Only Half of HDTV Owners Have HD Service

The Cable & Telecom Association for Marketing released results of a survey today showing that just 52 percent of HDTV owners subscribe to a high-def service that enables them to watch HD content. 34 percent of those folks were not aware that they needed to set up HD service while 61 percent thought that HD quality is the same as a DVD.

Longtime readers of this blog know that this particular issue is one about which I write frequently, and is one that gets me pretty fired up. These survey results don't speak to how many of the 48 percent of non-HD subscribers use an over-the-air antenna to capture local HD broadcast signals at no charge, but other data indicates it is not a majority. The problem here is simple, the solution not so much. Here's the deal:

Right now, when you buy an HDTV at your local electronics store, the focus is on the TV itself. When it comes to HD service, certain stores carry DIRECTV, others offer DISH, some might have a brochure for the local cable company's digital cable product. The issue, however, is that no retailer I know of offers a comprehensive selection of HD service options, both cable and satellite. So let's say you buy your HDTV at a retailer that only carries DIRECTV but you already use Comcast cable. You take no action on HD service at the store and when you get home, you plug your TV in and naturally assume that you're watching HD content. The truth is that unless you already ordered an HD cable box and have the installers waiting to hook it up, you're really just watching standard analog or digital cable on an HDTV set.

Additionally, the sales guys at most big box electronics stores are generally poorly trained on the technology behind HDTV, and even worse on HD service. All too often after they've sold you your new DLP, LCD or plasma, they don't even mention the service options.

As you can see, the problem is fairly easy to understand. Solutions, however, have been difficult to come by. The cable and consumer electronics industries have long been at odds, and it was due in large measure to CE retailers' embrace of DIRECTV and DISH in the mid-90s that those two companies were able to rise as legitimate competitors to cable. Cable and CE have tried partnerships here and there but there has been no concerted effort on either of their parts to make signing up for HD service a mandatory part of the HDTV buying process.

My position is that when you buy an HDTV, you should have to leave the store having either ordered an HD cable box, purchased an HD satellite dish and box, or bought an over-the-air antenna. However, I won't hold by breath waiting for that development to occur.