Digital Home Thoughts: Optoma Bigvizion HDBV3100

"Granted, a 100-inch TV is not for everybody. BigVizion was created for that person who truly wants “the Big Picture." Now, you ask, who would buy it? First of all, probably anyone who is thinking about Panasonic's new 103-inch Plasma HDTV, since that display costs $70,000. It could also be the person who is planning on spending tens of thousands of dollars on a state-of-the-art front video projector from a larger and possibly more recognizable company. However, front video projectors, while capable of producing some awe-inspiring images, can only be viewed in a darkened room and also require a scaler and screen (both of which can add several more thousands of dollars to the package). BigVizion, on the other hand, is a complete system and can be viewed in all lighting situations. And, unlike either the plasma or front video projection high-definition displays, BigVizion is upgradeable. Yes, that's right. It's upgradeable. So, as the technology changes or chipsets are improved, it's a simple matter to replace them, from chips in the scaler to new chips from Texas Instruments (TI). Upgrading chipsets will be a lot less costly than replacing components or display systems. This makes the BigVizion unique in its own right."



OK, I'm in love. Sure, $30,000 for a TV is a lot of money no matter how you look at it; but, it is half the cost of other similarly sized sets. Plus, the whole upgradeable part should make this more of an investment over the long term. It might take a while, but the potential is definitely there to get this down to $5,000 in the future and make it much more approachable for the rest of us.