The Trials of HD

This weekend the New York Times reported that enthusiasm for HDTV seems to be declining, with only 25% of people shopping for new HDTV sets saying in a survey that their main reason for buying was HD programming.

Well, um, duh. First of all, many people who aren't gadget freaks like we are can't really differentiate between HD and SD video -- not least because much of what's broadcast in HD wasn't in high definition to begin with, or bandwidth-happy broadcasters are multiplexing the daylights out of the signal. A friendly note, gang: Just because you can marry a bunch of SD signals to an HD stream doesn't mean you have to.

Then there's that whole thing about HDCP, HDMI, and a whole bunch of related alphabet soup, each with different revisions. Another friendly note: Acronyms and numbers drive non-gearheads crazy, and the more you throw at them -- especially when it's in sentences like, "HDCP will degrade even a 720p image to 480p without an HDMI connection" -- the more likely they'll back toward the exit.

Oh, and that whole HD DVD/Blu-ray thing? Not helping.

Finally, for most non-gearheads the benefits of HDTV aren't exactly obvious. I'm a film freak, so I want my images to look as close to film-like as possible in texture, color and sharpness. But I know plenty of people who will happily watch an upscaled SVCD on a 27'' TV. Unlike the DVD format, the iPod, or even the VCR, HDTV doesn't have an easily understandable, really compelling one-sentence argument in its favor that makes regular folks sit up and take notice. At least, not enough to make them willing to navigate the obstacles the industry is still throwing at them.