Hi Def Jam! Why Do HDTV Images in Restaurants Look So Bad?

If you purchase a High Definition Television (HDTV), shouldn’t everything look better on its display? No. And not anyone can make my powder blue leisure suit look good. Only I can do that. If you take a tour of local restaurants that have plasma displays, you’ll likely find a surprisingly high number of inferior-looking pictures. Poor resolution of the source signal can create sub-optimal picture quality. This is also why many folks are getting their new HD television home and becoming disappointed with the image they see. To get the best picture on your HDTV, you need to find good HD programming from your content provider (i.e. your cable or satellite company).

Is That Hi Def?
In a 2007 study by Leichtman Research Group, about 22% of HD owners state that they are not receiving HD signals. There are another 25% of HD owners, however, that incorrectly believe they are watching HD programming from cable or DBS (digital broadcast satellite). This reminds me of the stumbling drunk friend that needed a ride home. By the time we got to his apartment and I threw away the remaining empty bottles, I realized that he was drinking non-alcoholic beer. When questioned, he said that he thought it was the “good stuff”. I suppose this is the way a quarter of the HD owners may end up feeling. But instead of non-alcoholic beer, they’re being fed non-HD content.

Out in public view, Bubba the restaurant manager has placed a number of large plasma TVs in the bar area. What finer place to display very high-resolution pictures than at a bar where senses are being dulled by downed brewskies? Maybe that’s the reason the owner will plop down several thousand dollars for an HDTV, but then not spend the extra monthly fee to get HD content on the screen. The ultra-large super-size flat panel TV may be capable of sparkling “1080 I gotta P”, but the signal is from the same source they used with the old 25-inch picture tube. This may also be why ESPN’s Sportscenter shows Tiger Woods looking like he spent the week hanging out at Krispy Kreme. The television is attempting to display a narrower non-HD signal by stretching it to fit the HDTV widescreen. Analogously, they have spent the money on the powder blue leisure suit, but don’t have the collar that extends out to the shoulders. It falls short of creating the total package.

Non-HD Content
It is true that a high definition television has over 3x the resolution of a standard definition television. This feature combined with falling prices has meant that many people are upgrading to larger screen sizes. If a non-HD source is sent to the TV screen, however, the lower resolution image is much larger and the flaws have become much more visible. It relates to the celebrity close-up mug shot that shows all of the blemishes you didn’t see from afar.

Although 53% of the HD owners are receiving HD signals, it is likely that only a small subset of channels are available to them in HD. Most channels are only available in standard definition. Even HD channels will often display programs that are only shown in standard definition. While content providers are adding more HD content, it will likely be years before HD content is prominent. It is important to research your programming with your cable or satellite provider. There is a way to get free HD content: over-the-air. Local stations typically broadcast in HD, but you will likely need a new rabbit-ear antenna similar to the one I used when I first bought my blue leisure suit. This HD trend is bringing back the antenna into style - as opposed to the blue leisure suit that never really went out-of-style.

Surprisingly, I found one exception to the HD television phenomenon within restaurants. It was at my local Hooters. There were no plasmas or LCDs to be found anywhere. They had dozens of old picture tube televisions mounted on antiquated brackets that conspicuously wrap under the TV like the belt of a heavyweight champion. I guess they didn’t want to have anything flat associated with their brand of restaurant. They felt the need to stick to the ole "boob tube". Oops, I didn’t intend the pun to be that direct. If they did switch to a new flat panel television, however, they could always get a smaller LCD screen and wrap it in an XXS T-shirt to make it look larger than it really is.