Washington, D.C. (November 20, 2006)
--
Continued from
part one.
HDTV Turkey #5: Sony & Toshiba
Do they really think that high-def owners will buy their new HDTV DVD players knowing that one format (Sony's Blu-ray or Toshiba's HD-DVD) will likely become obsolete at some point? Were any of their executives around during the Beta-VHS era? The format war is still hard to believe -- and a good reason to give Sony another turkey award.
HDTV Turkey #4: The 1080p HDTV Makers
One day, 1080p may be the best high-def programming source. (The jury is still out. Some analysts say the difference between 1080p and 720p/1080i is hardly noticeable; others disagree.) So, if you have the money, a 1080p HDTV might be a good investment. But, for now, there isn't any 1080p programming available except from HDTV DVDs -- and there likely won't be for sometime. But if you listened to the commercials for the new (and more expensive) 1080p HDTVs, you would think you wouldn't get real HD unless you buy one. And that's nonsense.
HDTV Turkey #3: EDTV Makers
EDTV stands for Enhanced Definition TV. To many, it sounds like HDTV, which is just fine for some TV makers. They promote the acronym, EDTV, hoping that uninformed consumers will buy it thinking it's high-def. But it's not. The EDTV, while less expensive than HDTV, offers a picture not much better than a DVD.
HDTV Turkey #2: The U.S. Congress
Congress this passed a law setting a hard deadline (Feb. 17, 2009) for the nation's transition from analog TV to digital. That was a good thing. But lawmakers casually included a subsidy amount ($1.5 billion) for digital converter boxes without really knowing if it was enough. To make matters worse, Congress, nor any federal agency, have even hinted that they have a real plan to educate Americans on the switch to Digital TV. This is a potential time bomb and it could explode in 27 months. What will happen if millions of people suddenly can't watch their favorite shows on their old analog TVs? Not a pretty thought.
And now...the award for Swanni's Biggest HDTV Turkey goes to:
HDTV Turkey #1: CBS
The Tiffany network has decided to air just three National Football League games each week in high-def. Three! Out of a possible seven or eight games each week. CBS' explanation is that it decided to spend money instead on the high-def production of its pre-game show. Hey, guys, people don't care about the pre-game. It's the game that matters!
Dishonorable Mention:
While he didn't make the Top 10 list, I can't forget to mention our old friend Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal TV which has decided to air more non-HD reality shows and game shows in primetime next year.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Zucker was asked if high-def viewers might be less interested in watching non-HD programming.
"I think it's a fair question, but I'm not overly concerned about it at this point," Zucker said.
To Jeff and all our turkeys, keep it up and you might be eating your words next Thanksgiving.
HDTV Turkey #5: Sony & Toshiba
Do they really think that high-def owners will buy their new HDTV DVD players knowing that one format (Sony's Blu-ray or Toshiba's HD-DVD) will likely become obsolete at some point? Were any of their executives around during the Beta-VHS era? The format war is still hard to believe -- and a good reason to give Sony another turkey award.
HDTV Turkey #4: The 1080p HDTV Makers
One day, 1080p may be the best high-def programming source. (The jury is still out. Some analysts say the difference between 1080p and 720p/1080i is hardly noticeable; others disagree.) So, if you have the money, a 1080p HDTV might be a good investment. But, for now, there isn't any 1080p programming available except from HDTV DVDs -- and there likely won't be for sometime. But if you listened to the commercials for the new (and more expensive) 1080p HDTVs, you would think you wouldn't get real HD unless you buy one. And that's nonsense.
HDTV Turkey #3: EDTV Makers
EDTV stands for Enhanced Definition TV. To many, it sounds like HDTV, which is just fine for some TV makers. They promote the acronym, EDTV, hoping that uninformed consumers will buy it thinking it's high-def. But it's not. The EDTV, while less expensive than HDTV, offers a picture not much better than a DVD.
HDTV Turkey #2: The U.S. Congress
Congress this passed a law setting a hard deadline (Feb. 17, 2009) for the nation's transition from analog TV to digital. That was a good thing. But lawmakers casually included a subsidy amount ($1.5 billion) for digital converter boxes without really knowing if it was enough. To make matters worse, Congress, nor any federal agency, have even hinted that they have a real plan to educate Americans on the switch to Digital TV. This is a potential time bomb and it could explode in 27 months. What will happen if millions of people suddenly can't watch their favorite shows on their old analog TVs? Not a pretty thought.
And now...the award for Swanni's Biggest HDTV Turkey goes to:
HDTV Turkey #1: CBS
The Tiffany network has decided to air just three National Football League games each week in high-def. Three! Out of a possible seven or eight games each week. CBS' explanation is that it decided to spend money instead on the high-def production of its pre-game show. Hey, guys, people don't care about the pre-game. It's the game that matters!
Dishonorable Mention:
While he didn't make the Top 10 list, I can't forget to mention our old friend Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal TV which has decided to air more non-HD reality shows and game shows in primetime next year.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Zucker was asked if high-def viewers might be less interested in watching non-HD programming.
"I think it's a fair question, but I'm not overly concerned about it at this point," Zucker said.
To Jeff and all our turkeys, keep it up and you might be eating your words next Thanksgiving.