03-03-2008, 09:30 AM
Quote:Having some time to think some more regarding monitors vs televisions though, I'm wondering if we're approaching the stage where we're just splitting hairs. Most TVs that are made nowadays are more computerized, and has less differences from a computer monitor. And the reverse seems to be true as well, though not as common. Monitors are still optimized for more frequent text use, but even this difference is beginning to become less clear, with tv's text rendering being improved.
It wouldn't surprise me if in the not so distant future people will just buy a 'display'. It can certainly lower the cost of manufacturing if it's streamlined in that sense.
The last time we had to buy a television it was mentioned by the store person (so take this with a grain of salt) that some companies were debating making "displays" instead of televisions. This was due to some new law saying that all televisions with tuners had to have a HD tuner in them. So instead of actually including HD tuners, some companies were considering going the opposite route and having no tuner at all. Most people will probably end up with some kind of external tuner anyway via VCRS, Sat, Cable, or just stand alone tuners. So it could make some since to remove tuners completely from televisions and just sell displays.
If this were to happen, I think that it would be a step towards the merging of televisions and monitors. There are still other obvious issues (text display, black level, etc), but it seems more feasable to me that the next step from there would be to make displays that can be used for either or both with a high level of quality.
Obviously this is all just conjecture based off of one sale person's statement and so may not have any real basis in reality. I think it is interesting to ponder though.