Sep 11th 2006 11:03AM
TVPredictions.com recently listed five reasons HDTV will succeed and now Mr. Philip Swann spouts out five reasons that it might boom. The first time around we agreed with his reasons just not in the way they were ordered, and the same thing goes for this time too. In truth we just have an issue with number one and two; flip-flop those and we are on board 100%. Price is important but there needs to be more programing. Retail salesmen can chime in when we say people are more frightened by the amount of, or lack of, programming than anything else. If a person is going to spend X amount of money on something, they expect to use it more often than not. Lack of high-def programming is more likely to signal a dip in HDTV sales than the price. TVPredictions 5 reasons why HDTV Sales WILL NOT boom.
- Price
- Not Enough Programming
- Industry Confusion & Chaos
- The HDTV DVD Disaster
- People Still Have Their TV
[updated title]
I think it's foolish to think HDTV will fail. HDTV capable sets make up a huge percentage of TVs for sale at stores, so even if it takes a long time, eventually those people's sets will break, and they will have HD capable sets. Tie that in with the fact that the standard def OTA broadcasts will be ending and you don't have a choice.
I am a definite skeptic when it comes to the American market embracing new hardware as a whole, but HDTV is a no brainer. The NTSC standard is horrible, this is a change that everyone wants, price being the only major factor. The price continues to drop.
It's not a matter of if it will make it, just when.
HDTV will not fail - you can take that to the bank.
As soon as programming really starts to boom - it should relatively soon, then more and more people will be on board to the point that it's the standard.
For me, it was football in HD! That's all I needed. For someone else, it will be those Home & Garden Channels - for someone else, etc. etc. It will happen!
The one and only complaint I hear over and over and over again is lack of programming. If the cable/sat industry doesn't get off their butts and offer more fast it may very well kill off a boom.
The five reasons are actually why HDTV sales may not BOOM in the coming months. Not that HDTV will fail in the long rum.
The first article included five reasons why HDTV sales MIGHT boom in the coming months.
The two part series is an analysis of what the HD industry faces in the coming months -- both good and bad.
In other words, my articles are not about whether HDTV will succeed or fail. Of course, it will succeed, but the question the articles examines is how quickly it will succeed.
When the FCC shuts off the analog signal in Feb. of 2009 I see many people buying new HDTV sets. They won't have to but they might feel they should.
saying HDTV will fail is similary to saying the horse-drawn buggy will never go out of fashion. Is TVPredictions.com saying that in the year 2100 we will all be watching 480p max television?
I also believe HDTV will not fail. A lot of new technologys had the same problems at the beginning. If a critical mass is reached, the industry will switch fully to the new technology, finds standards and drops the price because of higher sales numbers.
The consumer will follow. If you need a new TV what whould you by, a standard TV or a product that is ready for the future. For me it's clear. HDTV is the future.
John
I don't think HD will fail. The one thing today is not enough HD programming. For HD to be successful, everything has to go HD. Right now there is just not enough content. I would be on my second HDTV by now, only it's not worth it because of the limited programming.
2 other gotchas:
The ability to record HD (in HD) is limited to DVR's only, no portablility or archiving option. Once Blu-Ray and HD-DVD recorders come out, people will be very ticked that they cannot easily record to HD media, especially those with satellite. Cable has cablecards at least.
And the new 4K standard being talked about. It's a long time off and the bandwidth requirements are insane but the PQ should make HD look like no big deal. Could today's HD be a stop-gap like laserdisc?
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34288
MY top 5 answers;
1-Price for the name brand 42-inch sets and smaller are very good. 50-inch sets have started to shown at most respected and factory authorized online and B&M retailers in the same price range as last year's 42-inch, what still seems to be forbidden are the 55 Hitachi's, 58 Panasonic's and 60-inch and larger sets. Hopefully prices will drop considerable for those sizes next year.
2-So true., not even over the air or pay. You just can't seen to find anything worth it on High Definition.
3- Again, very true., I see there's no dedication from the government and the electronics industry to bring
this full force.
4-Well you can blame Sony and the entire Blu-Ray camp for this one., I don't hear Toshiba crying disappointment...
5-Some not all, i for one have 7-TV in total, 1 is a 20" Standard TV/DVD/VCR combo and 6-Flat Panel HDTVs, 2 are only HD-Ready the rest are full integrated sets.
TVPredictions is a tabloid. Things just do not fail when this much money is invested by 95% of the industry. It is not like a company invested in a technology and could not succeed it for one reason or another.
Conversion can get slower with HD due to all mentioned reasons, but I am having hard time imagining it.
"TVPredictions is a tabloid. Things just do not fail when this much money is invested by 95% of the industry."
I never said it would fail. Try reading the article.