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The falling price of a TV set

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Re: The falling price of a TV set

#131

Post by baddox »

ken wrote: post #100
wincy wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But how much cheaper is it to learn a profitable skill? In the 1980s I’d have had a much harder time learning to code. I learned essentially for free. A traditional, hand holding education is more expensive, but information is virtually free.

You picked one skill -- computer programming -- which just happens to be the one the internet is built on. It should come as no surprise that the internet is a great place to learn that for free. The further you get from that, the worse teacher the internet is. There are many skills I've learned which are hard to find information about online, and a few which don't seem to exist on the internet at all. Not every prof…

I think that very well may be true, but it definitely doesn’t match my own intuition based on what I’ve seen. I have seen extensive educational videos for free online about math, art (digital, painting, etc.), music (theory, composition, orchestration, specific instruments, production, etc.), writing, electronics, 3D printing, plumbing, construction and home repair, woodworking, language learning, aviation, filmmaking (visual effects, cinematography, acting, directing, screenwriting, etc.), marketing, entrepreneurship, investing and financial advice, etc.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#132

Post by ovi256 »

filmfact wrote: post #93
wincy wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But how much cheaper is it to learn a profitable skill? In the 1980s I’d have had a much harder time learning to code. I learned essentially for free. A traditional, hand holding education is more expensive, but information is virtually free.

Blooms 2 Sigma problem [1] suggests that while it is cheaper to get access to the material, you’ll do better if taught by an expert tutor. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_2_sigma_problem

Wow, that effect size. I'm amazed that the implications haven't been pursued vigorously, as it's so rare to get such an effect size in a clean, non-controversial (compromised methodology) experiment. As far as I can see, there's not much controversy around this result.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#133

Post by mrandish »

gruez wrote: post #62

>With less demand for actual TVs, there’s less reason for manufacturers to price them even more highly. I don't buy this reasoning. Tablets and phones supposedly replaced laptops and desktops (or so I've heard), yet the prices for those hasn't really budged in the past couple of decades. >But the most interesting and telling reason for why TVs are now so cheap is because TV manufacturers have found a new revenue stre…

Yes, I agree. The article's claim about app rev share offsetting big parts of the cost just doesn't make sense.

The reason that prices are lower is that manufacturing capacity is much higher, not supporting analog input saves money, vertical integration onto a handful of ICs, container shipping and supply chains are cheaper and Costco, WalMart etc will sell TVs for very low markup to drive traffic.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#135

Post by yread »

ghaff wrote: post #19
jaytaylor wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just get a Chromecast or any other streaming player device and hook it up to the TV with only HDMI. Solved- TV don't need to be able to spy on you.

Chromecasts may be the best low-key (and low-cast) gadget out there. Which probably means Google will kill it :-/ Just use my tablet, phone, or laptop to put content up on the TV. It makes for a pretty nice digital picture frame too.

I like it, but it seems very unreliable - I almost always have to disconnect and reconnect my phone to the wifi for it to work

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#136

Post by WalterBright »

> Automakers, for example, can now expect to see bigger profits from the loans they make on selling cars than from selling the actual cars.

I took a community college class in accounting taught by a guy who used to sell cars. He told me the money a dealership made was not from selling the cars, it was from selling the financing.

This was in the 1970's.

BTW, I recommend taking a basic accounting class. It will pay off for your whole life, even if you never run a business.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#137

Post by DanBC »

baddox wrote: post #131
ken wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You picked one skill -- computer programming -- which just happens to be the one the internet is built on. It should come as no surprise that the internet is a great place to learn that for free. The further you get from that, the worse teacher the internet is. There are many skills I've learned which are hard to find information about online, and a few which don't seem to exist on the internet at all. Not every prof…

I think that very well may be true, but it definitely doesn’t match my own intuition based on what I’ve seen. I have seen extensive educational videos for free online about math, art (digital, painting, etc.), music (theory, composition, orchestration, specific instruments, production, etc.), writing, electronics, 3D printing, plumbing, construction and home repair, woodworking, language learning, aviation, filmmakin…

The difficulty is sorting out the terrible videos from the good videos.

There's plenty of content created by people who don't really know what they're doing, or who only have a rudimentary understanding.

I guess that's true of all education, but it feels like a bigger problem with free online content.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#139

Post by shmerl »

rym_ wrote: post #134
shmerl wrote: post #79

I'm waiting for HDMI cartel (run by major TV makers) to stop poisoning devices with HDMI. Time to adopt DisplayPort everywhere.

Could you explain why DP is so much better?

1. When making devices with DP, you don't need to pay for patents, unlike in case of HDMI where you need to pay the parasitic HDMI cartel for devices produced with it.

2. DP is more advanced technology, since it's using packet design (network protocol like), rather than simply a digital signal. So it allows what HDMI can't, for example driving several devices through one cable.

Re: The falling price of a TV set

#140

Post by ReptileMan »

tbyehl wrote: post #96
seltzered_ wrote: post #72

If you look at a chart of TV prices over 50-80 years, this has always been a trend [1]. Institutes using this as an argument for declining poverty are missing the point that while most goods have gone down in cost over the years, services (childcare) and things of value (education) have gone up substantially [2]. [1]: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-the-incredib... [2]: Elizabeth Warren's classic "Twi…

What sucks is that the cycle of falling prices and models being replaced is so fast that they become not worth repairing -- or impossible to repair -- within a few years. I trashed an otherwise perfectly good 4-5 y/o 49" television last year because something on the IR receiver board failed. What leads I could find for a replacement board (a) had them listed around 50% of what a comparable replacement television cost…

That would not be such a big issue if we had closed recycling loop.
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