This just feels wrong....Philips sells the last of its consumer electronics

[level42]

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2013/01/philips_sells_the_last_of_its.php

Can you imagine it ?
The inventor of the Compact Cassette
The inventor of Laser Disc
The inventor of the Compact Disc
Countless and countless patents in the Radio and TV area.....all gone for good....

It's going to be hard to not see any Philips TVs any more.....

If you read the article there is a funny thing though...:
Philips also said on Monday the company had made a fourth quarter loss of €355, due to the €509m fine levied by the European Commission for its role in a cathode ray tube cartel.

Yes......the cathode ray tube cartel.......that must be a pretty old cartel.....

[Blanka]

Actually I think it is OK. Philips had become a company that was Apple/Samsung wannabe on many areas. Philips lost the love for consumer electronic innovation somewhere in the nineties I guess.
I want a company that stands up for the artist. Why do they make fantastic music being recorded with love in multitrack 192khz/24 bit tracks, when everybody makes it generic Unilever taste with the overdose sugar and salt of 256kbit 44khz 16 bit compressed?
For G Sake: Philips own Pentatone is one of the best recording labels. I wonder what they do with that (or did they already sell it?)

I wonder what Funai is up to. If you look at their site, their vision is pretty weird too.

Corporate Commitments

    * To adopt continual product improvements
    * To continually promote ever deeper trust
    * To seek further harmony and mutual prosperity

Corporate Precepts

    * Perseverance overcomes all difficulties.
    * Innovation is achieved through effort.
    * Humanity must eventually find its expression.

Their products:
http://www.funaiworld.com/products/other.html
HUH? They combat Philips in their lucrative business!

[Blanka]

It's going to be hard to not see any Philips TVs any more.....

TV's are dead. I've seen the light and live with a media-pc (macmini), XBMC, USB DVB tuner (for the live shows with timeshift woohoo!) and a MONITOR now for my video needs. I ask my self why I have been btchn with 6 remotes, 6 power buttons and 2 kilo of copper wires the last few years (I had all the hardware already in 2010).

Nice thing with monitors is that you actually can buy them on the relevant specs: static contrast ratio, viewing angles, color gamut, color profile presets, color depth, bit depth profile processing, YUV support, pixel response time, input lag, frame-rate compatibility (1:1 support instead of smearing everything you throw at it into 600 frames/second). Try to get that information for a TV (ask it at a seller in the MediaMarkt to drive him nuts)!
And they don't have speakers for his sake. Speakers don't fit in flat displays.

TV's in the near future will be just 1-HDMI/DP connector (or wireless) monitors. In 5 years people who still have a TV will spit on it, because by that time the complete disfunctional "smart" part became a pain in the ass, as the maker stopped updating the software, and most IP content is served in non-compatible packages by then (help, there is H.266 with Dolby True HD on my Galaxy Note IX from Android-uTorrent). In 5 years, your media is served by your mobile straight from the G4 network or together with a NAS. Or from a MacMini like machine for the people who want radiation free homes (hype in Germany already).

[Tyrem]

It's going to be hard to not see any Philips TVs any more.....

TV's are dead. I've seen the light and live with a media-pc (macmini), XBMC, USB DVB tuner (for the live shows with timeshift woohoo!) and a MONITOR now for my video needs. I ask my self why I have been btchn with 6 remotes, 6 power buttons and 2 kilo of copper wires the last few years (I had all the hardware already in 2010).

Nice thing with monitors is that you actually can buy them on the relevant specs: static contrast ratio, viewing angles, color gamut, color profile presets, color depth, bit depth profile processing, YUV support, pixel response time, input lag, frame-rate compatibility (1:1 support instead of smearing everything you throw at it into 600 frames/second). Try to get that information for a TV (ask it at a seller in the MediaMarkt to drive him nuts)!
And they don't have speakers for his sake. Speakers don't fit in flat displays.

TV's in the near future will be just 1-HDMI/DP connector (or wireless) monitors. In 5 years people who still have a TV will spit on it, because by that time the complete disfunctional "smart" part became a pain in the ass, as the maker stopped updating the software, and most IP content is served in non-compatible packages by then (help, there is H.266 with Dolby True HD on my Galaxy Note IX from Android-uTorrent). In 5 years, your media is served by your mobile straight from the G4 network or together with a NAS. Or from a MacMini like machine for the people who want radiation free homes (hype in Germany already).

i would call this a very "exclusive" point of view of yours.

[level42]

TV's won't die, they will become some sheet on the wall or something like that. But the function will remain the same.
Your option of using a monitor is nice if you don't mind having a small screen, but I don't see myself having a 102 cm. monitor. Besides, my computer is my monitor and the other way around and using my AppleTV I can use the TV as monitor, or stream my downloaded videos to it, much comfy to hang on the bank to watch a movie like that, also using my nice surround sound set...

If I hear the name Funai, I can only relate to it with their crappy try to release a small video cassette format called CVC. The idea was nice, the system was crap in every possible way and so disappeared very quickly again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Video_Cassette

I do see Funai chips _very_ occasionally. I think it is the weirdest electronics company that Japan has, it feels much more like a Chinese company in both presentation and product "lines".....maybe I am wrong, but that is the view I have of it.
The "man in the street" has never heard of Funai over here though....

I hope I don't insult any of our Japanese friends, who knows, maybe one of them works there  

[level42]

....and €150 million is a f-ing disgrace for a brand name like Philips......

[Etienne MacGyver]

In the CRT times, best TV's ever IMHO

[Blanka]

TV's won't die, they will become some sheet on the wall or something like that.

That is a monitor.
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFlaRMg3BN0
It's a Bright Magazine review of a Samsung Smart TV.

Conclusion: It is a helluva good screen, with a weird functioning (totally dis-functional if I watch the video) computer attached, that they had better left out.
Samsung: just make 30+ inch monitors. You're good at that.

[level42]

My TV is a monitor only too. At least it is only used as a monitor.
The only things going into it are the UPC Cable box, the DVD player (yes, still using SCART ), the Wii through its weird analogue output and the Onkyo receiver.
I only hooked up the Apple TV through HDMI to the receiver. If I would live alone I would pass the cable Box through the ONkyo as well, but my family members get confused having to always turn on the Onkyo too to watch TV......and after all sponge bob really doesn't need Dolby Surround sound....

In fact, how many people are using the built in analogue receiver today ? Only very stupid people who buy a HD TV and then hook it up to analogue.....so in that sense yes, TVs are dead....they are just monitors....

That speech commanding a TV is just another stupid idea....you see how clumsy it is, pressing. button takes just a millisecond.....