How long will HDTV take?

[MesaV]

Reading these HDTV posts, reminds me when in 1997 I bought my Sony DVD player.  Okay I have a kick-ass player but where can I rent a disc; who has any kind of a collection from which to buy.  Blockbuster didn't have anything; Hollywood video was a little better, how about Netfix.com.  Best Buy had a total of about 6 feet of space for DVD's.  Then there's DTS, Wide Screen, I love it, and boy did that take some time to get off the ground!  Today player's start at about $150, almost every disc is Wide Screen, and a lot of discs have both DD and DTS.  Oh, Best Buy has 6 racks 20 feet long and filled on both sides, top to bottom with DVD's.  Lets see that only took about 4 years...

[Joseph S]

 

Okay I have a kick-ass player but where can I rent a disc

Netflix. Plus, you can also buy DVDs from Netflix and get the Clinton testimony DVD for just 1 cent.

Why rent though? With all these Reel.com, 800.com, and Buy.com coupons and  40-50% off of retail on preorders, you might as well buy the disc for a buck or two more.

  (Those were the days.)


 

almost every disc is Wide Screen

Yet, now it seems we're getting an increasing number of Pan and Scan only releases thanks to Walmart.   For some reason the Matrix and Star Wars  Ep. I sell through the roof and Walmart still thinks OAR is not acceptable to the public and moronic studio execs start moving towards DIVX model of releasing crappy non-OAR discs with no extras. (Columbia/Fox/Artisan/Disney)

 

Oh, Best Buy has 6 racks 20 feet long and filled on both sides, top to bottom with DVD's. Lets see that only took about 4 years...

I actually believe that they were better in the past. Now, it seems re-releases and new release titles are not ordered for Tues. All the BB stores prior to this year always had every release title available on Tues. Now they just keep filling the racks with countless copies of "The Mummy" and "American Pie."

As for the main topic, I think if the manufacturers put in a digital tuner in every set, it will take off fairly quickly due to the availability of OTA signals. I spent $400 on HDTV decoder because I was sick of paying for cable with horrible analog reception. Once people see what they can get, (in all top 50 markets outside of Milw.), they will start demanding more and more HD content.

However, the manufacturers can do all they can and the incompetence of stations like WI$N, WITI, and the rest make the whole effort futile. If there is no content then even a TV with a tuner is worthless.

Essentially, my plan is based on establishing content and easy reception of that content by consumers.

1) Strict fines on all stations in violation of May 1. Fines should be pro-rated from May 1, if a station is not on air by June 30th.

2) In addition to fines, require mandatory on air date in all top 50 markets by Sept 30, 2002 for all ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates. May 2003 for all other affiliates. (and none of this WITI 9 volt battery nonsense)

3) Mandatory Digital Tuners in all TV models >13 inches by Jan 31, 2002.

4) Require cable companies to carry all local OTA signals if they offer a digital service.

Additional terms: No zooming, no stretching, no multicolored side bars(gray or black only), no non-transparent bugs, no wasting of bandwidth on multicasted infomercials outside of 1:30-5:30AM, and must maintain sufficient power to reach a 60 mile radius from the center city of the market.

[This message has been edited by Joseph S (edited 05-10-2002).]