Washington, D.C. (November 20, 2006)
--
It's Thanksgiving week and we
high-def owners have so much to be thankful for. For
instance:
* HDTV prices are falling fast.
* Cable and satellite operators are adding more high-def channels (albeit more slowly than we wish).
* And new technologies (MPEG4, HDTV DVD players, 1080p etc.) promise to make the high-def picture even brighter, clearer and more vivid..
But that said, every Thanksgiving must also come with a turkey -- or, in this case, 10 turkeys. Yes, it's time for...
Swanni's Annual
"10 Turkeys of High-Definition TV!"
Swanni's 10 Turkeys are companies and/or individuals who seem to be doing their best to slow down high-def sales rather than speed them up. Their policies and strategies are so dumb-headed that they defy rational analysis.
So, without further adieu, here are Swanni's 10 Turkeys of High-Definition TV! (In reverse order, of course, to build the suspense.)
HDTV Turkey #10: Retailers
Every Sunday, CE retailers such as Best Buy distribute circular ads in local newspapers across the country. However, instead of emphasizing affordable sets in the ads, the retailers promote the most expensive HDTVs in the store! Consequently, the average person sees the ads and thinks that high-def is still too expensive. Come on, guys. Please put at least one HDTV for under $1,500 on the front page of the circular.
HDTV Turkey #9: TiVo
TiVo this year finally launched a "standalone" High-Definition DVR. (Standalone means it's not part of a satellite or cable tuner.) However, the damn thing costs $799 -- about $500 more than DIRECTV's new HD DVR. No wonder TiVo is having trouble getting new subs.
HDTV Turkey #8: Sony
The new Blu-ray HDTV DVD players cost nearly $1,000. So many high-def owners were excited to hear that Sony would include a Blu-ray player in its new $499 and $599 Play Station 3 units. However, because of "component shortages," Sony could only ship 400,000 PS3s at launch. And unless you were unemployed and/or 19 years old, you didn't have the time and energy to stand in line to get one. So, the Blu-ray target audience -- males in their 30s and 40s -- were shut out. Good move, guys.
HDTV Turkey #7: DIRECTV
I could count the ways that DIRECTV has fumbled this year on high-def. (I known next year will be better; has to be.) But the satcaster's decision to black out one HDTV channel (usually TNT HD) every Sunday to create satellite space for the NFL Sunday Ticket is a special gobbler. What's the message here? That TNT HD is really not that good? That its programming lineup is not worthy of being on seven days a week? TNT Knows Drama but this is a comedy.
HDTV Turkey #6: Cox
The cable operator is calling high-def subscribers and basically telling them that they will have to sacrifice their public access channels to get more HD channels, according to a report in The Arizona Daily Star. What they leave out of the conversation is that Cox is lobbying local governments to carry fewer public access channels. Look, I'm no fan of public access, but be honest with your customers. The public access channels have nothing to do with HDTV. Cox could have said that they could add more HDTV channels if they drop the shopping networks or a few movie networks. But they didn't, did they?
Click Turkeys to see the rest of Swanni's "10 Turkeys of High-Definition TV!"
* HDTV prices are falling fast.
* Cable and satellite operators are adding more high-def channels (albeit more slowly than we wish).
* And new technologies (MPEG4, HDTV DVD players, 1080p etc.) promise to make the high-def picture even brighter, clearer and more vivid..
But that said, every Thanksgiving must also come with a turkey -- or, in this case, 10 turkeys. Yes, it's time for...
Swanni's Annual
"10 Turkeys of High-Definition TV!"
Swanni's 10 Turkeys are companies and/or individuals who seem to be doing their best to slow down high-def sales rather than speed them up. Their policies and strategies are so dumb-headed that they defy rational analysis.
So, without further adieu, here are Swanni's 10 Turkeys of High-Definition TV! (In reverse order, of course, to build the suspense.)
HDTV Turkey #10: Retailers
Every Sunday, CE retailers such as Best Buy distribute circular ads in local newspapers across the country. However, instead of emphasizing affordable sets in the ads, the retailers promote the most expensive HDTVs in the store! Consequently, the average person sees the ads and thinks that high-def is still too expensive. Come on, guys. Please put at least one HDTV for under $1,500 on the front page of the circular.
HDTV Turkey #9: TiVo
TiVo this year finally launched a "standalone" High-Definition DVR. (Standalone means it's not part of a satellite or cable tuner.) However, the damn thing costs $799 -- about $500 more than DIRECTV's new HD DVR. No wonder TiVo is having trouble getting new subs.
HDTV Turkey #8: Sony
The new Blu-ray HDTV DVD players cost nearly $1,000. So many high-def owners were excited to hear that Sony would include a Blu-ray player in its new $499 and $599 Play Station 3 units. However, because of "component shortages," Sony could only ship 400,000 PS3s at launch. And unless you were unemployed and/or 19 years old, you didn't have the time and energy to stand in line to get one. So, the Blu-ray target audience -- males in their 30s and 40s -- were shut out. Good move, guys.
HDTV Turkey #7: DIRECTV
I could count the ways that DIRECTV has fumbled this year on high-def. (I known next year will be better; has to be.) But the satcaster's decision to black out one HDTV channel (usually TNT HD) every Sunday to create satellite space for the NFL Sunday Ticket is a special gobbler. What's the message here? That TNT HD is really not that good? That its programming lineup is not worthy of being on seven days a week? TNT Knows Drama but this is a comedy.
HDTV Turkey #6: Cox
The cable operator is calling high-def subscribers and basically telling them that they will have to sacrifice their public access channels to get more HD channels, according to a report in The Arizona Daily Star. What they leave out of the conversation is that Cox is lobbying local governments to carry fewer public access channels. Look, I'm no fan of public access, but be honest with your customers. The public access channels have nothing to do with HDTV. Cox could have said that they could add more HDTV channels if they drop the shopping networks or a few movie networks. But they didn't, did they?
Click Turkeys to see the rest of Swanni's "10 Turkeys of High-Definition TV!"