I've been a member of AVForums for a long time. I usually lurk and very rarely post but recent advances in technology and some of the Trending Topics have made me start to think.
Do we really need/want 8K TVs? Can the human eye even detect such high resolutions at sensible screen sizes and viewing distances? Why is there so little choice of 32" TVs these days? Is my house so small compared to everyone elses?
The reason for this train of thought is my current TV is getting a bit old and I decided to research potential replacements in case it packs up. I'm happy with my current TV; a 6-year-old 32" LG with a full HD IPS panel. When looking at possible replacements I found there is hardly any choice in this size/technology. Now I could stretch to a 40" or maybe even a 43" (at a push) but that would mean a major rearrangement and/or replacement of furniture. I don't really want a HUGE screen dominating my room. Money isn't really a problem, but while home entertainment is an important part of my life, it isn't the be all and end all either. Now, before any one mentions projectors I will say that I did consider that but the handful of reviews I read of projectors costing £3-4k all seemed to have picture issues of some sort and a projector would need a really major rearrangement of my living space.
Increasingly I get the feeling that tech companies are guiding (forcing?) consumers down the path they want us to take. Increasingly bigger screens when surely 40" is probably optimal for most people's homes. 4k and 8k displays when 1080P is more than good enough for most. Streaming services trying to lock us into their service with "exclusive content", meaning people end up having Netflix, Amazon and Sky/Virgin to get all the content they want. Increasingly less choice in physical disc players. Now, call me old fashioned, but I like physical media, beit music CD, movie/TV blu-ray/DVD etc. I like to physically own my media so I can watch/listen when and where I want without the content provider controlling what I can watch and when/where or tracking my media consumption habits. Physical media means I can rip my CDs to MP3 format (or WMA, OGG or anything else I decide on) at a small size to play in my car, but keep high quality formats for playback at home.
So if you've waded through my ramblings - what do you think? As the heading says; Is it just me?
Do we really need/want 8K TVs? Can the human eye even detect such high resolutions at sensible screen sizes and viewing distances? Why is there so little choice of 32" TVs these days? Is my house so small compared to everyone elses?
The reason for this train of thought is my current TV is getting a bit old and I decided to research potential replacements in case it packs up. I'm happy with my current TV; a 6-year-old 32" LG with a full HD IPS panel. When looking at possible replacements I found there is hardly any choice in this size/technology. Now I could stretch to a 40" or maybe even a 43" (at a push) but that would mean a major rearrangement and/or replacement of furniture. I don't really want a HUGE screen dominating my room. Money isn't really a problem, but while home entertainment is an important part of my life, it isn't the be all and end all either. Now, before any one mentions projectors I will say that I did consider that but the handful of reviews I read of projectors costing £3-4k all seemed to have picture issues of some sort and a projector would need a really major rearrangement of my living space.
Increasingly I get the feeling that tech companies are guiding (forcing?) consumers down the path they want us to take. Increasingly bigger screens when surely 40" is probably optimal for most people's homes. 4k and 8k displays when 1080P is more than good enough for most. Streaming services trying to lock us into their service with "exclusive content", meaning people end up having Netflix, Amazon and Sky/Virgin to get all the content they want. Increasingly less choice in physical disc players. Now, call me old fashioned, but I like physical media, beit music CD, movie/TV blu-ray/DVD etc. I like to physically own my media so I can watch/listen when and where I want without the content provider controlling what I can watch and when/where or tracking my media consumption habits. Physical media means I can rip my CDs to MP3 format (or WMA, OGG or anything else I decide on) at a small size to play in my car, but keep high quality formats for playback at home.
So if you've waded through my ramblings - what do you think? As the heading says; Is it just me?