[LINK] digital TV conversion - psychology of the consumer

[Richard Chirgwin]

Craig Sanders wrote:
> 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.
>   
The problem is that some people just don't care. I don't like to argue 
solely from myself as the example, but I don't watch that much TV; 
reception is good enough on analogue with a standard antenna for the 
amount of TV I watch. Since I catch news and weather, a little sport, Dr 
Who and not-much-else, there's nothing that I want that digital can 
pitch to.

So the price is immaterial. I don't see the STB as too expensive, it's 
just that there's other stuff to do; so why bother? Why would I give 
money to someone for a product I don't want?

I guess another piece of the consumer psychology has to do with the 
multiple-TVs problem. Someone with three analogue TVs in the house has a 
choice:
- Get multiple STBs
- Replace all the TVs (harking back to my non-watching habits, I haven't 
bothered with a plasma or LCD either)
- Get one STB and try to reticulate it throughout the house

All of these look singularly unpalatable to the hour-a-day TV watcher.

RC

> 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
>
>