AZcentral: Anyone who thinks consumers understand high-definition television should consider a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group.
It concluded that close to one-half of the 24 million households with HDTVs don’t actually watch high-definition programs because they haven’t obtained the necessary hardware from their cable, phone or satellite operators.
And about one half of those viewers – about six million – don’t even realize they’re not watching HDTV. Bruce Leichtman, the market research firm’s president, figures the confusion is partly because the consumers spend so much money on the set they can’t believe they’re not getting what they paid for. “This is cognitive dissonance,” he says.
The forward march of consumer electronics, of course, is replete with examples of technology outpacing the ability of average users to understand it. Look no further than the success of the “For Dummies” series of how-to technology books. Most consumers, surveys show, use only a small fraction of the features on their various devices.
But the history of digital TV has been particularly tortured. In addition to the usual false starts and over-promising, the technology has been hampered by political quagmires, battles at all levels of the TV industry, misleading ads and far too little consumer education.
The problem is bound to get worse as we near the February 2009 digital-transition deadline, when all broadcasters must transmit entirely in digital, rather than analog, signals. In the meantime, sales are rising as the price of flat-panel HDTV sets fall below $1,000. There were 13.6 million HDTVs sold last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
The failure of so many HDTV owners to figure out what they’ve actually bought is bad for everyone. After years of dragging their feet, TV networks finally are investing heavily to produce shows in high definition. But these investments aren’t going to pay off anytime soon if 50 percent of the HDTV owners aren’t set up for HD viewing. Retailers and manufacturers complain of unacceptably high rate of returns, though they won’t disclose specific figures.
Consumers get discouraged when the picture that transfixed them at the store isn’t the same at home. “It’s getting a Porsche and driving it at 40 down a straight highway,” says Blaine Altaffer, a senior buyer for Circuit City. “You want speed and a crooked highway.”
Consumer ignorance is understandable. It used to be buyers needed only to bring a new set home, plug it into a cable or satellite hookup and flop back on the couch. Now they first must choose either an HDTV set or a standard-definition digital set that has a lower price tag and inferior picture quality. (All HDTV sets are digital, but not vice versa.) Then, they must make sure they’re getting high-definition service from their cable or satellite operator, which typically costs more. After that, they have to lease a high-definition set-top box and make sure it’s set up right.
After all that preparation, viewers still can make the mistake of watching the wrong channel. Cable and satellite systems now carry both HDTV channels and regular channels for the same networks, such as ESPN and CBS. Some consumers get confused when they see the “broadcast in high definition” bug written across the regular channel. They think they’re watching HDTV.
Adding to the complexity, device makers have been fighting over what’s better, plasma or liquid crystal display screens. Even worse, if consumers want a high definition DVD player, they must choose between Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats. Naturally, discs for one don’t play on the other. (…)
But there are signs of hope. A major consumer-education effort on the digital transition was set to be announced Wednesday by the largest industry trade groups representing broadcasters, cable operators, device manufacturers, networks and retailers. There will be the obligatory new Web site, then extensive research and focus groups organized to figure out consumers’ needs. (…)
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