I have an HDTV. I do not have a hi-def DVD player. Why? Competing formats. I got my HDTV and hooked it up to digital cable with some HD channels. I watch HD anytime it's available. I can take my TV and hook it up to any cable or satellite provider and the HD channels will look the same. If I want to watch hi-def DVD, I have to buy two different players. IMO, that would be stupid. What's even more stupid is that the industry couldn't come to an agreement on a single format before releasing hi-def. So, if you want to call someone stupid, don't call the people buying HDTVs and hooking them up to standard DVD players stupid. Most of those people are realizing that they'll get a better picture with a hi-def player, but no one wants to buy a player that might end up being obsolete. They watch HD channels on their HDTV and that's good enough.
People aren't stupid for getting an HDTV to go with a standard DVD player. The people who are stupid are the ones that hook up an HDTV to standard (or even digital) cable or a standard DVD player and think they're getting the full HD experience. Some people will ask those of us that know better why their DVDs look like crap on their giant HDTV. Our job is to educate them. Just tell that it's not an HD source and that they'll have to get either a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player. When they start asking about that, just tell them about the format war. I've seen plenty of people stop asking questions and just respond with "I think I'll wait". The people who think they're getting HD off their SD DVDs are not generally the same type of people that will ask why their SD DVDs look like crap unless they're also using an upconverting DVD player. I blame the industry for those too.