Sharp Announces All-in-One Blu-ray TVs

[Hooch Tan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/sharp-to-releas.html' target='_blank'>http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/...-to-releas.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"According to Sharp executive Mike Troetti, the company will release two Aquos LCD HDTVs with embedded Blu-ray players next month, right after they're unveiled during CES 2009. The TVs will come in 32 inches and 42 inches, and the latter will have 1080p HD resolution and a 120Hz frame-rate processing. Both sizes will feature a multiple slot loading rig for easy transitions between Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs. For the moment, there's no word on whether the TV will be able to play the full suite of Blu-ray disc profiles."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1230694517.usr20447.jpg" style="border: 0px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>I imagine many of us probably balking at the idea of any television with an integrated DVD or VCR.&nbsp; However, their simplicity made them very popular with a lot of people.&nbsp; Now the same is available but with Blu-ray players!&nbsp; Hooray!&nbsp; I personally don't care for Blu-ray and all the complications that come along with it, but I can definately see the attraction for my friendsthat don't know the difference between a USB and HDMI cable.&nbsp; Like Wired, I have concerns about video quality and long term Blu-ray viability but I think that the simplicity will have these telvisions sell like hotcakes.&nbsp; Any of you tempted?</p>

[Ed Hansberry]

I would never buy an all-in-one solution like that. When one piece breaks or gets old, the other is useless.

[Macguy59]

What complications are you referring to ?

[Pony99CA]

I would never buy an all-in-one solution like that. When one piece breaks or gets old, the other is useless.
I probably wouldn't buy one for myself, but I bought my daughter a cheap 19-20" LCD TV with built-in DVD player. When she goes off to college, it will be one less thing for her to pack, unpack and set up. While I wouldn't buy an integrated system for my home, it makes some sense if you'll be moving it semi-regularly.

If the TV breaks, the DVD player won't be much use anyway. If the DVD player breaks, the TV will still be good and DVD players are pretty cheap, so she could buy one and hook it up if she wants DVDs badly enough.

While I don't think this integration makes a lot of sense, there is a point where it does. For instance, if my PS3 breaks, I've lost both my game machine and my DVD player, but I'm OK with that because they're both essentially disc players and I don't see a reason to buy a separate Blu-Ray player. If somebody has a one-device phone/PDA solution, breaking one breaks the other, but that integration makes some sense, too, and one device is more portable. The same portability argument can be made for boom boxes with radios, cassette players and CD players.

It all depends on what niche you're trying to fill.

Steve

[Hooch Tan]

What complications are you referring to ?

Blu-ray is what I consider to be a moving target. The specification has not be set in stone, and can go through revisions, and in fact, already has. I can see some benefit of this, such as adding new features, more capabilities, etc. But it has a downside in that a Blu-ray player is no longer just a Blu-ray player. It can be a Blu-ray 1.0 player, incapable of playing Blu-ray discs developed for 1.1, etc. You're then dependant on the manufacturer of your Blu-ray player to publish updates when the specification gets changed.

In practice, this may not make that much of a difference, if the specification stays the same for a long period of time, but we've lived with DVDs for 15 odd years. I'm willing to bet that the Blu-ray specification will change at east once in that timeframe. When it comes to home electronics (not computers) I prefer an appliance, not a psuedo-computer that requires updating. I'm very wary of the day where I have to update my television, video player, fridge, stove, radio, et al. :)

[Macguy59]

Blu-ray is what I consider to be a moving target. The specification has not be set in stone, and can go through revisions, and in fact, already has.

Really? Between my brother, sister and myself we have Blu-Ray players (different brands) spanning 2 years. We've yet to find a movie that doesn't play on all 3. Anything is possible I guess but I don't see a basis for your fear. I've read similar arguments about 802.11n and I think those fears are overblown. The only difficulty I've run into with 'n' is 2.4GHz versus 5.0GHz. Some adapters can't handle 5.0GHz.