US Consumers Confused Over HDTV Programming
According to a new survey, most HDTV owners in the US use HDTV to watch DVDs and play video games but don’t watch HD programmes.
The study by the Consumer Electronics Association, ‘HDTV: You have the set, but do you have the content?’ was taken from a random sample of 2,508 US adults who were interviewed over the telephone.
It found that only 44% of households with a high-definition TV actually received HD programming. Most of those who do not receive HD programming said that this was because it was too expensive.
The survey also found that most of the consumers who do receive HD programming, do not understand what programming they do and don’t receive.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association 30% of households in the US have a high-definition TV set and this is expected to rise to 36% in 2007.
The Consumer Electronics Association’s website, www.AntennaWeb.org, provides consumers with information on how to receive free, over-the-air HD programming.
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Visited 544 times, 1 so far today since July 12th 2007
Consumer interest in free over the air digital- HD TV is definitely on the increase. The number of visitors to our web site http://www.dennysantennaservice.com has skyrocketed over the past year, mainly do to the introduction of free over the air digital - HDTV.
Choosing the proper TV antenna for a particular location is the main issue for most. Many consumer’s have a tendency to purchase antennas that are to small to do the job, digital reception is an all or nothing proposition, you’re going to want a strong signal. Also, there is a misconception that all digital - HDTV broadcast signals are on the UHF band (14-69) Currently it’s true, many broadcaster’s are transmitting their digital signals on UHF, because much of the VHF band (2-13) is currently being used to broadcast analog TV signals. However, when the digital transition is complete on February 17th of 2009, the date set when broadcasters will turn off their analog signals, things will change. There are only a handful of broadcast locations across the U.S. that have plans to remain 100% on the UHF band, most areas will have both VHF and UHF digital stations. This means if you purchase a UHF TV antenna now, chances are you may loose the ability to receive a portion of your digital channels in the future. Some areas already have VHF digital stations.
My best advice is to purchase a TV antenna that is large enough to be certain it can easily receive all of the digital broadcast signals in your area, even during poor reception conditions. The antenna should be VHF/UHF capable, unless you are absolutely certain all of your stations are currently UHF, and will remain UHF after the digital transition is complete. To determine the channel number your area digital stations currently broadcast on now, and the channel number they plan to broadcast on after the 2009 analog shutdown date, visit http://hraunfoss.fccgov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf. When you visit this site, start by finding your state and then the city where your area stations are located. The channel number that appears in the first column is the current digital channel number of that station, the second column is the current analog channel number, and the third column is the tentative final channel number destination. The third column is the channel number where the station plans to permanently broadcast their digital signal. VHF channels are 2 - 13 and UHF are 14 - 69. If your not sure where or what stations are available in your area, visit http://www.antennaweb.org. This is a great site to visit, it will provide the city location of the stations in your area and much more.
Comment by Denny Duplessis — July 11, 2007 @ 11:31 am