Posted Thu Nov 26, 2009 at 06:00 AM PST by Tom Landy
We all know that guy. He picks up a nice HDTV for the holidays because he's heard how great it is, but fails to pick up a Blu-ray player, high definition game console, or even an HD cable or satellite service. According to a recent survey by Frank N. Magid Associates, he's not alone.
There are some fun statistics in the survey, which can easily be mistaken as nitpicking. For example, while thirty-five percent of households that responded to the survey said they had an HDTV, it appears that an additional eight percent own and HDTV and they don't even know it. Magid says that those eight percent did not describe their sets as HD, but said that they had either LCD, plasma, or widescreen televisions.
The survey results also state that only sixty-six percent of respondees were subscribed to a high definition cable or satellite service. If this is the case, that would make the number of people without a high definition service an approximate fourteen million.
Magid's survey was a web based survey of 1,373 adults aged 21 and up. Some of the results are questionable to say the least, such as the statistic that thirteen percent of those that completed the survey had never heard of high definition.
The numbers suggest that forty-two percent of those who purchased an HDTV but do not have high definition television service don't feel that the cost of service is worth the improved picture. Interestingly, thirty two percent selected an option stating that “I like the way the set looks, I don't need HD programming.”
Source: Magid
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.