CentrisResearch
Latest
Ok that's it, providers should stop simulcasting SD to HD set-tops
We've seen it over and over again at bars, waiting rooms and the homes of our friends and families and it needs to stop. You know; they have an HDTV, an HD set-top box that is properly connected, and they're watching HD shows in SD. Why? Because it is the channel number they know and the HD channels are in BFE. It was one thing for providers to do this in 2002, but now? What providers should do is to just replace the SD channel with the HD version. Sure there are some times when an SD show is on an HD channel and you'd rather record it on the SD channel to save space on the DVR, but that is hardly a good enough reason to confuse the rest of the world. Don't believe it? Well Centris Research found that 30 percent of HDTV owners don't watch HD and the reason is assumed to be because they don't know its there. We get that the SD channels need to be simulcast for those without HD boxes, but we refuse to accept that modern HD set-tops can't make this whole thing simpler -- especially considering that DirecTV HD boxes have this feature, what is baffling is though is that it isn't on by default.
