A couple of guys were extremely excited about the new line up of XVT (Extreme Vizio Technology) LCDs from Vizo. Essentially, Vizio has joined the 240hz LCD and the LED LCD in one fell swoop. That is a lot of abbreviations. If you follow HDTV technology, you know what I am talking about.
One joker counseled the other joker not to buy one of these XVTs until later in the year when the 2.0 revision comes out. Why? Because the 2.0 revision will have Vizio apps, and you really want to buy the one with Vizio apps! You just don't want to get stuck with an HDTV without Internet apps.
Oh Jesus... What do you say to a statement like this?
Well, first let me re-iterate the fact that I am a career programmer. I have just about 15 years of profession experience. I have about 12 years of amateur experience before that. I am 42 going hard on 43. I have been using computers since I was 15 years old. I know a little something something about this subject of applications and the Internet.
In my 27 years of computer experience, I have seldom seen such a worthless idea as Internet applications on an HDTV. Samsung uses the Yahoo! widgets. I have these on my current Luxia 7000. They are as worthless as tits on a bull. I have played around with the whole Viera-Cast system on the Panasonic Plasmas, and I am not particularly impressed. It reminds me a bit of the old PointCast system I used to enjoy a long time ago (1996) but it is not nearly as content-rich or fresh. I have not used the Vizio system yet. I am sure it will be inferior to that of the Viera. It might even be worse than the Samsung Yahoo widgets.
In short, he who pays extra for Internet apps is an absolute fool. He who thinks Internet apps are a decisive reason to buy, sell, or trade HDTVs is a fool. He who holds on a purchase to pay more for Internet apps later is a fucking fool. Don't think for one second that the Internet content is compelling or useful in any way, shape, or form. It is not. You will look at it once, and you will quickly forget about it. You will never feel compelled to use the technology again. Internet apps on HDTVs have no merit at all. It is twaddle.
This is just rubbished tacked on to the package to try to make the product seem more advanced and compelling. It looks good on the brochure. Only this and nothing more.
With all that said, I think XVT is an exciting entry into the market. I would not buy it. I am returning to DLP land soon. However, it should make a nice point of entry for some folks who are both financially and space-restricted in their purchase options. Get one and enjoy if you are in this category.
