According to a new "Pulse Report" from consumer product watch group, Retrevo, price beats programming as an HDTV purchase motivator every time.

A poll of more than 600 randomly selected Retrevo users revealed that things like the forthcoming Olympic Winter Games and the Super Bowl are reason enough for some of them to buy an HDTV, but a much larger number of respondents said major sporting events don't matter as much as a great price.

In fact, the majority of respondents weren't even sure if they could watch said events in high def even if they wanted to, or were at least unaware of viewing options available through local cable and satellite providers.

Simiarly, 5.1 Surround Sound wasn't really a purchase decision beacon, either.

A sampling of Retrevo's queries and responses:

What would most make you buy an HDTV set?
75 percent - Events don't matter as much as a great price
11 percent - The Super Bowl
10 percent - The Olympics
4 percent - Other events, like the Academy Awards, Sweeps Week, etc.

Do you know if you will be able to receive Olympics coverage in high definition?
49 percent - I don't know
38 percent - Yes, from cable or satellite service
7 percent - Yes, I will get it over the air
5 percent - Yes, but I won't be able to get it in HD
1 percent - Yes, and I'll change service to receive it in HD

What device will you watch the Olympics on?
63 percent - Television
22 percent - I won't watch any coverage
14 percent - Computer
1 percent - On a mobile device<

Did you know the Olympics will be broadcast in 5.1 surround sound?
50 percent - Don't care and don't have 5.1 surround sound
31 percent - Didn't know, but have a 5.1 surround sound system
19 percent - Know and have a 5.1 surround sound system

By this study, the Super Bowl is a more popular reason to buy an HDTV set than Olympics but not by much. Both Super Bowl and Olympics beat out the Academy Awards but price and deals prevailed by a wide margin.

The results of the Pulse Report along with pretty pie charts can be seen in entirety at www.retrevo.com.
 
 

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