Alfred Poor Says HDTV Manufacturers are Hurting (Video)

The last time we talked with Dr. Poor (who is now a Senior Editor at aNewDomain.net), we ran out of time and didn't get around to discussing 3-D and ultra-high-def TV and whether they're worth buying. So here he is again on the Slashdot TV screen (which is *not* high-definition), talking about the TV marketplace. This is a perfect time for that discussion, since Dark Friday is only a few weeks away, and after that we move into the month during which TVs and a lot of other items sell at a lot higher rate than they do during the rest of the year. If you're thinking about buying a new TV for yourself or as a gift this holiday season, you might want to listen to what Dr. Poor has to say on the subject before you do.

Comments

pointless

[Xicor]

theres no point in buying a 3dtv or a 4k ultra resolution tv when you cant watch anything on it with either... televesion is at best 1080p, and you can only get fake 3d tv. if you want to watch a 3d movie, you have to pay extra. if you want to stream movies, dont even think you will get 4k resolution any time soon. even if you could find something online with 4k resolution, you wouldnt be able to stream it without a gigabit internet connection.

Re:pointless

[Anonymous Coward]

However once we reach around 2000 pixels per millimetre the pixels will can create an interference pattern which may be used to create holographic images.

However I have seen 8K demos that will blow you socks off, it isn't even in the realm of HDTV. You can watch a football match from a static camera angle for example; you can read the face of the players while you see the complete pitch.

But more interesting than 4K or 8K, is high frame rate video. I've seen a demo from the BBC showing a 300 fps system. That speed allows us to track moving images smoothly with our eyes (instead of the big steps moving images now have). This tracking allows our eyes to fully resolve a moving image and it becomes much sharper. It would be great for watching fight scenes etc.

Re:Blame cable

[TWiTfan]

I'm a geek who has tried cutting the cord several times now. And it's still just not there. It's better than it once was, but there is still a lot more that you CAN'T get than you can. And even the stuff you can get still comes with a lot of caveats, costs, and weird compromises.

Cutting the cord right now is fine if you're okay with accepting whatever content happens to be there. But it sucks if you're the kind of person who hears about a specific show and wants to watch *that* show (and not wait a year or more to do it). There are just too many shows that I like that either aren't available at all or would cost me $3 an episode to watch.