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1/5 HDTV owners don't know difference between SD and HD

news article released on: 28 November, 2008

According to a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group (LRG), about one in five HDTV owners believe they are watching HD (high definition) programming simply because they own an HDTV, but instead are really watching SD (standard definition) content. The data compiled by LRG is based on a telephone survey of 1302 U.S. households and marks the 6th consecutive year the survey has been run. ...

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gallagher

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Most people are morons, especially with technology. I am surprised the number is not higher.

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Paladore

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lets face it, HD televisions are only usefull for ps3/xbox right now. i have some hd programming but still its sad that hd tvs been out this long and how few stations provide true HD.

bomber991

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Hell my dad can't even tell the difference between a PS3 game and a PS1 game. He saw my brother playing the PS3 one day on our giant HDTV, and he comments like he always does every single time he walks by the tv "Wow, that game sure has good graphics!"

Yeah, my little bro was playing Castlevania, Symphony of the Night.

Paladore

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haha, what a classic game. man when that came out back when? ps1? that game was amazing.

redux79

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There should defiantly be a standard when it comes to hd programming. Anything that isn't uncompressed 1080i should be labeled as enhanced instead of hd. Some channels even look worse in supposed hd. I can think of about 10 to 15 hd channels off the top of my head that actually look like they're in hd, the rest look altered at best.

You have to admit that standard def tv looks better on newer hd capable tv's. The built in enhancements alone can tweak the picture to create deeper/brighter more accurate colors. The truth is the majority of the general public doesn’t care enough to learn about this new technology. It won't be until they have no choice or they accidentally see/buy it that you'll hear ohhh and ahhh that’s what hd is. I’ve been asked several times by numerous people (mostly older) what exactly blu-ray is... when I tell them they get this deer in the headlights look and slowly nod their heads.

snowlock

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first of all, i do understand the difference.
i'm not surprised some have no idea.

interestingly enough, i never wanted hd cable service since buying an hdtv.
however, my cable box recently stopped working. i hooked up the tv directly.

once i let it auto-program, i noticed some new "digital" cable channels.
i get all the hd versions of the major networks without a cable box.

why didn't anyone (on afterdawn) inform me of this!!

rvinkebob

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Gaming has the biggest difference when comparing SD and HD. If you have component on an SDTV it looks OK, but the resolution decreases the visual crispness. Television programming is only best with true HD video, as mentioned in other comments.

Leningrad

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haha morons. its like saying "i have an hd tv and im getting hd content"... NOT!

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 28 Nov 2008 @ 19:46

IPRFenix

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I'd have to say it's expected. Working in retail, at least 50% of the costumers that come into my store every single day are so hopelessly retarded (teens and adults alike) that they don't even know the alphabet. They can barely read. They can barely write. They can't do simple math. They can't string together even remotely coherent or understandable sentences. Etc etc. I wish I was joking, or at least exaggerating a little bit, but quite seriously I'm not.

To put it simply: Over the past decade or so, the average human being has become about as intelligent as a bar of soap.

domie

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Originally posted by IPRFenix:
I'd have to say it's expected. Working in retail, at least 50% of the costumers that come into my store every single day are so hopelessly retarded... They can't string together even remotely coherent or understandable sentences

and this comment comes from someone who works in retail with "costumers" ?
classic :)

IPRFenix

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Quote:
and this comment comes from someone who works in retail with "costumers" ?
classic :)

Well, I almost laughed.
Nice try.

DVDBack23

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Please refrain from flaming, thank you.

atomicxl Suspended due non-functional email address

I think its mostly cable users. You can get over the air HD for free and there's a drastic difference when you're watching a channel thats showing something in HD and something that isn't.

Those people may not know that its 720p or whatever technical name, but I bet they know a difference between the picture quality of most primetime shows on major networks and everything else.

Ryu77

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Originally posted by IPRFenix:
I'd have to say it's expected. Working in retail, at least 50% of the costumers that come into my store every single day are so hopelessly retarded (teens and adults alike) that they don't even know the alphabet. They can barely read. They can barely write. They can't do simple math. They can't string together even remotely coherent or understandable sentences. Etc etc. I wish I was joking, or at least exaggerating a little bit, but quite seriously I'm not.

To put it simply: Over the past decade or so, the average human being has become about as intelligent as a bar of soap.

I have to say (working in audio visual retail myself) that is a strange attitude to have towards your customers. These are the people that pay your wages and keep the business alive. You really should change your perspective if you hope to be successful in your chosen work. Do you perform well on sales figures compared to others in your workplace?

I think you should take pride and responsibility in educating your customers. It is your job to take all this complicated technology and jargon, then by asking your customers the right questions, help them to find and understand the product that suits them the best. You say, quote...

"at least 50% of the costumers that come into my store every single day are so hopelessly retarded .... They can't string together even remotely coherent or understandable sentences".

Again, I would like to reiterate, it is your job to take the information they are trying to relay and as a professional decipher that information and offer a solution. They are intimidated enough by the current market. We need to try to make them feel educated and savvy, not the other way around.

I will admit that this can often be very challenging. I am sometimes even faced with customers that will start off the conversation thinking that they know much more than I do, and when I try to add to the conversation it quickly gets turned into what feels like an argument. There is not a lot anyone can do in an awkward situation like this except continue trying to help. We must remember by working in retail we have chosen a customer oriented business.

No wonder 1 in 5 people are confused. Think about it from their perspective. With terms like Plasma, LCD, LED backlight, Blu-ray, HD, SD, 480i/p, 576i/p, 720i/p, 1080i/p, 100Hz, 120Hz, HDMI, HDCP, lossless/lossy audio, upscaling, multi-zone, RMS, impedance, TrueHD, DTS-HD, response time, contrast ratio, 16:9, 4:3, 24fps, streaming, BD-Live the list goes on and on... Of course they feel intimidated by all this strange new language. The average person doesn't love technology like most of us on here do.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 29 Nov 2008 @ 7:59

rkj78h6g5

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I'm sure all of us know at least one person or family that doesn't have a HD TV yet. From my experience, hi-def is something that must be seen to be really understood. You can talk to the hi-def holdouts until you are blue in the face about how stunning hi-def is, but you will generally not have much impact. These people need to see it for themselves. At the same time, that great impression they get of hi-def needs to coincide with one of two things:(1) having the budget to go out and buy hi-def gear, or (2) Pain. As in the pain of having a standard TV that is obsolete or has a bad picture.
The ones that perplex me the most are the people that don't either notice the difference between SD and HD(typically visually impaired and/or old people) and the people who don't care(typically those who just hate TV and avoid it.
IMHO, if you can walk to your local Fry's and walk by a 60" HDTV playing a Blu-ray Discovery nature-type show, and not stop, and gawk, and be moved almost to tears, then you not only hate TV, but you have no soul.

H0bbes

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I have to agree with Ryu77 on the retail thing. I used to work retail, and yes, people are clueless, but by no means are all of them stupid or unintelligent. They just have not been told. I lost count of how many side jobs I got mounting big screens and hooking up a home theater system. Those jobs gave me a chance to walk people through the differences in SD and HD in a language they could understand and how to take full advantage of the TV they paid for.

snowlock, I hear ya on the channels- funny story about that. I was programming a new LCD for a lady, and it picked up all of the unencrypted HD cable channels. She walked in as what looked like a shampoo commercial or something was on TV, but then the actress' robe... let's just say I finally noticed the bunny logo in the corner. My customer looked a little shocked, but told me to leave it because her husband would like having free P1ayb0y. Wow.

BigD87

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There is a difference and the easiest way to tell is get Cable. If you have a bigger screen like 40+ inches you WILL notice the difference cause cable has the worst quality unless you have digital channels, not just digital cable. My friend Jon has a 61in DLP HDTV and digital cable and normal channels just look god awful on it. Even Halo 2 looks better through the Xbox 1. People can't tell the difference cause they don't get a big enough size. Satellite TV, which is what I have on a 34 or 38in(don't remember) in Sony WEGA big tube TV(This TV is so nice, just fat as heck) I can barely tell the difference but when it comes down to it it IS noticeable, if you compare it. People aren't idiots, they just don't get big enough or have the right stuff and they don't look for it.

blivetNC

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@IPRFenix
I also have worked retail in cameras (pre digital era) and I am quite astounded by your post. I was going to respond until I saw the reply from Ryu77, very well put. My customers back then fell into 2 categories, those that knew everything about the camera that they were going to buy, including the name of the guy who designed the screw which held the film guides in place, or those who knew they just wanted to take a picture. If all your customers knew everything about every component you sold, then what is the purpose of your job? To help them carry the TV to their car, no, you find out what their needs are and suggest the best solution. It's your duty and responsibility to be the teacher here, you must educate them in the ways of HDTV. Not to flame Circuit City, but did their employees have the same attitude of superiority? What happened to the idea of making friends and making your customers feel welcome? I'm stopping before this turns into an open flame.

c1c

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Originally posted by snowlock:
first of all, i do understand the difference.
i'm not surprised some have no idea.

interestingly enough, i never wanted hd cable service since buying an hdtv.
however, my cable box recently stopped working. i hooked up the tv directly.

once i let it auto-program, i noticed some new "digital" cable channels.
i get all the hd versions of the major networks without a cable box.

why didn't anyone (on afterdawn) inform me of this!!

I was bored one day and plugged my coax from my internet comcast into my tv and voila, free basic cable with at least 5 local HD channels, great for HD football, hockey, baseball, and channel 11 HD. All I really need.

lynchGOP Suspended account

Quote:
Originally posted by snowlock:
first of all, i do understand the difference.
i'm not surprised some have no idea.

interestingly enough, i never wanted hd cable service since buying an hdtv.
however, my cable box recently stopped working. i hooked up the tv directly.

once i let it auto-program, i noticed some new "digital" cable channels.
i get all the hd versions of the major networks without a cable box.

why didn't anyone (on afterdawn) inform me of this!!
I was bored one day and plugged my coax from my internet comcast into my tv and voila, free basic cable with at least 5 local HD channels, great for HD football, hockey, baseball, and channel 11 HD. All I really need.

3 words regarding this article's title

What A Pity.

As for the Comcast video over coax, Yep, 99% of people have this same option as it is a standard that the video signals run on the same coax as internet. Usually a small filter is screwed on your line outside so if for some reason your video disappears then just find your little "green box" and open it and unscrew and remove the filter. That basically blocks the frequencies that deliver video channels. I used to work for at&t before Comcast took over their cable tv division.

lynchGOP Suspended account

Originally posted by Paladore:
lets face it, HD televisions are only usefull for ps3/xbox right now. i have some hd programming but still its sad that hd tvs been out this long and how few stations provide true HD.

Directv in Chicagoland has almost 80 HD channels. And not the crap that Comcast boasts via OnDemand which is B.S. that they are allowed to say "Most HD programming"

Directv has NGCHD, TBSHD, TNTHD, ANIMAL PLANET HD, SciFi HD, Movie channels HD, network channels HD. Lots and lots and lots. Move here for HD.

emugamer

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I wouldn't call people morons for not knowing the difference. You're taking generations of people who never had to make a huge decision to buy a TV. Some have had a SD TV for 20 years and the biggest decision they had to make 20 years ago was the size for their living space. Now they are expected to do an enormous amount of research, on something they never had to care about,in order to get the most from their (very expensive) purchase.

Cable is the worst IMO. I just switched this weekend from Dish to Cable. I had an idea what I was getting into. I read that Cable uses the most compression. But the package included VOIP and internet speeds about 4X faster (and yes, fully tested speeds are 4X faster), and came out to $55/month cheaper. I made the sacrifice in video image quality. I didn't think it could be that bad. The difference in quality between Dish and Cable is huge even on a 26" 1080i television. And don't even get me started on my SD signal coming into my 36" SD TV. Holy crap. Talk about random pixelation. I need to do my own research now to see how I can tweak the image. Initial research has yielded that not even changing output cables will correct the image.

victrolab

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Why do some people have to put others down for not being informed? Laughing and name-calling is despicable and shows lack of humanitarianism.

ronraines

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When Directv came to install my HD recievers the installer did NOT
know he had to use the HDMI jack in order for it to be HD.

A lot of people cannot see the difference between SD & HD, even some younger people.

also, many people set the screen to "stretch" the picture to fit
no matter what. I cannot stand to watch a "Stretched" picture.

emugamer

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Originally posted by ronraines:
When Directv came to install my HD recievers the installer did NOT
know he had to use the HDMI jack in order for it to be HD.

A lot of people cannot see the difference between SD & HD, even some younger people.

also, many people set the screen to "stretch" the picture to fit
no matter what. I cannot stand to watch a "Stretched" picture.

You don't need HDMI. Component is fine, as the HD signal is compressed anyway. In fact, when I had Dish, Composite was fine. The quality can be great compared to SD on an SD TV. There is a huge difference. There is an absolute difference between SD and HD on an HD TV. I watched the Jets game in HD on my HDTV this Sunday. Also in SD on my HDTV and also in SD on my SDTV. Huge difference. Those that cannot tell the difference probably don't have the right circumstances to be able to make an informed decision. Also, depending on your provider, some may need to speak to tech support to set-up/program their receiver to work with their TV in order to optimize the viewing experience.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 08 Dec 2008 @ 10:45

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