# HDTV: A Rich Man's Luxury?



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

*New study says high-def owners have
significantly more income than most.*

By Phillip Swann, President, TVPredictions

Washington, D.C. -- October 25, 2006

Is High-Definition TV only for the rich?

A new study from Leichtman Research says that while more households have 
high-def sets, the average HD owner makes significantly more income than the
average person.

The report found that the mean annual income of HDTV households is 42 percent
above the average. In addition, 26 percent of households with annual incomes of
more than $50,000 have a high-def set compared to seven percent of households
with annual incomes below $50,000.

The report was based on a survey of 1,300 U.S. households. ...

More @ *TVPredictions*.com


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## akron05 (Dec 14, 2005)

Well, DUH! Prices have been coming down. ALL consumer electronics penetrate high-income households first and then filter down.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Is that really shocking? Groundbraking research there?

I mean what is the lowest price you can find an HDTV?
$1,000? maybe $750?

And those households that are lower then the $50k have a lot more things to worry about then the quality of the picture on their TV.

School for their Children (or self), Food, Rent/Mortgage, Car, Work, ect...

Most of those families have to watch every dime now adays.
And if their TV they got for free when the neighboor moved, still works......


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Is that really shocking? Groundbraking research there?
> 
> I mean what is the lowest price you can find an HDTV?
> $1,000? maybe $750?


How about $1,000 for a 53" RPTV HDTV two years ago?

How about $555 for a 23" LCD HDTV last month?

Do your research, and NEVER, EVER pay retail! :icon_da:


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Nick said:


> Do your research, and NEVER, EVER pay retail! :icon_da:


Just shows how long I already had my TV for.. 

I new they where going down in price... but I didn't realize how low.
I know my good friend just purchased a 42" Hitachi 1080i plasma for $1,700 at BEST BUY.... (they pricematched the internet price he found.... I not sure WHY they did...they just did)


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Yours is not to question why. Especially when someone gets a bargain.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

*Woot!* :grin:


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## GeorgeLV (Jan 1, 2006)

Nick said:


> How about $1,000 for a 53" RPTV HDTV two years ago?
> 
> How about $555 for a 23" LCD HDTV last month?
> 
> Do your research, and NEVER, EVER pay retail! :icon_da:


Look for $599 32" LCD HDTVs on Black Friday.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Nick said:


> *Woot!* :grin:


Sold out!!!


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## reddice (Feb 18, 2003)

That article is correct. Right now HDTV or what I call it HETV (Highly Expensive Television) is only for the nitch and rich. I still don't see how the broadcast networks are going to be ready by 2009. I just don't see it happening until they start to sell a good size TV for under $500. 32" are too small. 37" is the right size. 27" are like a 20" 4:3 TV. I open up my Sunday paper and see many HD sets and they are in the thousands and then one page they have SD sets that are affordable that an average Joe can afford. Mark my word. 2/17/2009 will be pushed back again.


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## Capmeister (Sep 16, 2003)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Is that really shocking? Groundbraking research there?
> 
> I mean what is the lowest price you can find an HDTV?
> $1,000? maybe $750?


The 17 inch HDTV in my office was $200.

I will probably replace the 26 inch SDTVs upstairs with HDs after the first of the year. Will cost maybe $1000 for both, together. It's not too much more than a good SDTV.


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## ebaltz (Nov 23, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Is that really shocking? Groundbraking research there?
> 
> I mean what is the lowest price you can find an HDTV?
> $1,000? maybe $750?
> ...


Yeah that is why when you drive by blighted areas, with dilapitated houses, there are always caddies parked out front and sat dishes on the roof. And I bet the people inside have cell phones. The sad fact is these people don't focus on what they should, they buy this stuff. But meanwhile, I no longer know anyone, except my 75 year old mom, who DOES NOT have an HDTV.


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## Capmeister (Sep 16, 2003)

My dad (age 76--still works full time) asked me if he should get an HDTV. I said "when you start watching TV wearing your glasses, sure."


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

My entire system (CRT projector, tuner, antenna , etc.) cost less than $800 two years ago, and I get an 84 inch picture.

If someone wants HDTV they can put a workable system together today for less than $500, even less if they want to go small (under 40 inches).


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

reddice said:


> That article is correct. Right now HDTV or what I call it HETV (Highly Expensive Television) is only for the nitch and rich. I still don't see how the broadcast networks are going to be ready by 2009. I just don't see it happening until they start to sell a good size TV for under $500. 32" are too small. 37" is the right size. 27" are like a 20" 4:3 TV. I open up my Sunday paper and see many HD sets and they are in the thousands and then one page they have SD sets that are affordable that an average Joe can afford. Mark my word. 2/17/2009 will be pushed back again.


1. You don't seem to understand. There is NO mandate for networks to broadcast in HD, only to go digital by Feb. 2009, at which time analog broadcasting is to cease. All televisions in the marketplace are required to have digitl tuners by that time.

2. Yes, 27 inch HDTV's are equivalent to 20 inch 4:3 TV's.

3. HD TV's 36 inches and larger are available below $900 -- you can get an RCA 52 inch rear projection HDTV for that price. It is highly unlikely that you'll see a reduction in price of large screen sets to the $500 level. Apparently, you don't understand the complexity of HDTV's as compared to SDTV's. Also, the price of large flat panels is unlikely to match the price of CRT projectors of similar size. They are much more expensive to produce. Flat panel technology is already mature, so the high prices of the past have come down significantly.

Granted, as technology evolves, prices come down. We've already seen this across the board in TV receivers. My first 21 inch round tube color TV cost me $500 in 1958. I'd hate to think of that in terms of 2006 dollars!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

A 27" 16:9 HDTV is equivalent to a 20" 4:3 TV only in that it approximates the vertical screen dimension.

The similarity ends there.


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## KML-224 (Nov 9, 2006)

I have a Sanyo 26" LCD HDTV which I bought at Wal-Mart in June for then-$697 ($647 now). I'm far from rich, which is why I bought the TV in spring/summer when I knew that home heating oil wouldn't be an issue. What I wonder is whether or not my grandmother's TV is capable of HD on its own? It's a Zenith model #R56W36, a 56" projection model made in October of 2003. Her Comcast cable converter only has the standard red/white/yellow RCA jacks for A/V, which are connected to her TV right now. (The thing is about the size of my Motorola cable modem, also connected with Comcast.) She has progressive R/G/B RCA jacks on the back of the TV, but has nothing those could be hooked up to.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

If her tv has the RCA-type red/green/blue component video inputs, then it is capable of accepting a hi-def signal.
Whether the picture produced is HD or ED remains to be seen.

If this her tv set







then she has an HD monitor. All she needs is an HD stb, a subscription an HD
programming tier and a tech-savvy grandson to fix her up with stunning hi-def.


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## KML-224 (Nov 9, 2006)

Tech-savvy grandson? Now that's funny! I'm really not compared to most of the people on this board. I'm pretty certain that it's a monitor since I've had an antenna hooked on her TV before in prime time and nothing was in HD on any channel.


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## reddice (Feb 18, 2003)

So you are saying that in 2009 they will still be making SDTV's but they will all have a digital tuner because I have seen SDTV's now with digital tuners. That makes sense then.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

No one can say for certain that SD TVs will still be made in 2009, but the liklihood is small because they are selling fewer every day.

However, HDTVs in 2009 will be so much cheaper, it won't matter much. I think what happens this holiday season will pleasantly surprise us.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

I'm just going to wait until the next round of price cuts. Maybe I'll get my mom a 32" HDTV set for Mom's day. What I'd like in that TV:
Built-in ASTC tuner
HDMI input
1080i/720p compatibility
Nice to have DVD player
Right now, there isn't enough content in HD on DirecTV to even justify the purchase, especially since I don't PPV, not a sports fan, or subscribe to the premium channels. In addition, DirecTV's current HD-DVR doesn't support OTA recording... yet.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

They will always be a market for SD TV's. Not everyone wants to pay the premium for HDTV, <$200 per set and not everyone needs HD. SD sets with digital tuners should be less than $200.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

You can get a 27-inch SD set at Wal-Mart for, I think, $208. I believe it is an Ilo (sp) and when you compare the image, you'll see why it is relatively inexpensive.

The good SD sets with digital tuners go for about $350-400 (Sony, Toshiba, Samsung.) When people see that, they say "Hey, for just a few hunded more, I could have an LCD HDTV flat panel that will only weigh 40 pounds, etc. etc." In these days of easy credit, people will pay $20/mo for 40 months almost as easily as $20/mo for 20 months.

I am glad the low-end sets are there...in fact, I might soon buy an SD set for the bedroom. But the price gap is narrowing, and there sure couldn't be much profit in a $200 27-inch TV, which means there is not much incentive to make them.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

paulman182 said:


> No one can say for certain that SD TVs will still be made in 2009, but the liklihood is small because they are selling fewer every day.
> 
> However, HDTVs in 2009 will be so much cheaper, it won't matter much. I think what happens this holiday season will pleasantly surprise us.


There continues to be confusion over the term "SD TV's". Although the term can apply to both analog and digital TV's, the industry is attempting to use the term SDTV only for entry level digital TV's -- capable of displaying 480i digital signals. The SDTV receivers currently in the marketplace have both analog and digital tuners, thus they can display both 480i analog and 480i digital signals. Once the digital transition comes about in 2009, they'll probably discontinue analog tuners, IMHO. Digital receivers capable of displaying both 480i and 480p (and NOT 720p or 1080i) are properly called EDTV.


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## jimbo09 (Sep 26, 2006)

Any TV that is advertising itself as an SDTV (with the snazzy SDTV logo) has to have a Digital tuner. Right now, even if you are just in the market for a 27 or 32 inch 4:3 TV, get an SDTV. 

In addition to the Wal-Mart and Costco extreme price cuts on Plasmas and LCD HDTVs, look for these retailer to just about give away regular tube tv's with analog tuners only. Why? They are going to be landfill material in 2 years.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

EDTV usually refers to 16X9 480p, like PBS HD does for widescreen shows that are not HD.

"Enhanced" has to be more than SD, and I guess 480p 4X3 could be called enhanced in that it is progressive instead of interlaced.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Jim5506 said:


> EDTV usually refers to 16X9 480p, like PBS HD does for widescreen shows that are not HD.
> 
> "Enhanced" has to be more than SD, and I guess 480p 4X3 could be called enhanced in that it is progressive instead of interlaced.


Okay, everyone -- here's what the gov't has to say:

http://www.hdtv.gov/whatisdtv.html


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