Why are 77-inch OLED TVs so expensive?

[bigboss]

I am still trying to figure out the relative value of a (very) large 4K TV vs. a 4K projector and screen.

As far as I know, at the moment, the largest commerically available 4K TVs are the 85-inchers from Panasonic.  Maybe other brands as well, I don't know.  Above that and you're obliged to go for a projector and screen.  In the US, the 85-inch Panasonics sell for about $10,000.

An entry level Sony 350ES 4K projector will cost $8,000, and you can add another $1,000 for a decent screen on top of that.  So the entry point for a 4K projector setup, assuming you have a room you can dedicated to the project (like I do, fortunately) is $9,000.

The bulb life on the projectors is supposed to be 6,000 hours, but from my experiences with DLP TVs (all be it a decade ago now) is that the bulb life will be considerably shorter than that, especially if the "little cherubs" start using the thing for video games or if the projector is switched on and off frequently.  So for argument's sake I'm going to say the projector will need a new bulb every year.  Twice a year is just as likely.  A new bulb is probably going to cost in the order of $100.  And I'm assuming I can swap bulbs myself, not call in someone to do it for me.

So over a lifetime of, say, 10 years, the TV and the projector will cost the same to buy.  Electricity I won't consider.

Sure, TV and projector prices are coming down, especially at the 4K level.  As other manufacturers start producing genuine 4K projectors, that will help, but for 85 inches and under, for 4K at least, I think the TVs still win out slightly due to practicality and, perhaps, slightly better picture quality.

It's a tough one.?

Sadly, or fortunately, take your pick, we won't be buying either until well into next year, when 100+ inch TVs will probably be available and where 4K projector prices will probably drop 20 to 25%, making the decision even harder.

And by then, of course, the manufacturers will be trying to sell us 4D TVs with Atmos, curved screens will go back to curving outwards (like they did on CRTs) and it'll all be made obsolete by some sort of "Star Wars" gizmo that projects a five-D hologram from the middle of your coffee table....

I've heard that electricity in the UK is not prone to voltage fluctuations as badly as the US. Perhaps this is why your projector bulbs don't last as long? 1 year life is abnormally low, unless of course you're using it too much. Under normal use, it should last 3-4 years comfortably. That's what a couple of my friends have experienced with their projectors.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

We tend to get a lot of thunderstorms here on the Gulf Coast, which certainly has caused some voltage spikes and blown bulbs, but not all of them.

Mostly I think it was either down to the "little cherubs" turning the TV on and off every time they walked into / out of the room, and thus putting the bulb through too many thermal cycles, or leaving it on all night every night, and thus using up the 6000 hours really quickly. I suspect the former.

BTW you do realise there are 8,760 hours in a year, so under continuous usage a 6,000 hour bulb installed onJanuary 1st could expect to be blown by mid September?

 

[bigboss]

Wow!! I'm not sure if the viewer will be alive even a week after continuously watching films on the projector without even sleeping!

 

[spiny norman]

Probably because all screens are cut out from a big sheet of glass, and while you're handling these huge and very fragile sheets it's easier to cut one to get a relatively large number of small displays, rather than just a few larger screens. Also harder to get consistency across larger screen sizes, larger panels need heavier engineering in the rest of the TV to support them and keep them flat, or curved, or whatever, and it's also harder to deal with the whole thing, from manufacture to shipping, when the screen is larger.

Also because there's no direct 'per sq cm' pricing model for the cost of such products, and hardly anyone buys them anyway, so they're made in smaller quantities, which means diseconomies of scale, etc.

In cynical terms, they're made to attract attention and as a statement of 'here's what we can do', in the hope they will have a 'halo effect' in that lots of people who can't afford the monster set will settle for a smaller version, which sales will make the manufacturer more money anyway.

 

[Series1boy]

*ROFL*

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Wow!! I'm not sure if the viewer will be alive even a week after continuously watching films on the projector without even sleeping!

They leave the flipping things on when they go to bed. Too bloody lazy to switch them off.