For the average Joe the upgrade to HD is just not an easy thing to do, technically or economically. Sure CostCo and Target are selling HDTV flatscreens like crazy now, but are the consumers really buying HD? My gut tells me they are getting these really nice tv’s at home, and hanging them by the wall mount brackets that Best Buy will sell them (wires showing or hidden in some amateur way). Or in most cases I bet the are just ping them on top of a dresser.
But that is where it ends. The television set. There is no interest in upgrading to a Blu-ray or HD DVD player. If they do purchase an HD player, it is one of those cheap jobs that aren’t true HD. There is interest in seeing television programming in HD, however, shortly comes the realization that hardware upgrades are needed additional programming needs to be purchased.
There are just too many pieces to the HD puzzle for the average working guy. Let’s count them. I want HD. I have DirecTV. I need the following: 1. An HDTV. 2. An upgraded receiver from DirecTV. 3. An upgraded satellite ( the kind with 3 transponders, or what ever you would call them – usually offered free when you upgrade the receiver) 4. To pay more money for the receiver. 5. To pay more money for HD programming (this varies, some satellite providers give you some HD content for free, but wouldn’t you want all the HD programming you could get – especially sports? Case closed – you have to pay more) 6. If I want to watch movies I will need an HD player) 7. HD discs (I have read about Toshiba offering free discs with the purchase of a player)
Now that is 7 steps that also do not include audio, or any kind of installation. With audio in order to get the true HD capabilities of 5.1 Dolby you need surround sound. That could be #8. And, if I want to install the flat panel and speakers correctly I should hire an installer right? That’s #9. Am I missing anything to make it an even number 10? How about gaming? Let’s call that 10 things to move into HD quality.
to be continued…
