We’ve all heard stories about people who buy a new HDTV set and then never bother to subscribe to an HD program service. Worse yet, many don’t even know they’re not viewing HD programming.
Well, the phenomenon may be more widespread than expected. A new study by Frank N. Magid Associates finds about 30 percent of set owners don’t subscribe to an HD service and, even of those that do, most are not enamored at all with TV’s high-definition fare.

In fact, only 47 percent of people buying HD sets in the past year did so looking forward to watching TV shows. That number, Magid found, is down from 63 percent two years ago. Many are simply watching DVDs, while others mainly play video games.

With about 15 percent of all homes now having an HDTV set, the technology is still confusing and intimidating to many viewers. Magid found that enthusiasm for HD programming is also dampened by too few program choices and incomprehensible pricing plans.

A majority of HD owners in Magid’s September survey of nearly 1,200 adults rated satisfaction with programming at seven or less on a scale of one to 10. “That’s pretty mediocre,” Baldwin said. “Part of it is because they have to work to find the channels. They’re being placed … in the 600, 700 or 800 channel numbers. Not only did they have to work to buy the set, and work to make the programming arrangements, they have to work to actually tune in to those channels.”