Worst DIY Installs Ever Part 7
10 Must-Have Products for Your Next Install
6 Amazing High-End Home Theaters
8 Awesome Turntables for Spinning Vinyl
Print
Email
Comments (0)
Share
Are You Prepared for the DTV Opportunity?
The opportunities to attach better A/V components and speakers have never been better.
It's hard to believe, after so many years of delay, the deadline for transition to Digital Television is almost upon us. In just two months, analog TV broadcasts in the United States will be history.
Does the coming DTV transition hold any opportunity for the custom integrator?
Will Wal-Mart, Radio Shack and the rest of the big-box retailers be the only ones to profit, selling a few million DTV converter boxes to customers outside the CE dealers' market?
I believe there is an enormous opportunity for the CE dealer, courtesy of the DTV transition -- maybe not in the actual transition itself, but certainly in what's surrounding it.
Awareness of high-definition TV has been greatly increased due to the news surrounding the DTV transition.
More and more people are thinking about replacing their analog sets with HDTVs. Maybe they have one HDTV now, but what about the other TVs in the house?
The digital signal is more "demanding" than analog. For customers receiving broadcast transmissions, a poor analog signal resulted in a lousy picture, but it was often still watchable.
A weak DTV signal, however, is more likely to result in a highly fragmented unwatchable picture (or no picture at all). This creates an opportunity for new antenna sales.
The Digital TV standard covers many different picture resolutions, including standard definition, and several different versions of high definition.
Even with a cable connection, when scanning channels, some pictures fill the screen and some do not. This can create a major annoyance for the CE customer.
Once again, the custom integrator can help by offering equipment and/or remote controls to properly format the picture to the dimensions of the display.
With all the hype about the HDTV and the DTV transition, customers have a better understanding of the benefits of HD. And now, Blu-ray disc is (finally!) the surviving HD format in "hard" media.
So, how many of your customers own a high definition TV, but are still watching DVDs on 480p DVD players?
And let's not forget sound.
One of the benefits of DTV is that HD pictures usually include HD surround sound. Built-in TV speakers just can't deliver the high quality sound that comes along as part of the broadcast or cable signal.
The opportunities to attach better A/V components and speakers have never been better. And, today, the CE dealer has a broad choice of components to offer -- everything from lifestyle systems to full-blown separate A/V component systems that will rock the house.
As the DTV conversion date nears, there is plenty of opportunity for dealers to take advantage of all the attention, hype and awareness being generated by the media.
Much of it is confusing to the customer. So, a properly informed dealer can save the day and make the sale.
Mike Hench is president of The Edge Distributors Group and principal of Florida-based custom install products distribution company Electronics Source and rep firm LP Hench Company.
Does the coming DTV transition hold any opportunity for the custom integrator?
Will Wal-Mart, Radio Shack and the rest of the big-box retailers be the only ones to profit, selling a few million DTV converter boxes to customers outside the CE dealers' market?
I believe there is an enormous opportunity for the CE dealer, courtesy of the DTV transition -- maybe not in the actual transition itself, but certainly in what's surrounding it.
Sell to Solve DTV Issues
Awareness of high-definition TV has been greatly increased due to the news surrounding the DTV transition.
More and more people are thinking about replacing their analog sets with HDTVs. Maybe they have one HDTV now, but what about the other TVs in the house?
DTV Transition Statistics
Key findings from a Feb. 2008 Nielsen Research report indicate:
The savvy CE dealer can turn this interest into a great selling opportunity for HDTVs, mounts, A/V equipment, programmable remote controls, etc.Key findings from a Feb. 2008 Nielsen Research report indicate:
- 16.8 percent of all households have at least one analog TV set.
- New York, N.Y. is the most DTV transition-ready local television market. Just 3.5 percent of its TV sets are "unready."
- Portland, Ore. is the least prepared local market, with 22.4 percent of all its households using only analog sets and over-the-air television.
- Approximately 20.1 million $40 coupons have been mailed to citizens in order to offset the cost of analog-to-DTV converter boxes.
The digital signal is more "demanding" than analog. For customers receiving broadcast transmissions, a poor analog signal resulted in a lousy picture, but it was often still watchable.
A weak DTV signal, however, is more likely to result in a highly fragmented unwatchable picture (or no picture at all). This creates an opportunity for new antenna sales.
The Digital TV standard covers many different picture resolutions, including standard definition, and several different versions of high definition.
Even with a cable connection, when scanning channels, some pictures fill the screen and some do not. This can create a major annoyance for the CE customer.
Once again, the custom integrator can help by offering equipment and/or remote controls to properly format the picture to the dimensions of the display.
Leverage the HD Buzz
With all the hype about the HDTV and the DTV transition, customers have a better understanding of the benefits of HD. And now, Blu-ray disc is (finally!) the surviving HD format in "hard" media.
So, how many of your customers own a high definition TV, but are still watching DVDs on 480p DVD players?
And let's not forget sound.
One of the benefits of DTV is that HD pictures usually include HD surround sound. Built-in TV speakers just can't deliver the high quality sound that comes along as part of the broadcast or cable signal.
The opportunities to attach better A/V components and speakers have never been better. And, today, the CE dealer has a broad choice of components to offer -- everything from lifestyle systems to full-blown separate A/V component systems that will rock the house.
As the DTV conversion date nears, there is plenty of opportunity for dealers to take advantage of all the attention, hype and awareness being generated by the media.
Much of it is confusing to the customer. So, a properly informed dealer can save the day and make the sale.
Mike Hench is president of The Edge Distributors Group and principal of Florida-based custom install products distribution company Electronics Source and rep firm LP Hench Company.
Post a comment