Sony's true LED TV at the CES; Samsung converges Set-top-box into Smart TV

1. For interesting reads on Plasma HDTV, LED HDTV, LCD HDTV, check
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HDTV Almanac - Look, Ma! No Box!
One of the most curious developments to come
out of CES 2012 for the television industry was
the announcement from DIRECTV and Samsung.
The two companies are going to partner by
building set-top box functionality into a line of
Samsung Smart TVs. This becomes curiouser
when you add the fact that Verizon and LG made
a similar announcement.
The Samsung sets will connect to a DIRECTV DVR
set-top box, so that they can access recordings
and live programming directly without the need
for a separate box. The LG sets will be able to
access live programming on 26 channels, as well
as a library of more than 10,000 video on
demand titles.
So what’s the real benefit here? By adding some
extra features to a smart television, LG and
Samsung give you limited access to your
subscription-TV service. In return, you get to
eliminate the clutter of a set-top box and the
extra monthly rental fee. But if that extra cost is
just $6 a month, then you can probably save
several times the $72 annual cost by getting an
HDTV that isn’t as smart as these new ones (such

2. as the set you may already have, which costs you
nothing more if you don’t have to replace it). And
you get full access to all the programming and all
the interactive content that you’re paying for with
your subscription.
Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s great to make
smarter sets that give me access to more content
more easily (and sometimes at a lower cost). But
I don’t understand paying more for a set that
delivers less than I could get otherwise.
Posted by Alfred Poor, January 19, 2012 5:00 AM
For interesting reads on Plasma HDTV, LED HDTV, LCD HDTV, check
http://plasmavslcdvsled.net