Sad truth: 20% of HDTV owners don’t know the difference between SD and HD

According to a recent survey by Leichtman Research Group, about one in five HDTV owners believe they’re getting HD content when they aren’t, and there is a pretty big difference once you watch it, which makes it all the sadder. I personally know a few people who have fallen into this trap themselves, so I can say this is pretty accurate.

The data compiled by LRG is based on a telephone survey of 1302 U.S. households and marks the 6th consecutive year the survey has been run, with actually better informed results overall than some of the previous surveys, due to the penetration of HD in the marketplace.

The findings are not all that surprising given the general consumer confusion surrounding the terminology of 720p, 1080p and DVD/Blu-Ray and the real differences. Cable providers are still only in their infancy in regards to releasing HD services, and most companies only offer under 100 highly compressed HD channels that never live up to HD’s full potential; Dish Network is guilty of this sort of practice. 

42 percent of HDTV owners surveyed also noted that when they bought their sets they were told to get HD feeds (that’s less than half, which should be closer to 100%). So it appears retailer are also having some trouble with the concept as well. More than likely poorly trained salespeople (or big-box mass retailers) to blame for this low number.