Maybe I'm behind the times, but this year I felt a disturbance in the Force. The Korean juggernaut of Samsung and LG have been making gains for years now. But for some reason, for me, I felt the torch has finally passed from the Japanese companies to the 2 Korean companies as the dominant forces in the TV market. The Japanese are no longer the King of the Hill. They are playing catch up. The Korean companies gained huge market share by suicide pricing on TVs. But now, I feel they are making the technological leaps that put them ahead of their Japanese competition. They are no longer selling because they are cheaper. They are now beating the Japanese at their own game - building a superior product. While I was too young to appreciate it, a similar occurrance would have occurred in the 1970s, when the torch passed from American companies (Zenith, RCA, etc) to Sony, Panasonic, JVC and Toshiba.
And this sense of change was bolstered by a few observations yesterday. One, the Panasonic booth was fairly quiet, especially compared to the Samsung and LG booths. And second, the tone in the Sony booth was one of quiet desperation. That defensive tone (We're better! Honest!) that comes from people on the wrong side of the slope. Sony was trying very hard to convince everyone they are the leader. But if you have to say it... then you've lost the mindshare game.
And this sense of change was bolstered by a few observations yesterday. One, the Panasonic booth was fairly quiet, especially compared to the Samsung and LG booths. And second, the tone in the Sony booth was one of quiet desperation. That defensive tone (We're better! Honest!) that comes from people on the wrong side of the slope. Sony was trying very hard to convince everyone they are the leader. But if you have to say it... then you've lost the mindshare game.
And this is what made me have the epiphany yesterday morning. This insanely great, giant, totally impractical 110 inch television.
Oh. My. God.
I have seen a lot of amazing TVs and broadcast monitors over the years. I am a very picky TV owner. But never have I stood in front of a TV and was left speechless, jaw open in awe. Just pure awe. No picture or video clip can do justice to this work of art. The image quality just made you gasp. This TV is worth re-mortgaging your house for. This TV is worth buying a new house to fit this monster TV in.
It is that amazing.
