The Future of HDTV

So what is the future of High Definition Television? Bigtime, at least according to a new study released today. According the market research company In-Stat, there are currently around 10 million homes worldwide that now have high-definition TV sets. And in the next 9 months, they predict that number will grow more than 50 percent to reach 15.5 million by the end of the year.

In-Stat also predicts that the boom will continue in coming years and that by 2009, the total number of households that watch TV programs from an HDTV set will be at around 52 million.

But, the company points are that there are several stumbling blocks that might slow the spread, including the need for more content and public confusion about the technology. The lack of adequate HDTV content has disappointed many consumers, even prompting some to go so far as to return the TV sets.

Of those who keep their sets, nearly 45 percent of HDTV households receive their service from a satellite TV service provider, with terrestrial broadcasters and cable TV operators accounting for the rest of the market share.

The In-Stat study also noted that the United States is one of the fastest-growing HDTV markets; the number of households with high-definition TV sets in the country went up 150 percent to 4 million in just one year. Other major markets are Australia, Japan, South Korea and Canada.

I look forward to someday having a quality SDTV set in our home, especially during football season. Its been fun to walk around Costco every so often to see how some of the sets have improved in quality and that their prices have dropped. But, we are going to wait a little longer as TV is not that big of a deal in our life.