HDTV: The Future is Now

Years ago consumers could only dream of crystal clear television with surround sound. Then high definition television (HDTV) was introduced. It surely promised to change the way every family watches their favorite Tuesday night sitcom. Early adopters rushed out to try the revolutionary new technology. To their dismay, all they were offered were high priced sets that required extra components to unlock the hi-def content. Early units were also trouble by defects that would cause the product to die long before HDTV really started to kick in.

Content for the new HDTV's was few and far between. After purchasing a set top box, consumers were faced with an ugly fact. There was not enough HD content to make the purchase worthwhile. Only select channels broadcast in HD and even then only select shows were shot in hi-def. Sure Sundays NFL games looked glorious in full hi-def glory, but what were you going to watch on Wednesday? Consumers were left to purchase add-ons like video game systems and satellite dishes. Early TVs weren't easy to move either. Some of them weighed as much as a small human. Then the huge downside was realized. Early HDTV's suffered greatly from screen burn in. This left the wonderful hi-def screen paralyzed and forced replacing. Early adopters of all technology are faced with various problems when products are in their infancy. What makes early adopting worthwhile is getting a glimpse of what will become the standard technology in the future. HDTV would be no different.

Years have passed and technology has advanced. HDTV's have become better products with longer shelf life and more content to entertain the consumer. New forms of HDTV's have eliminated the burn in problem and at the same time made the TV's lighter and easy to handle. New TVs last longer than ever before also.