Olympics?
People are seriously considering upgrading their TV's to watch a 2-week festival of mediocrity? There really is no hope for this country is there.
Dixons Retail has reported a sharp drop in sales, particularly in the UK and Ireland, but it still feels like it's doing well and the market seems to agree. The group, which includes PC World and Currys, said like-for-like sales in the first quarter in UK and Ireland fell 10 per cent and slid 7 per cent across the total group …
The retailers hope that we're all so sad that's what we'll do.
I suspect people who are keen on the Olympics have tickets to go and watch something live. Others will think 'oh, you get a better view on TV and I'd be paying my licence fee anyway so it's sort of free'. Others will not care at all.
A very, very few would use the Olympics as a reason to change TVs and if they do, they were probably going to do it anyway.
I suspect that's because the 3DTV marketing departments are doing the equivalent of:
'So there are 6 cores, each running at 3Ghz - that means it's a 18Ghz PC!'
3D demands more processing, as does HD, so TV's that can handle those will have a higher spec - though it won't do much good since the original signal is still the same.
I agree 3D is not a reason to buy a TV. But increasingly most midrange TVs feature the tech anyway. So if you're buying a TV you'll probably end up with 3D.
Biggest issues with 3D are the glasses are stupid expensive and there is little content. It probably makes more sense if you own a PS3 since you can play some games in 3D and blu ray movies too.
Well, if Boris gets his way and has a 30% reduction of commuters (some hope) then they will be either at home or, in the case of East London, trying to negotiate traffic.
They must need more tellies with all that spare time on thier hands while trying to explain to employers why, exactly, they can't get to work.
If Dixons do a big advertising campaign, maybe there will be another 'pick-your-own' event like last month's self-service exercise.
Most of the 3D TVs are active shutter glasses. If you are already making 120hz set then it's already capable of 3D, just needs a firmware mod on the assembly line. Then you just have to get the punters to shell out for some glasses - which you can charge more for than the TV and finally make some margin.
Trouble is that longer term, conning people into paying 200quid for a 30quid pair of shutter glasses that need to be pointed straight at the set, need recharging every time you come to use them and are impossible to wear if you already have specs is going to put people off.