A new UK study says retailers are giving consumers misleading information about High Definition TVs reports The Guardian newspaper. UK media watchdog Ofcom found that four in 10 shoppers receive incorrect facts about high-def sets.
“Taking into account everything they had been told, one in eight in-store shoppers were left with the impression that an HDTV set would allow them to view basic (analogue) terrestrial channels in High Definition,” says the Ofcom report.
The Ofcom study does not openly accuse retailers of purposely providing incorrect information to trick people into buying High Definition sets. But other studies have suggested that the false information is disseminated for a variety of reasons, including a lack of knowledge by sales staff as well as a desire to sell the HDTV sets.
For instance, the study said, consumers were told that non-HD channels would look even better on a High Definition set. In addition, retailers failed to alert consumers they would need a high-def tuner to display HD channels on their new set.
While the survey is based on UK consumers, similar concerns about retailers have been expressed in the United States. During a congressional hearing last month on the U.S. Digital TV Transition, several lawmakers said retailers are confusing consumers about the U.S. transition by providing false information about digital sets.
The misleading information at retail level is likely one reason why consumers are so confused about Digital TV and High Definition. A Leitchman Research study in the U.S. found that 20 percent of viewers believe they are watching HDTV when they are actually not.