So, Where's My HDTV?

A couple of Summers ago, I saw one too many HDTV demonstrations at local electronics stores and I had to get one. I settled on an Olevia 32-inch HD-Ready LCD widescreen set. I got it, because it had many connections of various types, and it doubled as a computer monitor. It's the largest PC monitor I've ever seen! It was a bit of a pain to set up, because of the odd native resolution (1366 x 768), but it certainly was worth the hassle. It was also a bit of a pain, since it didn't have a built-in ATSC tuner. If I wanted to watch off-air HDTV, I needed to buy a tuner. I got the Samsung SIR-T451 tuner, and a Terk TV5 powered indoor antenna. After a laborious setup, I finally pulled in my first HDTV show: Numb3rs on the local CBS affiliate.

Wow. What a difference! The picture was crisp and clear. It was in widescreen, with Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. I was impressed. I saw Monday Night Football, and heard the cheerleaders in my back right speakers, and the beer vendor in my back left. Heaven. Although, all was not well in HDTV land. Not all of the network programming was in HD. In fact, not very much of it at all was in HD. The local PBS affiliate only broadcast about 3 hours of HD per night. When it wasn't in HD, two ugly bars would appear on both sides of the screen. Also, because of the location of my apartment, I couldn't pick up the Fox affiliate. So, unless I popped for the Insight Cable Digital Upgrade (I did), no NFC Football or MLB baseball games for me!

After I sprung for the upgrade, I could pick up all the local channels in HD. However, only at 720p resolution. Much better than standard TV, but not the Shangra-La of 1080p resolution I was promised at the HDTV demos. We're now counting down the months until all terrestrial TV stations have to drop their analog signals and go strictly digital. Unless Congress pushes back the date, by February 2009, all TV viewers will have to get HDTVs, or converter boxes that will let them watch the digital signals.

So I ask you now: where's all the digital content? You'd figure all broadcast entities would be madly producing or converting analog shows to HD, yet the content is still pretty scarce. You'd figure cable and satellite operators would be madly upgrading their infrastructures and technologies to support the exciting world of High Definition, yet most of their offerings are still in Standard Definition. And what of Hollywood? Right now, they're having a fruitless battle over next-generation DVD standards: HD-Disc vs. Blu-Ray. Settle this, and get us all these great old and new films in sparkling High-Def! I bought one of those "upconvert" DVD players that takes Standard Def DVDs and converts them to HD. It does a pretty good job, but I still see some digital artifacting.

The industry seems to be dragging its feet until HDTV adoption penetrates a little deeper. That's the cart pushing the horse. First, you get us the gotta-have content, and then the consumers will buy it. Look at color TV. It was ready to go in the late 40s. It wasn't until the 1960s when everyone had to see Gunsmoke in color, that the sales of color sets took off. Where's HDTV's Gunsmoke? I thought for sure it would be sports. After seeing football in HD, I can't imagine watching it in standard def. In baseball, you can see the entire field. Basketball benefits from the increased resolution, as does hockey. For the first time, I can actually see the puck!

Unlike many analysts, I think Congress will hold the line on the February 2009 deadline. I say this, because they seem anxious to auction off that spectrum. The last time they did, they made billions. How long will it take for this fact to sink in to the broadcast industry is anyone's guess. However, I hope they'll get the ball rolling on producing more HD content. Stay tuned.