Is high definition TV too complicated for the masses?

[venkman]

Anything more complicated than a toaster is beyond the grasp of the masses.

 

[KnickNut3]

Originally posted by: YetioDoom
My mom uses her HDTV to watch VHS tapes of shows she records from SD cable

EXACTLY. My parents LOVE to use VHS and watch it on our HDTV with HD cable!

Not only that, half the time I come home for the weekend, and they're watching live TV through the VCR on an HD channel (so it's in SD).

Ugh! And then when I tell them they say they can't notice the difference! On their 54" TV!

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: Leros
I bought an hdtv, the cable company came over and set up the cable box. I can press on, and then start flipping channels.

Seems idiot-capable to me.

Same thing happened with my father in law. However, it wasn't until six months later that I realized he was not watching the HD channels (404 vs. 4). It took another six months for him to admit that he saw any difference between the "regular" and HD picture.

MotionMan

we can one up that. My dad got a HDtv about a year and half ago. he called up Comcast and told them he wanted a turner card and needed HD content.

They came out and gave him the card. but couldnt get HD channels. 2 months and 4 techs latter i call and ask what the fvck is going on. Seems that the people at comcast never turned on HD for the area (we are talking like 10 city blocks). so they been getting paid for HD channels but not giving them to anyone for about a year. NOBODY HAD COMPLAINED until my dad.

only trouble he has is with digital and HD. he thinks all reguler channels are going off air soon heh

 

[Anubis]

Short answer: YES

long answer: Read Thread


take this for example my dad is 60, he has had a device that plays videos/audio since the betamax and the 8 track, 2 years ago he called me because he wanted to pause his On Demand movie and didnt know what the pause button was. they have a HD capable TV itll do 720p, they have an HD box, they watch 0 things in HD, simply because they live in an area where they cant even get Fox and CBS in HD. they literally get less then 10 HD channels from Time Warner, and theres no way to get more they simply arnt carried in there area.

my dad also 100% can not stand black bars when watching stuff, he hates it he calles it a waste of space.


i feel there are many like him in the world

 

[Row1and]

Originally posted by: KnickNut3

Originally posted by: YetioDoom
My mom uses her HDTV to watch VHS tapes of shows she records from SD cable

EXACTLY. My parents LOVE to use VHS and watch it on our HDTV with HD cable!

Not only that, half the time I come home for the weekend, and they're watching live TV through the VCR on an HD channel (so it's in SD).

Ugh! And then when I tell them they say they can't notice the difference! On their 54" TV!

Take their TV away, and give them a 12" CRT from Walmart!

 

[Linflas]

They need to come up with a common terminology and use it across the board. Just on my DirecTV HD box not only do I have 5 different screen size settings on the TV but the DirecTV box has Native Mode, Pillar Box, and about 10 other combinations that I have to play with when all I want is very simply to see the program displayed in it's native size and resolution with whatever black bars are necessary. Oddly enough "Native Mode" does not do that. :disgust:

 

[NoCreativity]

Most of the non-tech oriented people I know (i.e. parents, aunts, uncles, etc.) think the switch to digital means everything will be in HD. Not only that, they think that the converter box will now display HD on their current 10 year old tube.

About 6 months ago my dad bought an LCD from BB. He talked with 3 different "sales people". I've forgotton what they were telling him but one of the three actually had a clue what they were talking about. One of the others told him that DTV=HD. Good luck to anyone who has to go to one of these stores and expect to get help from the sales person.

On a side note, if you pay for basic cable you might get the major network HD channels without having to pay for the HD box. Works for Comcast in South east Michigan at least.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: NoCreativity
On a side note, if you pay for basic cable you might get the major network HD channels without having to pay for the HD box. Works for Comcast in South east Michigan at least.

That is the biggest dirty little secret that the cable company does not want you to know. I pay for HD for one TV (for the PVR) and get HD on my other two LCDs "for free".

If it was up to the cable company, I would be paying for HD boxes for all three TVs

MotionMan

 

[Xavier434]

It isn't too complicated for the masses. However, choosing the best TV amongst the bunch and configuring it to the point that many really picky tech people do is too complicated. The general public doesn't care enough about those nit picky details though. They are happy with their plug and play HDTVs at default settings and they are ok if they bought one which is ever so slightly less powerful than the other TV which was listed for the same price or a bit cheaper.

 

[Feldenak]

Well, if my parents are any indication of "the masses" then yes...and no.

It's not too complicated for my dad but my mom doesn't have a clue. You'd think it'd be the opposite with my mom b/c she's got a master's in education and my dad is an "uneducated" steel mill worker. Though I guess he's got the upper hand being an electrician at the mill.

 

[Anubis]

ill add that untill 100% of all channels are in HD people wont care.

when everything is in HD people will start to figure it out

 

[Genx87]

I would say yes. It is confusing to the avg guy who is used to plugging in the TV and getting what you get. With HD, you need an HD signal and not all signals are HD. Lots of people have the misconception that digital is HD. So they plug in their digital cable and away they go.

That is the most simple part of the HD experience. You start adding in blu-ray, upconverters while still have DVD. People just dont get it.

Sound, well sound is a given. I bet 95% of the HDTVs shipped use the built in speakers. Hell I own two of them and do this!

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

I think alot of people just don't care about HD so much. I know how it works. I know what HDMI is and DVI and aspect ratio, upconverting, etc. but I don't really care about it.

 

[rh71]

of course it's too complicated... which creates potential income for a lot of people... kinda like oh I dunno... the computer field.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
I'm fairly tech savvy and I don't get all the lingo how should I expect my grandparents or even my parents?

Pick a resolution, pick a form factor, pick a connector. Fucking standardize that shit.

I guess it is really still in its infancy so I really shouldn't complain. I have the TV but until TiVo HD boxes come down and my cable provider has more selection, I won't be switching any time soon.

This is my complaint. Its a fucking mess. There's no standards, shit is all over the place. Different TVs handle different signals differently, different formats all over and then they charge you more for the TV, charge you more for the signal, then only half the channels will come in high def anyway. Its a huge clusterfuck, and its unreasonable to even pretend the unwashed masses should be able make head nor tails of it.

I have a cheap LCD TV, that I got as a gift. I don't even like watching TV. If my wife didn't like watching it, I'd probably just have a DVD player and cancel the dish. I'm not paying extra for high def signals of the same crap TV shows. I know it could look better...frankly, who cares? Call me when its standardized and free, which, given the way things have gone so far will mean my current television will probably be rotting in a landfill before then anyway.

Television is already a huge ripoff for the amount of entertainment it provides, IMO.

 

[Aikouka]

I don't think so... my mom isn't technologically inclined and she uses the HDTV just fine. Although, she can't really figure out how to hook things up half the time and I have to help... but I think she's getting better at it as compared to her old TV with maybe 3 inputs, the HDTV has about... 10 of varying types (composite, component, vga, coax, usb, etc).

Kind of like what others have mentioned, the TVs aren't complicated, but the infrastructure and content is vastly inferior to the display medium. There is very little in the way of HD channels on satellite and cable compared to their SD counterparts. Personally, I just use OTA HD and get CBS, FOX and PBS for free (not that I watch PBS ).

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: bl4ckfl4g
I think alot of people just don't care about HD so much. I know how it works. I know what HDMI is and DVI and aspect ratio, upconverting, etc. but I don't really care about it.

same. i just didnt care much.

then i started going to friends to watch football or movies. watching either on a big HD tv is great.

i have a 65 inch DLP. its rarly on. I watch football games and movies (have a blu-ray player) on it.

also have a 37 inch lcd. only got it because my 25 inch tube tv died. nobody carries them anymore.

 

[Nightfall]

I really don't understand the difficulty. My parents got a small HDTV for Christmas for the bedroom. They hooked up their HD receiver to it and it worked. No problems or issues. The same thing happened in my living room. I got a nice 52 inch HDTV and hooked it up to my HDDVR and it worked. I got HD service and everything.

IMHO, its not tough to understand but I am a techie. My parents are not techies though and they got it going without any help.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: Fritzo


Note sure what the confusion is. We have Dish Network, and you don't have to do anything different.

Let's take that for instance.

I know more than a few people who get an HDTV and don't upgrade to HD Service from their satellite provider, or those who have Time Warner and don't request HD boxes, and TV looks even worse and they get negative impressions.

OOOOooooohhhhh...O get you now. Yeah, I think the cable TV companies need to do a better job of educating people. Sat. providers do this stuff automatically though. HD on cable sucks anyway

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: Fritzo


Note sure what the confusion is. We have Dish Network, and you don't have to do anything different.

Let's take that for instance.

I know more than a few people who get an HDTV and don't upgrade to HD Service from their satellite provider, or those who have Time Warner and don't request HD boxes, and TV looks even worse and they get negative impressions.

OOOOooooohhhhh...O get you now. Yeah, I think the cable TV companies need to do a better job of educating people. Sat. providers do this stuff automatically though. HD on cable sucks anyway

since when? when i got my HD tv i had notify them and get a new box, dish and programming.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
I'm fairly tech savvy and I don't get all the lingo how should I expect my grandparents or even my parents?

Pick a resolution, pick a form factor, pick a connector. Fucking standardize that shit.

I guess it is really still in its infancy so I really shouldn't complain. I have the TV but until TiVo HD boxes come down and my cable provider has more selection, I won't be switching any time soon.

This is my complaint. Its a fucking mess. There's no standards, shit is all over the place. Different TVs handle different signals differently, different formats all over and then they charge you more for the TV, charge you more for the signal, then only half the channels will come in high def anyway. Its a huge clusterfuck, and its unreasonable to even pretend the unwashed masses should be able make head nor tails of it.

I have a cheap LCD TV, that I got as a gift. I don't even like watching TV. If my wife didn't like watching it, I'd probably just have a DVD player and cancel the dish. I'm not paying extra for high def signals of the same crap TV shows. I know it could look better...frankly, who cares? Call me when its standardized and free, which, given the way things have gone so far will mean my current television will probably be rotting in a landfill before then anyway.

Television is already a huge ripoff for the amount of entertainment it provides, IMO.

Wow! You have ranting like an 80 year old down pat!

 

[theprodigalrebel]

I've received calls from a few hundred people that think starting Feb 17th 2009, all their channels will automatically be broadcast in High Definition.

 

[Cogman]

Anything beyond the operation of a light switch is too complicated for the masses (And even then, it seems like many people don't know how to turn of their lights...). Most people really can't tell the difference between HD and SD content. Why do you think upscalers are so popular. Its beyond ridiculous.

Whats worse is when you through digital vs. analog in the situation. Since most people think that digital = HD and analog = SD (really they do) The all think we will have HD broadcasts by the end of Feb '09. People are dumb, they draw lines and conclusions where there never should be any. Though, it doesn't help when DirectTv runs a commercial saying that they have been digital for the last x years, Yes their box is, but the TV connection certainly isn't. People will be in for a rude awakening if they leave DirectTV to try and us an areal (What, they said I was digital!)

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
50% of hdtv's in america are not receiving any type of hd signal, and the owners have no idea. given many people cannot hook up basic (now obsolete) equipment, i'd say "yes, hdtv is far, far beyond the understanding of the common man."

And I'd gather that 50% of HDTVs sold are going over their mantle. I die a little bit inside when I walk into homes like this.

whats wrong with putting it on top of the fireplace if you hardly ever use the FP? Just wondering. I was considering this option but decided against it because it wouldnt work well with the seating arrangement in my living room

 

[Cogman]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: TruePaige

Originally posted by: Fritzo


Note sure what the confusion is. We have Dish Network, and you don't have to do anything different.

Let's take that for instance.

I know more than a few people who get an HDTV and don't upgrade to HD Service from their satellite provider, or those who have Time Warner and don't request HD boxes, and TV looks even worse and they get negative impressions.

OOOOooooohhhhh...O get you now. Yeah, I think the cable TV companies need to do a better job of educating people. Sat. providers do this stuff automatically though. HD on cable sucks anyway

since when? when i got my HD tv i had notify them and get a new box, dish and programming.

Since my DirectTV commercial told me so! after all, they have "Real" HD (I find that funny since they where the ones that got sued for just upscaling their material...)