It’s been said that experiencing the real thing is much better than something fabricated, but in the case of this years Super Bowl, it seems the real thing is just not going to cut it. TechBargains.com released a survey recently in which they probed customers for information regarding the matter in which they would be viewing the game; the results were a bit surprising.

The survey revealed that 8% of customers want to buy a new television before the Super Bowl. Surprisingly, of those who bought a new TV last year for the game, over half of them plan on buying an even newer television for this year.

It seems a bigger and better picture quality trumps the actual live game; why chance sitting in the nose bleed section when you can almost be on the field with a high-def TV set? 25% of those surveyed said the size of their TV depended on how pleasurable their viewing experiences would be. According to consumers, high resolution is the most important factor when purchasing a new TV; sound quality even came in second to picture quality. According to Jeff Haynes:

“Bigger is better. The reason people are spending more is they are upgrading the size of their television. Consumers have moved from wanting televisions around 42 inches to now buying 46 inches to 55 inches, the TV has become the center piece of the American family room and the difference in just a few more inches is noticeable.”

As online shopping gains momentum, in-store television buying is on the decline. The survey say 67% of people planning to buy a tv before the big game, plan on purchasing theirs online rather than the old fashioned store.