For all of our complaining about the long run-up to the
analog shutoff here in the US, this story illustrates the benefits of taking time to do a little consumer
education. In Australia, it turns out that not everyone was aware that TVs with analog-only tuners are unable to receive the HD programming that
Seven and
Ten are advertising so heavily. This all came to a boil with Ten's HD-only Masters golf broadcast, and some customers returned to stores with talk of "misrepresentation." Retailers are giving away digital set-top boxes to smooth things over, though, so hopefully things are cleared up for now. This sounds exactly like the kind of thing US big-box retailers avoided by
clearing shelves of analog-only TVs, and we might suggest some similar action for other global HD citizens.
Australia's Channel Ten has been known to snag some pretty enticing sporting events in the past, but all that will pale in comparison to a new channel launching next year. Yes, Aussies -- in mere months, you'll have the pleasure of enjoying a free-to-air 24-hour sports channel in glorious high-definition. For those not paying attention, you should also know that Ten has thrown down winning bids to show US NBA basketball, US Major League Baseball and the US Open golf tournament (among other events). There's no set time frame for launch outside of sometime in '09, but worst case scenario, you've got just over 13 months to wait.
