Will You Return Your HDTV?
Forrester Research says many high-def sets are brought back to the store.
By Swanni
However, a new report suggests that some of those disappointed shoppers will have bulky High-Definition TVs under their arms.
According to an article by EE Times, Forrester Research estimates that as many as 20 percent of high-def sets purchased during the 2006 holiday season were returned to the store.
The article says consumers were dissatisfied with their purchase for a variety of reasons, including confusion over how high-def works.
For instance, James L. McQuivey, a Forrester analyst, tells EE Times that some people were disenchanted when they connected their sets to standard-definition cable or satellite receivers.
The new HD owners did not realize the sets needed to be connected to HDTV set-tops; so they were disappointed with the picture using the standard-def tuners.
McQuivey says retailers this year were more aware of the problem and tried to educate consumers at purchase. Consequently, he says, returns should be closer to 10 percent this holiday season.
But other officials say consumer confusion about high-def continues to be one of the leading industry obstacles. Bryan Burns, vice president of strategic business operations at ESPN, tells EE Times that he's "shocked" by the number of people who are unaware that a high-def tuner is needed to display HD signals on a high-def set.
Burns notes that some studies have indicated that almost 40 percent of high-def owners are not watching HD programming, in part to confusion about tuners and other issues. He said the industry often uses technical jargon and terms to explain HDTV to consumers.
"The topics roll off the tongues of engineers and other technologists, but to the consumer, it's a very confusing set of acronyms, terminology and phrases," Burns said.
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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is
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