Is HDTV finally ready for the mainstream?
by Darren Murph 
posted Jul 25th 2007 at 8:06AM
It seems that this question gets posed by one mainstream media outlet or another every year or so, and what better time to ask again than following estimates that 50 million American homes will be HDTV-equipped by the end of next year? It's no secret that carriers are pushing HD more frequently in their advertising, and now that select basic cable channels are finally making the move to HD, we wonder if the currently satisfied viewers will get curious and follow along? Numerous analysts have suggested that consumers won't make the jump en masse to demand HD programming until a noticeable amount of non-network content becomes available in HD, and while CNN, Food Network, TBS, and A&E (for instance) are all going (or have gone) HD, there's still hundreds of channels out there that have yet to purchase the first piece of HD recording equipment. Is HDTV ready for mainstream? Our gut says not quite, but we're a lot closer today than we've been.[Image courtesy of PSBSpeakers]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kharrigan @ Jul 25th 2007 8:44AM
"Mainstream" means two things in general:
1. It is safe to buy for your grand-mother
2. She can use it correctly by herself
IMHO HDTV isn't there yet. There is too much education needed to make an informed decision on exactly WHAT is needed to enjoy the HDTV experience:
* Resolution: NTSC, SD, HD, aspect ratios(and 1366x768!!!!)
* Displays: CRT, DLP, LCD, LCOS, and Plasma
* Sources: OTA, cable, FIOS, Satellite, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD
* Non-HD up-conversion: Digital TV, External Scaler, DVD players, game consoles, computers
IMHO, most of the American public is buying HDTVs to get either a big TV (DLP/LCoS) or a flat-panel (LCD/Plasma). They just happen to be HDTVs.
-KLH
david @ Jul 25th 2007 10:32AM
I mostly agree, but I do believe they pick a particular model because it also has an HD tag. Since SD rear projection tv's were $1,500 a few years ago, the same tv in HD, and LCD/Plasma is now less than that. So Billy-Bob can rest his new plasma on his beer can coffee table to watch his BJ and the Bear episodes he taped on his VHS. All the while thinking he is watching HD.