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Seniors and HDTVs

TV technology changes fast these days; that's why you come here to keep up on it, right?Well, there is one group of our society that's left in the dark by the digital transition: our senior citizens. They are totally missing out on the whole digital revolution. Now don't get me wrong, there are a few elderly people that are hip on the new things, but as a retail TV salesmen, I can honestly tell you most are not.

The issue is not receiving the signal nor about how to do that, the issue is that there are simply so many options to choose from. To make matters worse, they all have an expert that knows everything about the HDTV and loves spending ol' Grandmas money. But do they really need HDTV?


Sure, they do.

The picture quality from a HDTV set is so much better then a standard one that the TV will jump to life again for older people. Plus, with bigger TV sets price always dropping, they can get a bigger screen then they might be used to. The sound that accompanies high-def is so much clearer that that older folks will be able to hear it better as well.

But why is high-def so confusing? Main-stream media for starters. The Associated Press is a good source for normal news but not so much for technology. We have always poked fun at their attempts to inform their reader base, but it really isn't funny. These stories cause people to buy the wrong HDTV for them, or even worse for people on a fixed income, cause a panic on how they their TV will work when their analog TV is shut off.

Something needs to happen and it starts with you. HDBeat reaches a good amount of people everyday but our reader base normally does not include your parents, or grandparents. We're calling on you to properly inform your older relatives about HDTV and its surrounding technology.

Have you ever helped a family member, older or younger, buy a HDTV. Good or bad, how was it? I just went through it with my mother. I have mentioned in the past that my mom receives an OTA signal and she simply loves the new plasma hanging on her wall. The picture quality simply floored her the first time I tuned in our local digital ABC signal. The TV is just what see needed and she will never go to cable or satellite now that she has seen the OTA digital signal. And now my Grandparents want one too!