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Poll: Are you ready for the digital TV transition?

by Darren Murph posted Jan 3rd 2009 at 12:00PM


Hard to believe that next month will mark the official (though not really) end of analog broadcast signals here in the US of A, but it's true. February 17th is within spitting distance, and we get the feeling that loads of voucher requesters will be filing into retail outlets in order to get their DTV converter box soon. Our question is simply this: are you already prepared, or have you yet to become DTV ready?

Are you ready for the digital TV transition?

Confusion still running rampant in run-up to DTV transition

by Darren Murph posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 1:54PM

Oh, dear. You all point and laugh now, but as Richard Doherty, an analyst with the Envisioneering Group, has stated: "On February 18, there will be a tremendous amount of finger-pointing." Richard also makes another point that we certainly agree with in that "this transition is possibly one of the worst understood consumer education programs in modern times," with millions of Americans still unready for the impending change. 'Course, if you've ever attempted to help your grandmother troubleshoot a VCR over the phone (let alone in 30-second blips), it's somewhat easier to understand why this process is so difficult to grasp. As of today, legions of people are still perplexed at what's coming, and we believe that many are apt to simply sit around and do nothing. The government / NAB is ramping up advertising and sending out DTV transition-mobiles in order to get the word out, but one must wonder, is it too late to save those who have already delayed this long?

Read - Nielsen statistics
Read - Confusion in DTV Transition

Two-thirds of OTA households have requested DTV coupons

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2008 at 8:11AM


There's no doubt that the CEA and NTIA have been spreading the word about the 2009 digital TV transition as hard as they can, but some folks still aren't taking the time to listen. 'Course, 62% is way better than what we've seen in the past, but that still leaves a full third of OTA-reliant American households sans a government-issued voucher with under 100 days to go until analog slides under the guillotine. Currently, 17 million homes have requested 33.5 million coupons (in other words, most folks are requesting the maximum of two) and 13.5 million have been redeemed. For those with a strange curiosity to know even more, it's stated that a number of eastern cities have the highest coupon application rates, while folks in Hawaii and Alaska could apparently care less. Can't blame 'em given the scenery, eh?

New Blu-ray research says more of the same

by Darren Murph posted Jun 3rd 2008 at 9:30PM


The latest Blu-ray research from The NPD Group pretty much mirrors everything else we've heard through the course of this year: BD adoption hasn't skyrocketed since the demise of HD DVD. That being the case, Blu-ray is making gains in the industry, as some 45% of surveyed HDTV owners now claim to "be familiar with Blu-ray Disc," up from 35% a year ago. It's also noted that just 6% of all respondents stated that they were aiming to purchase a BD player, but the firm did find "purchase intent to be higher [9%] among the growing population of HDTV owners." We know, the general public is still generally satisfied with vanilla DVDs, but we still maintain that BD will have its day just as soon as prices sink down to more acceptable levels.

[Image courtesy of TheDigitalBits]

Sony looking to stuff Blu-ray recorders in select LCD HDTVs?

by Darren Murph posted Apr 7th 2008 at 11:52AM

Given that Sony has primarily used its PlayStation 3 console to snag market share in the home video sector thus far, it's not surprising to see it branching out now that Blu-ray stands alone. Nevertheless, the next logical step has already been hinted at by Ryoji Chubachi at a recent press event in Taipei. Reportedly, Sony is hoping to "increase the global market share of its BD products from 20-percent currently to 50-percent by the end of 2008," and in order to do so, it's looking to gift select LCD HDTVs with "BD recording functionality." Of course, it was only a matter of time before those DVD / LCD combos became Blu-ray / LCD combos, but giving users the ability to capture broadcast material without an external burner is certainly an interesting twist.

[Via Electric Pig]

New research looks at Blu-ray awareness across the globe

by Darren Murph posted Apr 3rd 2008 at 3:28PM


It's something we've all been wondering about, and now we've got the numbers to satisfy our curiosity. Interpret has surveyed groups from a variety of regions around the globe in order to see how high (or low) Blu-ray awareness is now that it stands alone as the sole next-generation HDM format. Unsurprisingly, the UK and US were tops in knowing what's what at 56- and 60-percent, respectively, while Japan checked in at 45-percent; both France and Germany notched percentages that were slightly lower at 49-percent and 30-percent. Also of note, data from the UK and Japan showed that consumers that already own HDM players were still purchasing standard-definition DVDs at a higher rate than HD DVDs / Blu-ray Discs, but the opposite was (just barely) true for the US. Nothing too earth-shattering here, but check out the read link if you're lusting after some fun figures to toss around at the water-cooler.

[Via Audioholics, image courtesy of TheDigitalBits]

Public awareness of DTV transition up 80% since 2006, some still in the dark

by Darren Murph posted Feb 8th 2008 at 11:42PM


We've already heard the NTIA's plans to educate consumers as the digital TV transition draws ever closer here in America, and apparently, the efforts so far have been fairly successful. According to new research released by the Consumer Electronics Association, consumer awareness of the looming switchover is up 80-percent since 2006. The study also points out that 72-percent of respondents were schooled courtesy of ads seen on television, while 39-percent heard it through the grapevine (read: "friends and family") and 26-percent found out from the intarwebs. 'Course, we also heard that a whopping 22-percent of folks "had no plans" for the cutover last November, so we're sure there's still a few OTA-only homes out there that have a real shocker comin'.

[Via Widescreen Review]

Circuit City steps up to educate customers about DTV cutover

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2007 at 10:48PM

It'd be too easy to just mark off Best Buy's earlier announcement regarding its decision to no longer sell analog TVs as a simple coincidence, but whatever the case, Circuit City is hitting back to let the whole world know that it cares, too. Aside from confirming that it plans on participating in the NTIA Converter Box Coupon Program, it also announced that it would be "incorporating DTV transition reminders and messages into the closed circuit videos that run on its TVs," include cutover advisory information in its advertising supplements, install store signage to inform customers of the impending change and train employees to be well-versed on the whole matter. Stay sharp, though, we can just hear the PSAs turning into sales pitches now.

Many Xbox 360, PS3 owners unaware of HD abilities

by Darren Murph posted Aug 9th 2007 at 4:24PM Featured Story


Regrettably, the recent findings from an NPD Group survey aren't shocking in the least -- you know, considering how many people think all content is magically in high-definition with the purchase of an HDTV -- but the news is disheartening nonetheless. Reportedly, "only 30-percent of Xbox 360 owners were aware of the HD graphics capabilities of the machine," and while the figure did rise on the Blu-ray-packin' PS3, it still stopped at just 50-percent. Meanwhile, aficionados like ourselves are panicking over whether or not our new console actually includes an HDMI port. Regardless, this disappointing survey could be seen as proof that gamers still care about gameplay first and foremost (or simply ignore the extras), and while you aren't likely to find us letting up on Nintendo anytime soon for shunning HD on the Wii, maybe the world's not ready for all that, anyway.

[Image courtesy of Xbox360Fanboy, thanks Rob]




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