http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/early_hdtv_adopters_screwed_by_hddisc_rules.html#more

That's a bummer, but it's still 50% more resolution than current SD DVDs, which look pretty good on a decent HDTV display.

By the way, note the estimate that roughly 3-6 million people own older HDTVs without digital connectors, so it's a safe guess there are that many more and then some with more recent models. This suggests a minimum of 10 million households with HDTVs today, and that's before there's even much HD content to help drive demand.