Errol Kaai liked what he saw on his 50-inch high-definition TV. The problem was what the Kapolei resident couldn't see.

The HDTV offerings of most of Hawai'i's local stations are not available to local cable subscribers. Only ABC affiliate KITV 4 provides HDTV programs via cable.

"You want more," said Kaai, a biomedical technician. "To me it's not worth getting right now because of the amount of channels out there for high definition. The only local channel basically is ABC and it's not even 24 hours of HD programming."

The other local stations are not available in high definition on Oceanic Time Warner Cable, the dominant provider with about 400,000 Hawai'i customers, because the stations have not been able to reach an agreement with Oceanic.

Oceanic subscribers can get as many as 11 nonlocal stations in HD format, most at an added cost. For example, a package of six HD channels — including HDNet, HDNet Movies, ESPN HD and HD Discover Theater — costs digital subscribers an added $6.95 a month.

The local Hawai'i stations are not yet providing local programming in high definition, but they could broadcast the HD programming from their affiliated network if they could agree with Oceanic.

The result is the high-definition versions of ABC hits "Lost" and "Alias" are available on cable in Hawai'i, but not other popular major network shows such as "ER," "Law & Order," "24" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Local TV stations typically negotiate their own deals to get their HD signals carried by cable companies.

Both CBS affiliate KGMB 9 and Fox affiliate KHON 2 want to be compensated for providing Oceanic Cable with added HD programming, said Oceanic Cable director of new business Allan Akamine. Oceanic Cable, which does not pay local TV stations for rights to offer their standard-definition channels, doesn't want to pay for HD versions of those channels.

"They want to charge the cable company for carrying their signal," Akamine said. "That's never been done before."

Grant Morrow, director of engineering for KGMB, said the station's parent company, Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp., believes it should be compensated for the added costs of providing Oceanic Cable another HD channel to its line-up. It can cost several millions of dollars to upgrade a station to broadcast an HD-signal.

"From a corporate standpoint, KGMB and our parent company believe that the HDTV product is a premium product. (Oceanic) would be getting our product, then repackaging it and selling it, and we wouldn't be getting compensated for it," Morrow said.

KHON officials did not return several calls seeking comment on this story.

Meanwhile, Raycom Media, which owns NBC-affiliate KHNL 8 and sister station KFVE 5, plans to be on Oceanic Cable this summer. John Fink, president and general manager of KHNL and KFVE, said the stations expect to hammer out a deal soon to provide Oceanic Cable digital versions of their programming. However there are still a few technical hurdles to overcome.

"We have to go where the biggest audience can get us," Fink said.

No local stations are available in high definition via Hawai'i's two major satellite TV providers — DirecTV and Dish Network — for similar reasons. Neither company had a timetable for when they would offer high definition local stations in Hawai'i.

What's available via cable is significant because most homes nationwide get their TV signals from cable companies. The case for cable is even stronger in Hawai'i where isle topography makes it impossible for windward and valley residents to receive some broadcast TV signals.

Oceanic Cable wants to boost its HD lineup with more nationally available HD programs, said Oceanic's Akamine.

There are 22 national HD networks available, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. However, they are delivered to cable operators via satellite, and Hawai'i's geographic location makes it difficult to receive all of them.

"We are trying to make every effort to pick up every HD signal available to us and provide them," Akamine said.

For Oceanic Cable, HDTV represents a small, but fast-growing market. Currently only about 25,000, or about 6 percent of Oceanic Cable's customers, subscribe to HDTV, Akamine said.

"It's a hot item with a lot of growth left, but I think it will take a while before it becomes mainstream," Akamine said. "It's still a big-ticket item."

Prices for HDTV sets range from about $400 to more than $4,000. Driving the growth in demand for HDTV are falling prices for digital TV sets and increased HD programming. This year sales of HDTV sets are expected to outpace sales of older, analog TVs, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Digital TV sales are expected to grow to 15.9 million units this year, versus 12 million units last year.

Some of this demand is generated by sales of digital-video disc, or DVD players and movies. The movies appear sharper on digital sets than on standard analog sets. Even regular TV looks better on a digital TV set, said Donald Graber, a retired accountant in Honolulu who owns a 26-inch HDTV.

"People shouldn't go out and buy one strictly because they're interested in watching HDTV" because of the lack of HD programming, he said. "But I do feel the picture and color is just much better with one of these sets. I've been very happy with mine."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.