Emerging home theater technology is booming, despite a lagging economy. It seems people would rather change their travel habits, use less gas, and even eat a little less than give up their electronics devices.

The introduction of high definition capabilities by national television cable and satellite companies to the mass market has given the public an impression of high definition being a necessary luxury.

One satellite company has even added the feature of all high definition programming to push stations to give more high definition offerings. With all high definition programming, subscribers will not receive any stations in standard definitions. This is the first step to a full high definition conversion that will take only a few years to implement.

One underlying idea that no one seems to have noticed is that high definition only television setups may be a more expensive proposition for independent broadcasters, creating a situation where only a select few control the output of the media. This notion is sure to upset free speech advocates who understand that free speech is useless if situations ensure that no one will hear you.

Fortunately high definition broadcast technology will likely become less expensive and more realistic as time goes on, just as any other technology does. I suppose we all remember when camcorder and home video technology was unaffordable for anyone but the very wealthy. There was the same situation with the personal computer, and now that technology is considered to be so basic that world education experts are trying to get laptops to educators and students in third world countries.

The middle class is the driving force behind high definition technology. New advances have created a posh society of people with a sense of entitlement. Each person feels they deserve the latest technology. Along with this crowd comes the people who feel they are entitled to the technology, but are entitled to receive it free or at low cost. Television companies are seeing an influx of consumers demanding free high definition receivers at no cost to them. The reasoning given is almost always due to which service they use and comes with threats to switch to a different television service. While this sense of entitlement is not good for the economy, consumers thinking only of themselves are hesitant to abandon such selfish measures.

When high definition capabilities are in each of our homes, what will they come out with next? Will advances in medical technology surpass that of social and entertainment technology?