Current HDTVs Are Obsolete?
 

I saw an advertisement for tomorrow's news broadcast (CityTV in Toronto,) while I was in a convenience store tonight. They mentioned something about a story that will tell viewers why their current HDTV set-up is obsolete, mentioning TVs that are as thin as a credit card and their availability in Toronto. Is there some new television technology out now, or are they just referring to that 11 inch OLED LCD TV?

I seem to have this problem where I've always gotta' be on the cutting edge of technology, so this news story really worried me and had me thinking that I should maybe look into getting a new TV (even though I just bought my 1080p 42" Sharp Aquos LCD42D62U, I think it is, less than a year ago.) I definitely plan to buy an OLED TV once they reach larger sizes, but not for a little while. I'm just hoping that I'm an idiot and that I'm overreacting, but I figured I'd ask here, since the only other TV tech that I've heard of is the aforementioned OLED technology from Sony.

If you listen to any retailer, they will "convince" you that what you've already spent thousands of dollars on is no longer "what you need". Don't believe the hype. If it's a decent HD set up and all your HD BD discs look great & sound great on it, keep what you got and update in a couple of years...maybe.

One word - wait. There's talk about 4K resolution and OLED (I did see the 11 inch set at the Sony Style store and was impressed), but prices will be astronomical. I'm buying a 1080p projector next month and I will be happy with it for 10 years.

When OLED becomes a standard and is cheap enough to be milled like paper (think Minority Report) and cut to any size, then I'll move up.

Ha, I just saw the same CityTV news promo this morning while I was eating breakfast. I chalked it up to being an overblown, panic-inducing attention grabber. I just bought my LCD TV in December and had bought into HD DVD at the same time. If my new TV was obsolete already, then I must really have some shitty luck.

4k resolution may happen on tvs in the next few years, but there isn't going to be anything able to display at that resolution.

The only obsolescence I've heard about WRT HDTVs concerns those from years ago that lack HDMI inputs, which means they can't get the protected signals if those are all that are available. However, most devices still have component outputs, and most of them are flexible enough to output different resolutions if one or more aren't supported.

I think it's telling that you are merely asking yourself if you think you need a new set, rather than actually finding out first-hand that you can't do something with it. When something comes out that can't be used with it, that's when you'll know it's obsolete.

If by "few" you mean twenty.

Def and aint...

My point exactly. Technology is a rapidly moving stream - you have to decide when you're going to jump in. For me, that time is now as far as my projector. 2 years ago when I got my Sony tube HDTV I knew there were other technologies out there or coming, but for my needs and budget, it was the way to go. That TV will get relegated to the guest room, but it still works! Hell, I still have a 32 inch tube TV that I bought in 1993 that's still kickin'!

Allow me to quote So I Married an Axe Murderer...

"Two words...therapy."

I don't think it'll be that long. But, if you don't have a device in place to display a signal at 4k, there's not going to be any advancement in that technology. My best guess is that it'll be less than 10 years. DVD got about 10 years before Blu Ray/HD-DVD got released.

<--------Owned 8 tracks, a typewriter, a 286 computer, cassettes, reel to reel, Beta, VHS, LD, a HDTV without HDMI or even DVI, an A3 and an A35 HDDVD and apparently now just wasted $4000 on a Panasonic Plasma that is outdated by the time I get it hung on the wall.

I bought my 61" Sammy DLP almost 3 years ago. If I would've waited, I could've gotten it way cheaper, or maybe a bigger/better TV for the same price, or better....BUT-I too, like to be an early adopter. I've found myself looking at TV's and pricing them lately because my friends are finally 'catching-up' by getting HDTVs. I almost feel 'jealous' even though I have two HD sets myself, lol (also have a 32" LCD). It's like having a disease...you gotta have what's new and fresh. This new OLED technology, however, will hopefully be quite a few years before I can afford it, lol.

Some PR firm must have sent out a hell of a press release. One of the local TV stations here in Iowa did a short piece on the 11-inch Sony OLED TV last week and about how it was the next big thing in technology.

Sony is just feeling their cheerios after winning the HDM war. Ignore it.

That's because the HD standard already existed when DVD was released (the FCC adopted ATSC in Dec 1996). The studios knew from day one that DVD was a just an SD stopgap measure until it was feasible to produce HD media.

By contrast, right now there is no standard for a resolution higher than 1080. The FCC certainly isn't going to accept any new standard any time soon. That means that the studios and manufacturers would have to devise some sort of non-broadcast standard if they wanted to go for more resolution. The studios certainly aren't going to be interested in any higher resolution format until a 1080 HD format has taken off and is ready to peak. Video game developers will probably be relieved that there won't be an astronomical graphical jump in resolution for the next systems. It's possible that manufacturers could create some isolated "higher than high-def" displays, but without any content to play on it, who will buy them?