"We haven't seen any evidence of manufacturers dumping 720p," Mike Vitelli, Best Buy's senior vice president of consumer electronics, said today during an investors call on the retailer's first quarter report. "Both technologies have a place."
Vitelli made his remarks in response to a Wall Street analyst's suggestion that TV makers are planning to focus primarily on 1080p sets in the future.
The 1080p HDTV offers more lines of resolution than a 720p set but many industry observers say it's questionable that the average viewer can tell the difference.
However, most 1080p sets are priced at hundreds of dollars more than their 720p counterparts. And with TV profits shrinking due to falling prices overall, some observers believe the industry will abandon the cheaper 720p in favor of the more expensive 1080p.
Vitelli acknowledged that "there's a technology difference and a price point difference." But he said both sets "satisfy different customer needs."
"Both of them (1080p and 720p) are outstanding," he added. "What most manufacturers are doing and what we tell our customers as well is: if you are looking at this as a long-term investment, 1080p, which is more expensive today, is certainly something that’s going to protect you in future, as you go forward."
Vitelli was referring to the possibility that TV networks will one day broadcast their programming in 1080p. Currently, the only 1080p commercial programming available are via High-Definition DVDs from Blu-ray and HD DVD.
In its quarterly report today, Best Buy said that its earnings fell 18 percent and it warned that next year's profits may shrink as well due to a softening economy.
But Vitelli said the 2007 football season should give the retailer a boost, particularly in the TV division.
In other comments, Best Buy said wireless TV, particularly high-def programming, is not quite ready for primetime.
"The ability to move the bandwidth of High Definition via wireless, it is certainly something that is being demonstrated in the science lab level at this point, so that we can prove that it’s doable over time," Viteli said. "But even today, the houses that have high-speed broadband that actually couldn’t move high-definition TV at all, before we get to the point that we’re in a space where you are actually moving high-definition wirelessly, we’ve got quite a ways to go."
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