Article in todays paper....HDTV
Davises whiz past Joneses after being
mesmerized by digital TV; first sets go on sale
in San Diego
By Deborah Solomon
STAFF WRITER San Diego Union Tribune
August 7, 1998
Ed and Cathy Davis aren't usually the first on their block to own the latest
gadget or toy, but the Clairemont couple took out a loan, spent three hours in
line and shelled out $5,500 yesterday to buy one of the first High Definition
television sets available in the nation.
The Davises leapt far ahead of the Joneses with their purchase of a 56-inch
Panasonic digital television -- the first HDTV set to go on sale anywhere.
Armed with a credit union loan and a passion for television, the couple lined up
at 9 a.m. to glimpse -- and then buy -- a TV that will consume much of their
living room, not to mention their budget.
"We're thinking about putting a dish out in our front yard to ask for donations,"
said Cathy Davis, who took time off from her job as a programmer to buy the
set. "We're pretty sure our living room is going to be the theater of the
neighborhood."
The couple, who say they lead a pretty modest life, enthusiastically plunked
down the money for the TV once they saw a demonstration. The two were
awe-struck by the clarity and sharpness of the HDTV they saw yesterday at
Dow Stereo/Video, where the first sets were sold.
"It's unbelievable," said Ed Davis, a fleet training instructor with the U.S. Navy.
"The picture is just so clear."
While prime-time TV may look and sound a lot better on HDTV than on
traditional sets, the razor-sharp quality of pure, digital television is still a few
years away. Some shows, like "Late Night With David Letterman," and movies
on HBO will be televised in a digital format, but most programs won't convert
for the next few years.
Digital technology transmits the information needed to recreate a picture and
sound in a code that is similar to that used by computers. That makes it possible
to squeeze much more information into the same signal, which results in
movie-quality pictures and state-of-the-art sound.
The major networks are all shifting to digital broadcasts, but have until 2006 to
do so. The Davises said they're not discouraged by the time it may take for
everything to go digital. To get a head start, they bought a satellite system,
which is already televising some shows and movies in digital format.
"Everything is just going to look better -- even regular programs," Davis said.
"Movies are going to look spectacular."
The two had wanted a big-screen TV to replace their 31-inch set for some time
but decided to wait until HDTV came out.
"About a year ago we heard they were coming out with HDTV and we figured
if we're going to spend money to buy a new screen, it might as well be an
HDTV," Mrs. Davis said. "We're not usually the first to have something
because we like to wait for the price to go down. But we don't think these will
go much lower because of the quality."
The Davises were not the only trend-setting San Diegans to buy an HDTV.
Among the thousands of customers, onlookers and news crews lined up to see
HDTV was Bruce Colby, who bought the first set for a friend in Colorado.
"He wanted one right away," Colby said. Asked how he would get the set --
encased in a gigantic cardboard box -- to his friend in Colorado, Colby said he'd
ship it. "He saw it in Japan and really wants one. He didn't want to wait." The
sets should be available in other cities within the next few weeks.
Allan Farwell, general manager at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, also doled out
$5,500 for a set after being "blown away."
"I said I'd only buy one if I liked the way it looked and I'm knocked out,"
Farwell said. He bought the set for the hotel's sports bar, but since Farwell lives
at the hotel, he plans to get a lot of personal use out of it as well.
"There's nothing like being on the cutting-edge," Farwell said, adding that the
hotel plans to advertise its purchase in future marketing campaigns.
Dow, the San Diego-based electronics retailer, would not say exactly how
many sets it sold. The sets cost $5,500, but most buyers also need the $1,500
set-top box that converts regular programs into digital. Those with a satellite
system don't need a set-top box.
After the Davises bought their set, Ed Davis took the rest of the day off from
work to help Dow install the set.
The couple planned to watch a movie with their daughter last night and
neighbors had already staked out their favorite positions on the couch.
By late yesterday afternoon, the set was turned on and all eyes were glued on
the gigantic screen. "The neighbors are over and we're already watching it,"
Davis said. So what inaugurated the $5,500 TV? Not a blockbuster movie like
"Jurassic Park" or "Titanic."
Davis and his neighbors were watching CNBC, which had been at Dow's
HDTV demonstration and interviewed the Davises and other buyers.
"We're supposed to be on TV," Davis said. And that alone made the purchase
worth it. |
