Millions now own an HDTV, HD content not the main reason

Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:34AM EDT

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Enjoying the high-definition experience on your television is not cheap, but according to a post-Super Bowl survey by Magid & Associates, over 25 percent of households or 28 million now have at least one HDTV set. In the recent survey, Magid discovered that over 5.5 million U.S. households purchased their first HDTV during the 2007 holiday season, and 3 million bought a second HDTV.

What was more interesting to me were the reasons people gave for buying a new high-definition TV set. You would think high-definition content would be the driving force behind these purchases, but it wasn't. "Owning an HDTV set and actually viewing HD are still two very different pursuits for many," said Maryann Baldwin VP of Magid Media Futures.

Per the survey, only 18 percent of respondents said they wanted an HDTV to play their Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 HD video games, while the rest bought one thanks to falling prices, the DTV transition, and appearance. "Consumers who become accustomed to the sleek and contemporary appearance of their first HD set are now looking to bring that benefit into other rooms in their home," says Baldwin.

There are conflicting numbers regarding the amount of people planning to subscribe to HD programming in the future, but I guess it would be safe to say half of them won't be paying extra for the scant number of HD channels currently available. This means they will continue to watch standard definition channels on their 1080 display, and occasionally watch movies on Blu-Ray or play games on their HD consoles.

What about you? Why did you buy an HDTV?

25 Percent of U.S. Households Have HDTV; Sales Driven by Gamers (Daily Tech)

Related:

A few more things you should know about the DTV transition
Accessing HDTV over Your Home Network
Quick Guide to Buying an HDTV

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Comments on Millions now own an HDTV, HD content not the main reason

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  • 1 Posted by o2cmefly on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    I feel your cable pain Matt. I have Verizon Fios. On Fios, even the SD channels are watchable on my 1080p 52" LCD. Most cable companies compress their data, so even a 1080i broadcast looks less than it should. Fios doesn't have half the HD channels as most cable providers, but the quality of all the channels is far better. Like I said above, I'll take quality over quantity any day.

  • 2 Posted by jeepmonster01 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    bought a 50'' vizio last year and the picture was pretty good. I just upgraded to HD from Direct tv and it is sooo much better than just regular tv. it is $10 extra a month. the dvr service is $5 a month so their is not much difference

  • 3 Posted by brmick1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    I recently bought a Radio Shack HDTV Antenna & want to know if it will pull in the new signals or do I still have to purchase a DTV antenna?

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