http://www.powerpage.org/archives/2006/01/exclusive_apple_plasma_displays_to_rock_mwsf.html

... if it's true...

cool idea, but talk about planned obsolescence

[Edited on January 6, 2006 at 9:51 PM. Reason : .]

1/6/2006 9:51:42 PM

sahweet, cant wait to officially read about it after the Macworld expo

1/6/2006 11:28:38 PM

i cant wait to not buy another expensive ass apple product!

1/6/2006 11:47:41 PM

I have a hard time believing this is true... and I don't mean in the "Apple's not going to switch to Intel way". It just doesn't seem like something Apple would do.

A plasma TV with a built in media center is just not a compelling device for most people. When most people go to buy TVs, they don't ask themselves how it can work as a computer, they ask themselves "how good will the Super Bowl look in HD?" Unless Apple can do something unforeseeably cool with a TV, they're not going to do this. Plus, plasmas aren't good for computer monitors anyway, because of burn-in. And who will Apple get to make their plasmas? Plasmas suck for color accuracy compared to LCDs, and Apple wouldn't want to be known for having crappy video quality compared to a Panasonic plasma that will probably be cheaper. Not to mention that Sony scaled back (or completely pulled out I think) of the plasma business for a good reason.

1/7/2006 12:12:20 AM

How is a plasma TV with built in DVR and video editing abilities not desirable?

Are you fucking kidding me?

1/7/2006 12:45:20 AM

TVs have an average domestic life span of atleast 3 years.

DVRs get outdated in terms of features and OS in less than a year.

1/7/2006 12:53:13 AM

^^ LG has a plasma with a 120GB built-in HD DVR, and it is not helping them in the least. Dell (or some company) had an HDTV with a built in computer, and you don't really hear about that. This is not a new idea (and IF Apple does this, you'll hear the Apple haters whine about it).

Plus, if people are going to be using it to edit video, what's going to happen when the UI gets burned in to their precious plasma?

IF Apple does this, it's going to be with a set-top box (like a modified Mac Mini).

1/7/2006 12:57:51 AM

i think apple would be better off with an actual media center pc. Then just take a standard plasma screen, slap the apple logo on it, and sell it seperately at a 300% markup.

1/7/2006 1:13:43 AM

^ winner

1/7/2006 1:22:03 AM

In other news, the next generation iPod would support voice commands and RDS

1/7/2006 1:29:12 AM

Quote :

"TVs have an average domestic life span of atleast 3 years. DVRs get outdated in terms of features and OS in less than a year."

i'm sure the software would be upgradeable

1/7/2006 12:04:53 PM

Quote :

"i'm sure the software would be upgradeable"

OSX Kitten

1/7/2006 2:00:58 PM

Not sure if I trust O'Grady. Cool idea, but doubtful. No other sites have picked up on it. (Though he did his "source hiding" just like ATAT likes to do, but ATAT is probably more accurate than he is.)

1/7/2006 2:39:06 PM

apple is done...the ipod is apple's last hurrah


c'mon people we've known this for awhlie, its only a matter of time before shit goes under, 2 years, i'm calling it.

1/7/2006 6:34:57 PM

they already would have 'gone under' if it weren't for microsoft

1/7/2006 7:25:10 PM

Microsoft HAD interests in Apple.

1/7/2006 9:25:15 PM

^^ explain, please.

1/8/2006 1:54:55 AM

^ Nobody would use Macs w/ Microsoft Office for Mac...maybe that's what he meant?

1/8/2006 1:56:30 AM

^ What he thinks is that the little stock deal MS and Apple pulled in '98 was actually enough cash to pull Apple away from bankruptcy. I just want to hear him say it.
(But if he actually mentions Office, then there is a small amount of speculative truth in that.)

1/8/2006 1:58:54 AM

my god you're gay

1/8/2006 2:03:52 AM

^
OMF winnar!!1

1/8/2006 10:29:52 AM

Quote :

"TVs have an average domestic life span of atleast 3 years."

Is this because people want to upgrade their TVs to a better TV after 3 years or is this because the average TV breaks after 3 years of use? I've never had a TV last less than 3 years (talking about a TV that doesn't have some sort of factory defect that never works or breaks within weeks).

1/9/2006 8:20:40 AM

3 years is just about the average support lifespan of an apple product

1/9/2006 12:14:17 PM

[Edited on January 9, 2006 at 12:42 PM. Reason : nvm]

1/9/2006 12:24:36 PM

I'd rather get one of these:
http://gear.ign.com/articles/679/679235p1.html

Quote :

"CES 2006: Toshiba's Plasma/LCD Killer Whoa! Imagine a flat-panel TV that one-ups CRT in all-around quality. SED is here and there's no going back. by Matt Casamassina January 5, 2006 - We use plasma sets and we use LCDs. We like them. They're stylish. And their respective picture qualities have gotten better and better over the years. Not quite up to the black levels or the response times of standard CRT setups, sure, but nevertheless pretty damned good. The new plasmas from Pioneer and Panasonic are particularly impressive. And yet, a new technology from Toshiba promises to do the unthinkable and combine the best of CRT with the best of flat-panel displays. If we hadn't seen this impressive new tech for ourselves at CES 2006, we'd be quick to shrug it off, but having beheld it, we're here to confidently state that plasma and LCD better watch out. Toshiba is planning to release this new line of unbelievably accurate flat-panel sets in late 2006. The technology is called "Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display" (yes, that's a mouthful) or SED for short. The electronics maker showcased prototype SED sets at CES and every IGN editor on-hand was in agreement: nothing else compares. So how does it all work? SED sets use 6,220,800 electron emitters - or one for each color per pixel, to be precise - which cause red, blue and green phosphors to glow. That may not mean much to most, but the results will definitely matter. Toshiba's CES 2006 SED sets featured the deepest black levels we have ever seen on any television, including CRT - and these televisions are as flat as any plasma! Consider this: the typical plasma set sports a contrast ratio of 3000:1, but Toshiba's prototype SEDs offer a whopping 10,000:1 contrast ratio for truly unparalleled color and accuracy. Toshiba took us into a dark demo room with three 42" SEDs inside. The sets displayed a variety of video, from a boat moving along the ocean at night to a woman examining a pretty artifact. We were continually amazed by how rich and deep the blacks were in these pictures, and always without sacrificing image detail. The graying effect commonly associated with low contrast ratios was not only missing from these videos, but the 16x9 "letterbox bars" were so deeply black that the pictures looked to be coming out of the nearby wall and not displayed on a television at all. It gets better. The prototype SEDs on-hand at CES 2006 are far from finished, according to company spokespersons. The sets we viewed were running in 720p and not the standard 1080p that SEDs will accommodate later this year. Meanwhile, the 42" SEDs we saw will be axed in favor of a base size that begins at 55", Toshiba promises. The SEDs will also deliver a 1 millisecond response time, which guarantees that blurring or refresh issues will be a thing of the past. And get this - craziest of all, the final SEDs will ship with a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 to one. Yes, we wrote that correctly -- one-hundred thousand to one. Toshiba reps are confident of SED, calling these sets the "new standard." And having seen them in motion, we agree. These babies are beautiful and nothing else that we've seen even comes close. Unfortunately, the electronics maker was hush-hush on pricing for SEDs and would not even venture to give us a ballpark figure for these televisions. That noted, previous reports on the technology state that it can be mass-produced on a cheaper scale than competing plasma or LCD televisions. We've grabbed a couple of images of the SED presentation we attended. Unfortunately, these dark shots do not do the sets justice so for now you'll just have to take our word that this tech is going to deliver big in 2006."

1/9/2006 12:47:15 PM