Posted on 10/19/2011 3:32:49 PM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
Washington, D.C. (October 19, 2011) -- It's been a tough year for TV makers and a TVPredictions.com poll and other surveys suggest it could get even tougher this holiday season.
Asked if they planned to buy a HDTV this holiday season, 60.7 percent of our readers said no in an online poll taken here last week. Only 21.7 percent said yes while 17.6 percent said they weren't sure.
The dismal numbers follow an equally depressing survey result last week from the Ipsos organization. The company found that 45 percent of consumers plan to spend less this year compared to the 2010 holiday season. Only 11 percent said they would spend more.
While the survey did not specifically address consumers' plans for HDTVs and CE products, the overall numbers would suggest that people will keep a tight grip on their wallets this year.
Of course, for TV makers, this is just an additional topping of bad news. Thanks to the sluggish economy -- and consumers' lukewarm reception to new 3D TVs -- sales of new HDTVs have been flat this year. In the first quarter, sales of LCD sets even fell, albeit by 3.5 percent.
TV makers, and their CE retail partners, have been hoping that the holiday season would help turn the year around. But if the surveys reflect reality, that may not happen.
Consequently, I think you'll see TV makers slash prices even further than expected during the holiday shopping season. And, if they are smart, they will continue to downplay the 3D features of new sets and focus instead on how great the HD picture is.
Almost 18 percent of our survey respondents said they are not sure if they will buy a new set this holiday season; the TV makers better give them a good reason why they should.
I am looking at the Samsung 55. Do you have to watch it in three d? Is the regular picture just as good? Where did you get it and would you get it there again?
Records 10 hours of radio.
Do the TV shows and specials suck less in 3D?
I’d pay money I don’t have for TV shows that entertain me and don’t try to indoctrinate me.
I love my plasma. The refresh rate of the LCDs (even the high rate models) did not compare with plasma.
I want that too! With noisy kids, I often miss something on the radio that I really wanted to hear! And no quick rewind!
I imagine the 55” would be an upgrade over this, so, yes, I can recommend it.
Oh - we got ours at Best Buy. Would I go back? Of course! I still do!
CA....
Hi Chickensoup...I got it from Amazon, and would gladly get it from them again. You don’t have to watch in 3D. If you have a 3D movie, you put the movie in the player, put on the glasses, press the power button on the glasses, and they synch to the television (via bluetooth, I think).
They are electronic, not like the ones you see at the movies, and comfortable to wear. I have two different kinds, two of them use a watch battery, they other two plug into a USB port to charge. Either way, not bad.
The unit we got has wireless in it, so you can go on the internet (a bit ungainly, but you can do it) or you can simply use one of their samsung apps to watch netflix. I have an Apple TV unit, so I use that to do Netflix...it is more elegant, I think.
The regular viewing is spectacularly crisp, but I will caution that there is something about the quality of the picture that some people don’t like. I think they call it “the soap opera lighting effect” or something like that.
Check out this link I just found at random that explains it, but there is a way around it, apparently:
http://hdguru.com/a-solution-to-the-dreaded-soap-opera-effect/2119/
Heck, I have had the unit for several months now, and haven’t got around to adjusting it yet, so you can see how much it bothers me. I guess that just comes from not watching television at all, and when I watched movies, was watching on my computer screen.
I would buy this unit in a heartbeat. There is almost no bezel, so it looks like a sheet of black glass, and it is about an inch and a half thick or something ridiculous like that. We will be mounting it above our fireplace (once we get the power and cable routing installed) with a low profile samsung mount that hangs it like a picture frame.
Don’t tell anybody but I signed up for Rush’s 24/7 2 yr subscription 4 years ago and haven’t been asked to renew and my password still works.
Vinnie, There are a few software apps that does what you have described..I use the “Total Recorder” software (http://www.highcriteria.com/ )to schedule, and record Rush, or anything that I want to hear at a later time..(it can record anything that comes through your sound card, in Mp3 format),so my wife can hear it later..it costs about $18 dollars; but it works well.
If you don’t wish to spend money, there’s the FREE software “Kat Mp3 Recorder”, (http://www.goodkatshare.com/kat-mp3-recorder) which does the same thing as Total Recorder.
Then, there’s “Audacity” (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/), which is a free software that is also an audio editor as well as an audio recorder. it’s pretty decent as well.
Just a few suggestions for your consideration.
I knew if I waited a little longer it would pay off. I’ve had the money set aside for an LCD for more than a year, but it hasn’t really been burning a hole in my wallet, so I’ve been putting it off. Mostly, because who wants to watch my Broncos suck that badly in HD (lol)? Maybe it’s finally getting to be about time to take the plunge. Might start doing a little research and window shopping...
Thanks for the suggestions.
Not exactly what I had in mind but may fulfill some of what I want.
Thanks for the lesson in LED/LCD. I realize now the light source of the LED is what causes the different “look.”
Regardless, I definitely do not like it. Makes me want to buy several non-LED TV’s while they are still available.
“What I want is a DAR. Digital Audio Recorder that works similar to the DVR.
A radio receiver with a hard drive and the ability to stop, reverse, record.
Many times I wish I could replay something Rush or Mark Steyn said or save it for my wife to hear.
Haven’t seen one on the market.”
Have you tried Rush 24-7? You can replay his whole show.
Bit clumsy, but it works...
No! I have only seen a 3DTV demo, using the viewing glasses provided, in one of the big box stores.
I can assure you that 3DTV is NOT in my future, that is unless one is given to me - free!
(They can keep the viewing glasses!!)
Looking for a great all-around HDTV? (Labs tests from PCWorld).
The Top 10 HDTVs of 2011:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/240397/the_top_10_hdtvs_of_2011.html
In a related story:
http://www.cepro.com/article/panasonic_reducing_plasma_tv_production_workforce/
Panasonic Reducing Plasma TV Production, Workforce.
Panasonic is reducing its plasma TV output and cutting its workforce by 1,000. Panasonic will stop making plasmas at its Amagasaki No. 3 factory by the end of March 2012.
By Grant Clauser, October 21, 2011
While there are three major TV manufacturers - LG, Panasonic, Samsung - still producing plasma TVs, one of those three is scaling back considerably on its output.
Panasonic, according to Reuters, will reduce plasma TV production and cut its workforce by about 1,000. Reuters describes Panasonic’s plasma TV business as a “loss-making television unit.”
Panasonic will stop making plasmas at its Amagasaki No. 3 factory by the end of March 2012, according to Reuters, which also speculates that Panasonic plans to sell off an LCD factory.
Related: Sony Recalls 1.6M Bravia LCDs | 10 Creative Ways to Mount a Flat-Panel TV
Part of this is likely a move to reduce redundancies that followed Panasonic’s takeover of Sanyo. Panasonic may be scaling back on its target of producing 25 million TV sets a year (plasma and LCD combined).
Globally, plasma holds a much smaller market than LCD. According to research firm DisplaySearch, 248 million TVs will ship in 2011, but only 17 million will be plasma.
It’s a curious move because throughout 2010 plasma was increasing market share. And Panasonic was held 40 percent of the market in 2010, with Samsung and LG following. However, plasma demand began to drop mid-year with an estimated decline of 6 percent.
I believe this format--known as Quad Full High Definition (QFHD)--will probably become available to consumers in the next 4-5 years, and its primary delivery means will be either optical-fiber cable TV or through satellite transmission.
Thanks LVD. The problem with high performance models is, the programming is so abysmal, all we need most of the time is a barf-proof screen. ;’)
> Part of this is likely a move to reduce redundancies that followed Panasonic’s takeover of Sanyo.
That makes sense.
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