For my colleagues, the subject of the DTV transition has been a real yawner.

Perhaps it is because they all live on the tech edge and for them analog TV's and "over the air" television that's free and non-optimized in some manner is as remote as a village on the outskirts of Qom.

I, on the other hand, as a trend watcher and business enthusiast think that for this industry, the DTV transition represents a sales opportunity not to be underestimated.

In the US, there are 2.75 TVs per household compared to just 2.5 people per household. Suffice it to say, a TV is important to us. Considering that many of those TVs could become useless unless you take action, the planets of the TV hardware industry are in alignment much as they were in the 60's when color TV swept in.

The big box retailers understood this with WalMart, Circuit City and Best Buy among others positioned to accept the government issued coupons for the converter boxes.

How many add-on sales will they secure for themselves? How many coupon holders will they convince to subscribe to a pay service, upgrade to a digital television, or invest in the future with an HDTV?

While this boon for business is exciting, it also opens the door for unscrupulous behavior at the retail level. Many smart people I know, including my own brother have been deceived into believing they need to buy a full 1080p HDTV in preparation for the digital switch.

My brother called me to get a pat on the back for his purchase and when I dutifully informed him that he'd been duped and did not need an HDTV (only a digital TV, which he already had), he seemed upset that I'd rained on his HD parade.

In the end, he actually defended the sales rep! I guess that HD seductress only took him where he already wanted to go.

E

May 2, 2008
HDTV Solutions

For information on how to prepare for the DTV transition, read "Countdown to the Switch to DTV."

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