Well to be fair BB SHOULD push their installation services and that gets to my point. I actually believe it's so complicated for the masses that it should now view your TV the same as you view other "too complicated" services.
You 'can' do it yourself - plumbing, electrical, satellite, computers, what have you. The difference is ones TV was not associated with that kind of level of understanding. You just plugged it in and got TV.
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,866
- 31,364
- 146
most providers won't provide an HDMI cable for free if they are installing an HD box. You'd have to know what to ask for.
So, there will certainly be situations where someone actually does get HD service, but the tech hooks up there box with a freaking composite, or component cable. How could you not blame them for thinking they have HD? Aren't they paying for it?
and yes, I had to ask my Comcast installer the other day if he could give me an HDMI cable. It certainly wasn't part of his plan; he said he'd have to go check and see if there's one in the truck. (yes, he had one. and no, I didn't need one
)
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,866
- 31,364
- 146
Consider how the feds have been pushing the 09 digital conversion. It seems that if most people can't even be expected to understand the need for a digital tuner to get OTA after the switch, why shouldn't we expect the same people to be even more clueless about HD?
I think plenty of people actually equate any digital signal to HD.
I get my local HD stations over the air using an antenna located in the attic.
I also have directv and cable. Comcast doesn't block the cable channels with my internet access.
My wife has trouble with the tv input selection.
HDMI 1 is directv and over the air channels.
HDMI 3 is the dvd player.
TV is the cable channels.
1sikbITCH
Diamond Member
- Jan 3, 2001
- 4,194
- 574
- 126
Most younger people will get it, and the old people who can't grasp it will die out anyhow and soon everyone will understand HDTV. Same with computers and PDA's and everything else. Then when our generation is old computers will be in the form of cranial implants and the screen will be in your mind (where do you plug in the peripherals? :Q) and we will be confounded by all these newfangled gadgets just as "the masses" are today.
One of my relatives commented that the picture on my TV looked really clear despite being only 32" (and using an antenna). I checked hers and they are still using SD satellite boxes on new big screen HDTVs.
My dad is 72 and I switched to HD tv after seeing his set up. 52" Sony LCD, Directv, and a Blu-ray player. He is not your typical 72 year old. He has a PHD in ME and still teaches grad school at a state university. He has been in the same office on campus for over 40 years.
Capt Caveman
Lifer
- Jan 30, 2005
- 34,543
- 651
- 126
No. What you are discussing is technology advances and an inability of manufacturers to simplify it. High-definition itself is not complicated.
The Boston Dangler
Lifer
- Mar 10, 2005
- 14,647
- 2
- 0
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."
Currently, other than some auto-tuning capabilities to optimize the signal, as far as inputs go it's about as simple as it can be without robbing you of options. Sure, they could just remove everything except the HDMI port and then people would have no choice, but some people have devices that they may only have hook ups for via RG6, Composite, Component, etc..
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.
I guess it's the same as setting the clock on a VCR or hooking up a DVD player. Only now its a lot more complicated than those tasks.
fatpat268
Diamond Member
- Jan 14, 2006
- 5,853
- 0
- 71
I haven't really been informed on the 09 digital conversion until a few months ago. Sure, I heard of it happening since 1995 or so, when it was originally supposed to occur in 2005. The problem was, was that there was too much misinformation going on, and people working in the cable business not knowing what was what. Many years ago, I was under the false assumption that the 09 switch was a switch to HDTV... not DTV, and that it affected very few people.
Cable companies were vague as well, saying it only affected analog tv and those who had older TVs. Well, once again, they dropped the ball and forgot to mention that they meant OTA Antenna analog... not cable analog. Sure, some of you probably knew the difference, but it was hard to get a solid concrete answer when so many people didn't know the answer themselves.
And this is part of the problem with the TV industry. It appears to be getting better though.
Just look at "Tvs" a few years ago. LCDs and Plasmas that were called high definition capable. Little did most people know, is that this didn't include a TV tuner. Sure, the industry picked up the ball eventually by referring them to monitors and eventually phasing them out completely. But how does the average Joe supposed to know this? Sure, you'll probably say that he should've researched his purchase, but average Joe had never had to do this in the past, so why is he expected to do it now?
My parents last TV before their recent HDTV was 20 years old. 20 years ago, average Joe didn't have to research this. He could go to Sears, or whatever store he wanted, pick out a TV based on price and size, take it home and expect it to work right out the box. And these TVs were generally built like a tank. Not so much nowadays. Nowadays, you have a choice between 720p, 1080p, number of hdmi ports, 60hz, refresh rate, contrast ratio, etc. How is average Joe supposed to know/care if SDTV looked fine to him? Moreover: you've got LCD, Plasma, DLP, tube Hdtv, plus whatever new technology is coming out.
All this doesn't consider installation options. Do you go with component, hdmi, or dvi? If you go dvi, how do you get audio? Speaking of audio, the TV speakers suck, I want surround sound. Now I gotta buy a receiver and figure out how to hook all that up. The list goes on and on and on. You and I are probably tech savvy and can figure all this stuff out with a little bit of research, but Average Joe cannot.
And Best Buy/ Circuit City employees are of little help nowadays, they know the bare minimum and only try to sell you the most expensive obnoxious cable possible. So of course HDTVs are too complicated for the masses.
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,866
- 31,364
- 146
yeah. I should have added that even though they've ramped up the ads on the digital switch, they seem to leave out the most important factor: it only effects OTA. I know people that still don't understand that their cable will be fine. I assume it's because once you see the attention being focused on this switch, most would assume that affects everyone. All they need is a simple message:
Do you watch TV with an antennae? is your TV x years old? you will need a new box by Fed 09.
That's it...why can't they just broadcast that one tidbit of info?
as for BBB/CC. I was in BB one dya when HDDVD was still breathing. a young couple asked what the difference was between HDDVD and BD. He had no clue. couldn't even tell them what players were compatible. Ridiculous.
Brainonska511
Lifer
- Dec 10, 2005
- 28,877
- 14,127
- 136
AstroManLuca
Lifer
- Jun 24, 2004
- 15,628
- 5
- 81
Only problem with that is there are a lot of channels that are broadcast both OTA and over cable. I recently switched from OTA to basic $13/mo cable and my channels are exactly the same and I still see the ads.
The REAL problem is that TV makers didn't start putting ATSC tuners in their TVs early enough, and there hasn't been enough of a push to inform people of ATSC tuners and how they differ from analog tuners. How many non-nerds have heard of ATSC? I've heard of it and I know basically what it means but I don't know what it stands for. When all the marketing centers around using the word "digital," it just doesn't work, because digital is used in so many areas. People don't know that HDTV vs. SDTV is a totally separate thing from digital vs. analog, and that's a totally different thing from OTA vs. cable/satellite.
There are going to be a few people with older projection TVs that don't have digital tuners who are going to be really confused when they no longer get reception through their antennas. Of course, I'm guessing most people with big TVs also have cable or satellite, but not all.
When I first got my HDTV, I did spend a fair bit of time reading up on all of the different audio and video connection formats available. Ultimately I just bought a couple of HDMI cables, but someone with a complete HT system will have more options. I could understand how the average consumer might not want to take the time to actually learn about all of the different options available.
MotionMan
Lifer
- Jan 11, 2006
- 17,124
- 12
- 81
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
MotionMan
Lifer
- Jan 11, 2006
- 17,124
- 12
- 81
A few weeks ago, I set up one of the OTA digital TV converter boxes for my 79 year-old uncle. I do not know why, but I was surprised to see that they also use the goofy digital channel numbering thing (i.e. 114-10, 84-52, etc.) that I get on my non-box TVs at home. How in the hell are old people, who probably will be the most common users of these boxes, going to find their stations?
Set up, though a snap for me, was beyond the limited abilities of my uncle (If you were not familiar with ?modern? TVs, the set-up diagram made it appear like you had to have both coax and RCA connections on your TV).
Also, the thing acts just like a cable box, so you get another remote (which needs to be programed to control the TV), you have to run a channel scan in order to find all your stations, and THEN, unless you want to have to flip through all Spanish, Asian and religious stations, you have to figure out how to remove stations from the list. Finally, as the stations get updated, you have to run the scan again and AGIAN remove the Spanish/Asian/religious stations.
I would not want to have to work in tech support for these boxes.
MotionMan
Set up, though a snap for me, was beyond the limited abilities of my uncle (If you were not familiar with ?modern? TVs, the set-up diagram made it appear like you had to have both coax and RCA connections on your TV).
Also, the thing acts just like a cable box, so you get another remote (which needs to be programed to control the TV), you have to run a channel scan in order to find all your stations, and THEN, unless you want to have to flip through all Spanish, Asian and religious stations, you have to figure out how to remove stations from the list. Finally, as the stations get updated, you have to run the scan again and AGIAN remove the Spanish/Asian/religious stations.
I would not want to have to work in tech support for these boxes.
MotionMan
My problem with HDTV has always been trying to ensure I buy a product that is not going to make SDTV look worse than it looks on my current CRT.
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