Let Uncle Sam Buy Your Digital TV

I dunno, I like the idea of the government helping push the advance of technology.
Television is more than just entertainment for many. It is a source of news, public service announcements, and weather. Sure, you could use the internet or the radio or even the newspaper, but many people use the tv.
If a forced change from one format to another is going to happen, I think something like this is a good idea.

The whole "forced change" bit should be interesting to watch as well. We got into a debate last night (partially because of excess beer of course) over the format wars.

None of us have picked up a HD-DVD or a Blu-Ray because the whole deal seems a bit forced on us. The key factor though is the one question..."How long before something else comes along and replaces both formats?"

We know that digital distribution of movies is very close on the horizon and that's a factor as to why the WGA is currently on strike..They know it's coming soon as well.

So, all of these new technology platforms are interesting to see from an outside perspective.

Hell, I remember just a few years ago..they said HDTV programming would be standard on all networks and television series by 2007. So, we bought our HDTV in 2006 and we were ready for it. Obviously, that "standard" medium has been pushed back now.

The current HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format stinks of Laserdisc with better support.

VHS ruled as king from the early 80's until about 2001. Nearly 20 years. And we're supposed to accept a new format just 7 years later??? No thanks.

I'm curious to know how aware people are of the situation and what's going to happen.

There was talk about whether cable companies would be involved with handing these boxes out to customers. But that still doesn't cover the people who get their tv from antenna only, and those folks are not going to be happy about having to buy a box just to watch over-the-air signals.

the new formats rule man, embrace it dont fight it. HD films and programming on HdTVs look beautiful!

people didn't want dvds cause they had vhs, now dvds are the norm. same thing will happen in my opinion with whatever format ends up winning.

hanso, DVD's replaced VHS tapes quickly for a number of reasons (I worked in college at a place that was one of the first to offer DVD players for sale (back when they were $2000) and had DVDs for rentals.)

1 - All studios and companies got behind the DVD format whole-heartedly. Unlike Videodisc / laserdisk / UMD.
2 - Rental stores could get themselves out of the "buy back" program.
In very brief, video rental stores bought most VHS movies for anywhere from $40 to $120 a tape because the distributors knew the rental stores would "make the money back" and rental stores "got the tapes before they were available on the market" (generally.) The latter slowly faded away, but the former didn't. To compensate, distributors began offering the BIG CHAINS a buy back program if they would order so many copies of the big name new releases. This program effectively KILLED all the ma and pa video stores and caused an explosion of all the "guaranteed to be in stock" stores.
DVDs, however, were a new tech. There never got to be a buy-back program. And to encourage rental places to support the technology, the rental stores bought DVDs for rental at the same retail that consumers could. (Our first titles were $20-$30 each.) In effect, it was CHEAPER for rental places to get DVDs per movie, and they didn't have to mess with buy back, and ma and pa dvd rental could emerge (you begin to see gas stations and such offering rentals again.)
3 - DVD discs are cheaper to make than magnetic tape VHS cassettes. And that savings was generally passed on to the consumers. Prior to DVDs being available for sale, new VHS movies could range from $20-$40 dollars. DVDs hit the market at $20-$30 dollars a movie, but if you boxed set something you'd often see bigger savings. My first DVD purchase was Record of Lodoss Wars box set. The 6 VHS Tape box set would have been $120. The 3 DVD disc set was $60. Quickly VHS prices dropped to compensate, but the genie had already been let out of the bottle.
4 - VHS players took years to drop to affordable prices. DVD players, from wide release, took maybe 2 years to get affordable and about 4 years to get ridiculously cheap.
5. DVD players quickly were part of most computers being sold by about 1998-1999. Computer buyers had players without having to buy another set of equipment.
6. Stand alone DVD players, for the most part, didn't need most people to buy new tv sets. If you needed to make it work, you got a converter or even a new tv that was maybe $300 at worst. And then you saw the improved quality as well as cheap discs.

THAT'S a combination of reasons (above and beyond "higher quality", which doesn't win with most lower-middle class and and lower income families) why DVD's were so successfully adopted in a scant few years.

Whole industry behind it, and as such quickly affordable for even the most meager of incomes.
7. For the last few years DVD movies have become RIDICULOUSLY cheap. I picked up a brand new copy of Spider-Man 2 a year or so ago for $3.00 from Best Buy.

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Compare all that to $2000 television sets, $500 players, and $50 dollar discs. Yeah, THAT'S affordable.
Oh, and there's two formats out there. Don't know who's gonna win. Might buy the loser. Yeah, that's a smart investment of $500+ dollars.
All those beta-max buyers are happy they chose before the final format was decided.

IMHO, It is irresponsible and downright stupid to convert EVERYTHING to digital. I like new formats, and advance of technology, but there could at some point (brace yourself, for my conspiracy theory) come a time when the computer network controlling everything in our lives (Power grids, water companies, tv networks that bring us alerts) get a virus, or just gets hacked or even something less crazy like they just get a big glitch. In short it's good to have new technology, but that doesn't mean the old tech should be shelved, ESPECIALLY , and maybe only , when it comes to broadcasting over airwaves. Should the proverbial shit hit the fan and good ol reliable digital fails us what happens then.
I feel like as a society we are getting WAAAAY too far rmoved from nature, and simpler things that can help us in times of turmoil. If anyone truly believes we cannot shift back into a time with out computers you are truly foolish. And the less able you are to survive in a world without computers, digital this and that, the more likely you are to not survive the time when computers fail us. Now I know it seem like science fiction, but lets remember how history has worked. Great advances, usually followed by some military action, these advances can last a very long time, Then before you know it BAM we're all wallowing around in our own filth. Just like the dark ages, that followed the highly advanced Roman age. Or the hundreds of years of turmoil that has followed the once highly advanced Culture in the Middle East. Trust me it happens. Will we be ready, if we're all dependent on digital everything.

We already are seeing those drops off with the new formats Merin. Last year the new format players were $800-1000, this year they are available at $400 or less. Next year they might be even less.
As far as the new format films prices goes, I would say they are about $30 average. I remember buying The Crow & Clerks for $30 and $40 on DVD back when it was starting out, so the prices aren't that much different in similar points of their life cycles i guess.

only problem i see holding everything back, is like you mentioned that there are 2 formats to choose from right now and no one wants to end up buying the loser. i'm guessing (and hoping cause i got a PS3) that with the allilance of WB and New Line along with the other studios that were on board with Blu Ray, the scale will tip in Blu Ray's favor and that this format war will be over soon. then they can make the stuff cheaper cause everyone will be using the same format.

HD format players ARE dropping in price (it seems all electronics rapidly drop in price now, true)
and the discs are slightly cheaper ($30-$40 for most Blu Ray at Best Buy) than they started . . .
but the confluence of events aren't behind EITHER format right now. Other than tech enthusiasts, guys who need the latest gadgets, and the small percentage (it IS small) of folks for whom the improvement if picture and sound quality is more important than the price tag - a move to HD media isn't really a mainstream trend right now.
Right now (Best Buy online), Ratatouille is $30 for Blu Ray and $18 for DVD. Underworld: Evolution is $30 on Blu Ray, $10 on DVD. Old School is $25 on HD DVD, $5 on DVD. Think how many people shop at Wal-Mart. The lower price will win.

My grandmother told me the other day that the cable company called her and told her she needed a digital box so she can still receive tv. I told her that wasn't true and said the cale company was just trying to scare her into renting a digital box for no reason. I imagine they are going to do this with alot of people figure they can sucker the ones that don't know any better.