The Key to High Definition Domination
High definition has been struggling to gain a solid foothold for a few years now. Most large TVs that are sold are HD but, in my experience as a retail TV salesman, the average consumer does not have them hooked up to high-def just yet. A person could blame this on a few things like lack of programming or just plain ignorance. However, I think that it boils down to the universal language of money.
Cable has done a good job, at least in my area, of making HD a nominal upgrade, but only from the already expensive digital tiers. For $5 bucks more a month, a person can get a few HD stations. Satellite has also been dropping their costs to provide HD to the masses. DirecTV lowered the price of their current HD box; perhaps just to get rid of the old MPEG2's before the MPEG4's hit the street. Dish Network will give you the box if you are a new subscriber. But you still have to spend $12 or $13 a month to get the signal from ether provider. Over-the-air (OTA) signals have been a long time favorite for early adopters of HD but the equipment has always been somewhat expensive. $249 for the ATSC box and a good $50 or $60 for HDMI/DVI cable is not cheap.
Radio Shack is trying to change that though. 19% of Americans still receive a TV signal at no charge to them via an antenna. But let's say you bought that HDTV last year before built in ATSC turners where standard. Radio Shack is selling an ATSC tuner box with HDMI out for $90! Plug this puppy into that old antennia you have laying around, or hanging on the house, and enjoy HD cheap. The boys over at AVS Forum seem to like it, so I am sure that you will too. This sure does beat buy those old VOOM! boxes of eBay.
[via AVS Forum]
