Hitachi, Pioneer wide-screens don't have obsolesence in mind

" The next step in television technology is usually one step behind reality when it finally reaches the retail racks and shelves.

Which is partly why TV makers don't put a yearlong moratorium on development once a certain model is introduced. Unlike the auto industry - with which the high-end TV market usually shares more than a few characteristics. For example, the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C Class, just introduced, won't be altered by an appreciable measure until the 2006 Mercedes-Benz C Class is unveiled in 12 months.

If this play-it-by-ear policy makes for confusion among video reviewers, imagine what it does to consumers.

Pioneer and Hitachi are among the exceptions to the rule of planned obsolescence in consumer electronics - their products have a shelf life well beyond that of bananas and digital cameras." Full article @ Newsday.com