Thanks a lot guys for the input. I don't plan on upgrading my 32" LG LCD very soon as two transistors went out in it in 2010 and i got it fixed for $175. The tv only lasted 3 years, when it originally costed $800 back in 2008. Its only a 720dp with the HDMI hookup. I guess at this point I should just get a Blue Ray player for $100 or less and just run DVD's in it for now?
If I were in the market right now for something to play movies, that's what I would do. If you wait a few more weeks it will probably be more like $50 or less.
Apple is rumored to be working on their own TV to be sold in late 2012 or sometime in 2013. It's already to the point where we can almost dump dish or cable and stream most of our content and use antenna for local HD channels. If Apple can cut the same kind of deals with the TV programming providers they have with the record labels, it could be very interesting. Looking into my crystal ball... You'd subscribe to programs like House for $.99 per show. You'd be able to watch it any time and as many times as you want, with pause/rewind, etc. You'd subscribe to something like Netflix and Hulu for an on demand library of programs and movies. You'd subscribe to NBALP or NFLLP to get your sports programming. Already my ISP (Time Warner Cable) is offering 50mbit/sec wide band internet access. Getting 1080p streams over that should be no problem for multiple TVs in the house. Streaming service would allow you to watch the programs you've paid for on any TV in your house, plus your laptop/desktop, phone, and tablet (iPad like devices). Your movie collection would be in the cloud. As bandwidth gets better and formats get better, you wouldn't have to upgrade to new media to get the new format.
I finally got on board with the appleTV last weekend. As we speak my MacBook is grinding away transferring 3+ TB of movies from AVI to MP4. Streaming movies and pics and music this past week has been amazing! On a side note, I am using a 35" Sony 4x3 tv in our bedroom. Bought it used in '99 for $100...... It won't fucking die! I have an HD DVR hooked up to it. Dropped it twice during 2 seperate moves and it won't die! Not that I could afford a new tv right now anyway, but I want an HDTV in my bedroom bad!
blue ray kicks ass. i have a few movies, not too many. I'm getting videos from amazon instant video now though since they take up no space and I can use on multiple devices whenever.
I was able to get a Blu-Ray player (to replace my DVD player, which had worn out) for under $100. While you might be right that (like Beta) Blu-Ray is a superior technology that will be surpassed without being widely adopted, there's no high Beta-like barrier to entry with Blu-Ray. Ed O.
I've pre-ordered a Kindle Fire. We'll see if it gets me into the habit of using Amazon video or not... Ed O.
you can watch on the web browser at work too! I have a Fire on pre-order too. hopefully they release a phone video viewer. I've been wanting to test out the MP3 player, we'll see. I think Amazon is winning the cloud streaming war right now. I have a pretty connected setup. I have a Sony Internet TV so I can access amazon on that. Also have a Roku XD, which kicks ass for streaming. I have Apple TV, it kind of sucks since it disconnects from my computer all the time. I did cancel Netflix today, the selection blows ass. I still have Hulu, they have a good library of TV shows but the commercials suck. can watch on my phone too.
