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GfK study on HDTV and TV technology in Europe: TV format of the future still a mystery to many (14/12/2007)

Many consumers are still unable to get to grips with high-definition TV. Even the difference between analog or digital TV is not understood by a third of all German households. These are the findings of a GfK consumer survey on TV viewing conducted in seven European countries.

HDTV (High Definition TV) is being branded as the TV of the future. The higher resolution offers better picture quality and richer detail, promising more enjoyment watching TV than with the standard PAL used up to now. However, its development faces a dilemma. Above all, the public service broadcasters are hesitant to offer HDTV content, since they believe that such programs would currently reach a small minority of households only. Consequently, consumers also see little reason to buy HDTV equipment.

In order to take a closer look at this situation and collect objective figures on the actual state of affairs, GfK carried out a representative study over the summer months this year. GfK companies interviewed 1,000 people by telephone in each of the seven major European countries included in the survey.

The findings convey a clear message. They show that many consumers are not familiar with the latest buzzwords in consumer electronics, such as HD ready or the new DVD successor format, Blu-Ray. When asked whether they own a TV set which is HD ready, 22% of the German households surveyed were unable to answer the question. Also, many consumers do not seem to be aware that a special set-top box is needed to receive HDTV. Similarly, the issue of TV reception, that is the way the TV picks up the signal, is a subject about which one in ten households knew little or nothing. Overall, a third of those asked did not know whether they received their TV signal via an analog or digital connection. However, the proportion of German households receiving analog TV remains high. Many German homes have yet to be connected to the digital TV universe. Four out of five homes in Germany still own at least one CRT TV set. However, these TVs from the old generation are increasingly being squeezed out of the market by modern flat screen TVs. As the study indicates, the advance of LCD and plasma screen TVs can certainly no longer be stopped in its tracks. Around 18% of German homes already own at least one flat screen TV.

As GfK discovered in its survey, progress in the field of video technology has resulted in video recorders now being used in less than a third of households. DVD players have replaced VHS equipment in almost two thirds of German homes.

The survey

The TV Consumer Survey 2007 was carried out in seven of the most important European countries (Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium) during June and July 2007. Its findings provide information about TV signal reception, household TV equipment and the development of HD TV as far as consumers are concerned.

www.gfk.com