At 5:57 PM -0500 1/8/07, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
Dale, you cynic. This is not anything being forced down the throats of consumers. This is called pent-up demand, from way too many decades of dismally retro television standards, when compared with everything else that has been available to consumers in electronic toys.
Bert, you retro holdout, THIS WAS about forcing the HDTV issue when the Advanced Television process started in the late '80s. Do you seriously believe that the CE industry could have forced this issue without help from the content community? (note i did not say broadcasters).
The real barrier to HD was the CRT display; it simply could not be made large enough to deliver the HD viewing experience, except in cumbersome front and rear projection implementations. And these product have too many problems to support a mass HD market. By the early '90s, it was becoming clear that emerging technologies (driven by the computer industry) would overtake the CRT. unfortunately, the broadcast standards were driven by the world of the CRT, thus we are still saddled with interlace and a restricted color gamut.
The illusion that the industry would be driven by a new HD broadcast standard worked very well for both the broadcasters and the CE industry. It provided the pull through necessary to get consumers to buy into a standard for which there was little if any content.
The technology that really drove the early years of "HD" was the DVD. This provided the content needed to make those big screen displays "light up." Together with surround sound this enabled big screen home theater for the masses.
I agree with Bert that HD has not be forced on consumers, except for one important caveat. Consumers ARE being forced to buy ATSC receivers that they will never use.
The important take away here is that HD displays and now HD content are redefining "premium TV. I noted your pointing out that Dish Networks is charging $20/mo for their HD content and DVR package. Broadcasters are also using their HD content to drive up the price of new retransmission consent agreements.
But local broadcasters are mostly sitting on the sidelines with HD. There is little value added with HD news, although consumers do like to have the entire screen of their new HD capable displays filled, even if it is only plants on the side of the news set.
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