This Post is Broadcast in High Definition

A new study indicates that about a quarter (~6 million) of the 24 million households with HDTV capable TVs do not realize that they are not watching high definition programming! Another quarter of the customers have bought HD-ready TV’s, but have not purchased the requisite products and services from the cable companies (or hooked up the outdoor antenna) to make it work. According to a WSJ article on the research:

Bruce Leichtman, the market research firm’s president, figures the confusion is partly because the consumers spend so much money on the set they can’t believe they’re not getting what they paid for. “This is cognitive dissonance,” he says.

I think there are two challenges here. First, there is a triangular relationship between the customer, the retailer and the cable company — that is, neither the retailer nor the cable company is responsible for the entire customer experience. It is up to the customer to research the requirements and contact the apprpriate service providers to ensure that the pieces are in place. Secondly, this next generation of technology has become far more complex than what the average TV buyer is used to. Historically, you bought a TV, took it home and plugged it in. If it didn’t work, you returned it or called for a repair. Now, you take it home and plug it in, call the cable company, pay an extra $10 bucks a month and get a new cable… box and the damn thing still doesn’t work because you forgot to switch it to the specially numbered HD channels… even though the channel you are watching perpetually says “broadcast in high definition” in the lower left-hand corner by the network logo. User error or usability problem?