Since early December the increase in advertising for new HD televisions has been growing and growing. Most print ads have shown a complete lineup with football game images across the screens for a reason. Superbowl is clearly the peak of why you should break out your credit cards and splurge on this hot new electronics device. Just as the battle between vhs and dvds lead to giveaway vcr prices, now the battle seems to be between 720 and 1080 dpi technology.

BUT THE REAL BATTLE is between home viewing and bar viewing. I started the night at a house party put on by Lahnie Johnson of Acoustiblok. www.acoustiblok. His home overlooking a lake is a home designed for parties and for media. LJ's company is in the sound business. With a 15 ft projection tv and a sound system that must have required Allied Van lines to deliver, the game was a treat to watch. But where was everyone gathered ? Near the food and booze in the kitchen, of course. LJ acknowedged that the real objective of a system is to maximize the enjoyment of viewers and guests. He seems to really understand the needs of viewers to be able to interact with each other, rather than just be presented with a dazzling audio and video presentation.

Leaving the comfort and friends at LJ's I went on to evaluate several bars across Tampa. The pattern seemed to be as follows: old style, tube sets did not attract customers. Big screen systems, attracted groups of friends for camraderie and viewing. High quality HD sets, brought out the fans.

In YBOR, no real crowds seemed to be anywhere. Yes, a few viewers here and there, but Ybor isn't exactly known for TV viewing.

In SOHO, MacDintons had a big crowd watching their huge projection screen. But the die hard football fans were at the outdoor bar watching the great pictures on their HD sets.

The biggest SOHO crowd was at The Lime. With over a dozen big screen HD sets, the picture quality was excellent. (Maybe Jim and Jeff were actually getting some of their money back). A couple of questionable plays were not questionable when you saw the replays on these sets. The disappointment came during the Half Time show when the sound was never switched from recorded music to the live Prince show. (Shoud have stayed at LJ's for that).

Clearly the quality of pictures were determining where the football fans were watching the big game. As the prices of HD sets keep dropping, the battle will shift as more people have them at home, but as more bars install them. Where it wind up will be anyones guess.

Where did you watch the game ? - house or bar - and did the quality/size of tv screen help you determine where you were going to be ? We would really like to know.
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