2 ms·

And the dominant broadcast standards are still 1080i 60Hz with no extra dynamic range. A large amount of new content is still targeting that. Aside from over-

by hakfoo 6y ago

And the dominant broadcast standards are still 1080i 60Hz with no extra dynamic range. A large amount of new content is still targeting that. Aside from over-the-air, I suspect that most cable/satellite operators are offering that service level, at least without premium fees. Since the end of the digital-TV transition, the TV industry has been throwing a lot of stuff at the wall trying to find something that stuck. There's no clear "it becomes a paperweight" factor to make us all go out and replace newish sets right now. Remember the 3D TV trend? Or the year when everyone brought out curved sets, and then went back to flat? Smart TVs are another variation on that theme, with the added benefit for manufacturers that their lowest-bid tech and changing third-party service requirements will leave you with a set where half the hard-coded service buttons don't work and the other half are unusably slow to depress you into buying a new set in three years. I expect the next real ecosystem change will be when ATSC 3.0 becomes a workable thing. Then you'll actually be able to offer 4K/HDR with an array of content without the caveat of "external game console/PC/streaming service required." I'd be a bit hesitant to get a new set until then just out of the risk you ended up with something not fully compliant (I'm thinking of those first-gen 4K LCDs that wouldn't accept a 60Hz input)

slg 6y ago
Although the topic was about smart features so it isn't really OTA or cable we care about. Services like Netflix and Disney+ have embraced those new technologies. I don't think technology like 3D was ever embraced to this extent. If you compare setups between a new TV with a few year old Roku, AppleTV, or whatever versus a few year old TV with a brand new streaming device, the setup with the new TV is likely going to be the superior option. In fact, Apple hasn't even released a new AppleTV since 2017. I have no idea if this will be a trend that continues, I just don't think "the streaming hardware becomes outdated quicker than the display hardware" is guaranteed to be true like we have assumed it was in the past.
- hakfoo 6y ago
  It's probably about the shape of the curves as well as, if not more than, the rate of advancement. TV display technology is likely to proceed in plateaus because they tie to agreed upon standards. By the mid 1990s we had the ability to make a 1600x1200 CRT monitor with a 85Hz refresh rate, but even a top-of-the-line TV wouldn't offer much more resolution or higher refresh than a 1965 model-- that's all you could get out of NTSC broadcasts. (Yeah. there were some progressive-scan input formats, but that's still only a token advance) Introducing external sources (streaming, consoles, etc.) provides a bit of wiggle room to advance the resolution/colour/refresh rate bars, but that's still not going to change the installed base nearly as fast as if they said "here's a new standard format and every local broadcaster starts 8k broadcasts tomorrow." In contrast, streaming products evolve in a continuous curve. Since there's very minimal, if any, platform standards, they can say "here's 24k resolution", or equally likely "here's a new codec/DRM format/API that old boxes don't support."

by hakfoo 6y ago

slg 6y ago

Although the topic was about smart features so it isn't really OTA or cable we care about. Services like Netflix and Disney+ have embraced those new technologies. I don't think technology like 3D was ever embraced to this extent. If you compare setups between a new TV with a few year old Roku, AppleTV, or whatever versus a few year old TV with a brand new streaming device, the setup with the new TV is likely going to be the superior option. In fact, Apple hasn't even released a new AppleTV since 2017. I have no idea if this will be a trend that continues, I just don't think "the streaming hardware becomes outdated quicker than the display hardware" is guaranteed to be true like we have assumed it was in the past.

hakfoo 6y ago
It's probably about the shape of the curves as well as, if not more than, the rate of advancement. TV display technology is likely to proceed in plateaus because they tie to agreed upon standards. By the mid 1990s we had the ability to make a 1600x1200 CRT monitor with a 85Hz refresh rate, but even a top-of-the-line TV wouldn't offer much more resolution or higher refresh than a 1965 model-- that's all you could get out of NTSC broadcasts. (Yeah. there were some progressive-scan input formats, but that's still only a token advance) Introducing external sources (streaming, consoles, etc.) provides a bit of wiggle room to advance the resolution/colour/refresh rate bars, but that's still not going to change the installed base nearly as fast as if they said "here's a new standard format and every local broadcaster starts 8k broadcasts tomorrow." In contrast, streaming products evolve in a continuous curve. Since there's very minimal, if any, platform standards, they can say "here's 24k resolution", or equally likely "here's a new codec/DRM format/API that old boxes don't support."