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Responding to a possible fallout from the early switch to digital, the FCC has expanded its DTV Help Line call center and it has sent staffers to 72 markets where local stations are switching early. This is not just about whether people can watch their favorite reality show, said acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps, according to B C. It s about whether consumers have access to vital emergency alerts, weather, news and public affairs. Monday, February 16, 2009, 02:39 PM The high-def set is still not a household staple in the United States. How come? Washington, February 16, 2009 High-Definition TV is an unqualified success with a majority of homes tuning in a high-def program every night. More than a decade after its launch, HDTV has yet to become a household staple in the, on par with such products as the microwave, cordless phone, mobile phone or even the DVD player. Estimates vary, but most studies show that the HDTV is in only about a third of homes. Even worse, Nielsen reported last December that only 2 percent of households have the high-def tuners that are necessary to watch high-def programming. Although that number has climbed from roughly 13 percent from a year ago, it s remarkable that so relatively few Americans are watching High-Definition programming. If you listened to industry and cultural analysts, you would think that HDTV was everywhere. Not everyone is watching HDTV. But with the deepening global recession, it s possible that HDTV will not reach a majority of households in the next 5-10 years, or maybe ever. Despite dropping prices, most high-def sets are still cost prohibitive for most Americans. While you can buy a small-screen HDTV now for under 500, the sets that make people drool that make them run to the store are still close to 1, 000 or more. Even before the recession, that was too much for budget-conscious Americans. During the recession, it s an unthinkable luxury. Despite the upcoming Digital TV transition assuming it is upcoming, millions of Americans still own older, non-HD analog sets. They spent good money for them and they still work so why update them? Or, at least, that s the ca hat benh bong of the analog TV owner. It s a lot cheaper to get a 50 digital converter box which allows digital signals to display on the analog set than it is to buy a high-def set. And it s also cheaper to buy a non-HD Digital TV set for 200-300 than it is to throw down the mortgage money on a high-def one. Cable and satellite providers and the telcos still surprisingly do little to educate consumers that if they have a high-def set, they need a high-def tuner to watch HD programming. Roughly one-third of HDTV owners fall in this category. They seem to think that high-def owners have figured it out. And TV manufacturers and CE retailers do next to nothing to help out. Their view: They ve sold ca hat benh bong set so why spend their time and money ensuring that people use it to its fullest? However, that s a myopic view. If more people had high-def tuners, that would be more people out there in the marketplace spreading the word about HD s wonderful picture and sound. And that would lead to more people buying high-def sets. Not Enough HD Programming Not enough high-def programming, you ask? How can that be? Aren t there dozens of HD channels? Well, yes, that s true. But the four major broadcast networks, which still dominate primetime ratings, still produce far too many shows in standard-def. For instance, on CBS, The CBS Morning Show, The Amazing Race, 48 Hours and several other shows are still not in high-def. And on NBC, under spendthrift CEO Jeff Zucker, sometimes the entire primetime lineup is not in HD. For instance, unscripted shows such as Deal or No Deal and The Biggest Loser are delivered in deadly dull SD. The result is that the average viewer is not as excited about high-def as he could be. The Blu-ray/HD DVD Debacle The industry s food fight over which high-def disc format would prevail unquestionably hurt the HDTV industry. The high-def disc, which offers a picture superior to anything on cable, satellite or a telco service, is a great showcase for the technology. However, the format war slowed consumer interest in high-def discs and now that Blu-ray has prevailed, the studios stubborn insistence to price Blu-ray movies at 5-10 more than their standard-def editions continues to delay consumer acceptance. Blu-ray should be a catalyst for selling more high-def sets, but it s often just a reminder of how costly high-def can be. High-Definition TV has come a long way in the last 10 years. But the high-def industry from retailers to TV makers to TV providers to the Hollywood studios need to congratulate each other less and start selling more. They need to stop saying that high-def is a success and start admitting that more needs to be done.