[LINK] digital TV conversion - psychology of the consumer

[Craig Sanders]

On Mon, Aug 06, 2007 at 02:28:33AM -0700, David Goldstein wrote:
> If our government had the foresight of the Brits on digital
> television, then maybe more people would be keen, but then they have
> their problems too. When you compare Freeview - http://freeview.co.uk/
> - with what Howard outlined below, then it's no wonder so few
> Australians take up digital television...

i just don't get it. an SD set top box costs $50 or less these days,
and greatly improves both reception and picture/sound quality (if you
get a signal at all, it'll be perfect. otherwise nothing). that's
significantly less than what people spend on getting a new antenna
installed to improve reception.

more channels may or may not be desirable (IF they included some variety
rather than just more of the same crap american cop shows, banal dramas,
and reality tv garbage), but IMO the improvement in quality is worth it
anyway.


if they cost $50 retail, with profit included, they must land in the
country from china at about $20 or maybe $30. if the govt really wants
to accelerate the adoption of digital TV, it could bulk order a lot
of them and give them to low income households so that they are not
disadvantaged by the changeover.

craig

-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>

"Christ came, and Christianity arose...But originating in Judaism, which
 knew woman only as a being bereft of all rights, and biased by the Biblical
 conception which saw in her the source of all evil, Christianity preached
 contempt for women."
            [August Bebel, "Woman and Socialism", 1893]