February 1, 2008

How To Watch The Super Bowl In HD Without Buying An HDTV

Despite the fact that the National Retail Federation estimates that 2.5 million HDTV's were sold specifically for last year's Super Bowl, and expect numbers to be similar for this year's Patriots/Giants matchup, some analysts expect sales numbers to be well below expectations once the numbers roll in. Why?

Mainly due to economic concerns such as the current recession fear moving through the US and the leveling off of HDTV prices.

According to Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, "people are buying their Super Bowl TV's back in December because the prices are so good around the holidays, so the Super Bowl spike is starting to decrease in significance", although still "about 20 percent of the size of the holiday buying period".

But while overall sales numbers may be decreasing, Super Bowl TV buyers are forking out more dollars per set than during the Christmas season, usually going bigger. McQuivey figures most buyer this week will be upgrading from a typical 40-inch high-def living room set to something 50-inches or bigger. But if you're not in the market to buy a new HDTV, what can you do to watch the Super Bowl in high-def?

You can always head to your nearest higher-end watering hole that probably has a big-screen HDTV in the bar and will have it tuned into the Super Bowl for sure. But if you want to stay home, there are some other little tricks you can use. For one, you can always head to your local Best Buy, buy an HDTV and then return it after you watch the Super Bowl. A little unethical? Maybe, but it works. Or if you have an HDTV already, but want to watch the game on a bigger screen but not wanting to buy, then purchase an over-the-air HD antenna that'll pick up HD versions of the prime time networks that'll be airing the Super Bowl.

In the end though, you don't want to spend the whole week running around trying to find the best HDTV for you Super Bowl party. And if you do intend to buy, check out our rundown on the best HDTV's for Super Bowl 2008.

Via Wired