I look over the number of postings about BV7 MkI vs Mk II and MkIII and whether a MkIV is coming out - plus whether HDMI ready or full HDMI, 780p, 1080i etc etc and really wonder if I'll get on the LCD/plasm bandwagon.

I have a BV3 that seems to have a better picture than any TV (flat or other) of anyone I know. I have been toying (probably when I move house) of getting a BV7, but really wonder if its ever worth it. I paid the full retail of the BV3 (with DVD1, V8000, motor stand etc) so it was no cheaper than the current crop of LCDs and I know it has virtually no resale value anymore so wouldn't trade it in but relegate to a 2nd room.

The problem I have in putting the £7k of cash on the table for say a new BV7-40 is that I know that in 6 months its out of date compared to what will be on sale in my B&O store by then.

Now I know my BV3 is hideously out of date - but I would argue that from a point of view of picture quality it is definitely NOT out of date

I also know that if I compare my BV3 to a BV7-40 connected to Sky HD I would notice a difference - but I don't have time to watch movies all day and contrast and compare - I come home from work and flop, and watch coronation street that I Sky+'ed followed by the news. 

Is there ever going to be a good time for people like me to buy a new B&O TV?

I realise that my argument has two issues - one is technology advances and the other the cost of continually updating (not a problem to the multi-millionaire B&O purchasers - but I'm not one unfortunately)
 

Justin 

 

There have been a few threads here that cover this vary topic.

Our living room B&O TV is even older than yours (LS5500), but I remain to be convinced that any modern flat panel represents a significantly better way of watching  SD television which is the bulk of what we watch.

I think that time will come, but there is no pressing reason for you to upgrade until a significant proportion of what you wish to watch is available in HD.

 

Simon

Unless B&O lowers their prices, it is not worth buying a new B&O flatpanel television. They are extremely overpriced for what they offer and the technical value is short with the fast improvements in AV-technology.

Has never understood the rush for flat screens, when it´s been so obvious the improvement was none in picture quality. And also the panels was so quick outdated by a new genaration. I been waiting with my beloved LX and hoping (and knowing) it would last.

But now I think the flat screens are good enough and the improvements by every generation will be smaller and smaller and soon only of interest for few.

Planning to get a BV4+BL10 next year, and Bingo I thinks it´s woth the money. You can only talk for yourself. It´s lots of money for me but I like the design, the brand, the quality, the feeling, the one remote, the link system, tre pre planning of installation, the saving and so on.

I don´t care if Pioneer or whoever has a screen with 10 digits in the modellnumber, better specs and a cost at a fraction of a BV.

I concur and will not trade my B&O CRTs for a panel of any sort. However the price reflects the marque as we are all aware. For example, it has been proven that a Renault 5 GT turbo can pull away from a particular Ferrari.

 

I am not loaded. However, I have a friend who is an investment banker and is lucky enough to own a Ferrari and I have been lucky enough to take it onto a test track on a few ocasions. However, despite the fact that it looks nice, it costs a fortune to service. Often annyoing things break in it - ie the electric windows blah blah blah. Therefore, whilst it would be much more sensible to buy a Jag XK8 for example or a Pioneer plasma in television terms, I think B&O are exploiting its semi-elite status and thus I doubt it will ever be a sensible time to buy b&o panels as they will always be over priced.

Graham1982:

I have a friend who is an investment banker and is lucky enough to own a Ferrari and I have been lucky enough to take it onto a test track on a few ocasions. However, despite the fact that it looks nice, it costs a fortune to service. Often annyoing things break in it - ie the electric windows blah blah blah. Therefore, whilst it would be much more sensible to buy a Jag XK8 for example or a Pioneer plasma in television terms, I think B&O are exploiting its semi-elite status and thus I doubt it will ever be a sensible time to buy b&o panels as they will always be over priced.

 Its a partly valid example. Although new B&O has a premium price that may never be justified in 'Bang per Buck' terms the one thing that a B&O solution must do is look good AND be easy to live with. If I was to buy a B&O TV I would expect that  part of the price premium should be paying for the dealer to come up and set it up in my  home and sort out any problems etc as well as having class-leading visual design.

 

Simon

For me it's not worth buying a B&O TV anymore [or any other brand for that matter] in the near future, I own a 100hz avant and 2 BV3's in several rooms around the house, for me there no real improvement in any flatscreen [B&O or Sony or........any brand] compared to those when watching TV.

So I'll wait till the storm is over and the market relaxes a bit so averybody will know technically what to look for and what to buy, for me it will probably still be a B&O because it's worth the money to me [you're not buying something common like a panasonic e.g.]

Justin, as a proud owner of a BV3 and an Panasonic 50" Plasma I will not trade in my BV3 for the same reasons you mentioned....for casual TV viewing is still a great TV, DVD look sharp like a knife, colors are perfect and the current $ value is a shame compared to the list price.....

However, if size matters, the CRT is just 32", than you may want to switch to the BV-40 or even a bigger set. A BV4-32 is no option from my point of view.

Karsten

P.S: we all know that B&O is expensive, but to repeat this in every second thread does not take us any further... 

Graham1982:

I concur and will not trade my B&O CRTs for a panel of any sort. However the price reflects the marque as we are all aware. For example, it has been proven that a Renault 5 GT turbo can pull away from a particular Ferrari.

 

I am not loaded. However, I have a friend who is an investment banker and is lucky enough to own a Ferrari and I have been lucky enough to take it onto a test track on a few ocasions. However, despite the fact that it looks nice, it costs a fortune to service. Often annyoing things break in it - ie the electric windows blah blah blah. Therefore, whilst it would be much more sensible to buy a Jag XK8 for example or a Pioneer plasma in television terms, I think B&O are exploiting its semi-elite status and thus I doubt it will ever be a sensible time to buy b&o panels as they will always be over priced.

Im not sure that the correlation with the Ferrari is valid in this case!

what one buys into is the unique feeling of driving the machine the way it looks and the handling (in most cases)many  vehicles are faster  but the package as a whole is worth the price.

Onto BnO apart from the price i fail to see what is semi elitist about the brand anymore. It offers performance which falls way behind products that cost 1/7 of the price and with technology moving even faster, todays lacklustre technolgy present in BnO is even more behind.

With sales falling sharply it wont be long before we see dealers close on a huge scale. I am not so sure that the present pricing policy can continue.

But surely when buying a Ferrari you are buying into a dream? The dream of having a very stylish, comfortable car that is also very fast. However, many people can only dream of owning one and thus the dream is never spoilt. However, when/if you manage to own one you find that the dream is spoiled by dodgy wiring, windows not always working etc.

 Thus perhaps when you buy a B&O item you are buying into the same dream - namely you purchase a stylish and expensive piece of equipment thinking that it will function and perform above and beyond the way general consumer equipment does.

Perhaps with the advent of the internet it is not so easy for manufacturers to hide that their equipment is not all it is cracked up to be. I feel that we are in a niche position in as much as we are very familiar with the brand and take more of an interest in it than the passing consumer - hence this forum. However, the average man on the street if asked about B&O they would probably say expensive, electronic curtains, top quality, German (wrong) etc. They would not say No DAB integration, Behind the times, CEO sacked through poor performance. Thus whilst we see through the hype and sheen that veils B&O most others do not.

 

Thus I feel that putting the price point at such a high level actually attracts the wealthy and famous as it allows them access to niche equipment that others cannot buy. So in my opinion its expense although does not justify its lack of technology, in many ways it lessens its effect. We are not your average consumer and whilst I do not know, I doubt the mainstay of the customers that buy B&O fret over whether something is 1080p or DAB, if this was the case surely the demise of B&O would have been far more rapid.

i think the problem facing bno now is that since they have pretty much a closed system unless all the links in the chain are of the utmost quality then people will start to question the whole validity of a bno system

bno make good tv's - if overpriced for the panels that are used , excellent speakers and mediocre music systems

unfortunately their dvd players and hard disk recorders are utter outdated overpriced rubbish 

 

so - is it worth buying a tv that is designed to work with bno only products , many of which ( the middleware ones ) are basically very poor ?

nope 

 

bno really need to either get out of the whole middleware market or at least massively redesign their entire range and not just externally , they should embrace the future , the internet and digital downloads

 

basically they should copy apple since they don't seem capable of anything interesting themselves lately 

Graham1982:

But surely when buying a Ferrari you are buying into a dream? The dream of having a very stylish, comfortable car that is also very fast. However, many people can only dream of owning one and thus the dream is never spoilt. However, when/if you manage to own one you find that the dream is spoiled by dodgy wiring, windows not always working etc.

 Thus perhaps when you buy a B&O item you are buying into the same dream - namely you purchase a stylish and expensive piece of equipment thinking that it will function and perform above and beyond the way general consumer equipment does.

Perhaps with the advent of the internet it is not so easy for manufacturers to hide that their equipment is not all it is cracked up to be. I feel that we are in a niche position in as much as we are very familiar with the brand and take more of an interest in it than the passing consumer - hence this forum. However, the average man on the street if asked about B&O they would probably say expensive, electronic curtains, top quality, German (wrong) etc. They would not say No DAB integration, Behind the times, CEO sacked through poor performance. Thus whilst we see through the hype and sheen that veils B&O most others do not.

 

Thus I feel that putting the price point at such a high level actually attracts the wealthy and famous as it allows them access to niche equipment that others cannot buy. So in my opinion its expense although does not justify its lack of technology, in many ways it lessens its effect. We are not your average consumer and whilst I do not know, I doubt the mainstay of the customers that buy B&O fret over whether something is 1080p or DAB, if this was the case surely the demise of B&O would have been far more rapid.

Wow! Someone speaking sense for a change. A word of warning Graham, you are about to be crapped upon by the 1080p brigade so I would put your tin hat on if I were you!!!!

Flappo The Grate:

i think the problem facing bno now is that since they have pretty much a closed system unless all the links in the chain are of the utmost quality then people will start to question the whole validity of a bno system

bno make good tv's - if overpriced for the panels that are used , excellent speakers and mediocre music systems

unfortunately their dvd players and hard disk recorders are utter outdated overpriced rubbish 

 

so - is it worth buying a tv that is designed to work with bno only products , many of which ( the middleware ones ) are basically very poor ?

nope 

 

bno really need to either get out of the whole middleware market or at least massively redesign their entire range and not just externally , they should embrace the future , the internet and digital downloads

 

basically they should copy apple since they don't seem capable of anything interesting themselves lately 

Basically Flappo, neither B&O nor their core customers actually care about all that stuff.

I have a BV7-32 in my lounge at the moment. I use it to watch terrestrial TV and the picture is excellent. It plays the odd DVD now and again when the grandchildren come round and guess what - the picture is excellent.

I have it connected to Sky with STB and the picture is - you got it - excellent.

The set is super stylish and my wife is happy to have it in her lounge. She can operate it with the Beo4 no problem.

I'm happy, she's happy in fact everyone is happy. Except you!!!

For a true reflection of what the consumer thinks of B&O and their products we need to ask Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and their pals, not the majority of folks here.

joeyboygolf:

Flappo The Grate:

i think the problem facing bno now is that since they have pretty much a closed system unless all the links in the chain are of the utmost quality then people will start to question the whole validity of a bno system

bno make good tv's - if overpriced for the panels that are used , excellent speakers and mediocre music systems

unfortunately their dvd players and hard disk recorders are utter outdated overpriced rubbish 

 

so - is it worth buying a tv that is designed to work with bno only products , many of which ( the middleware ones ) are basically very poor ?

nope 

 

bno really need to either get out of the whole middleware market or at least massively redesign their entire range and not just externally , they should embrace the future , the internet and digital downloads

 

basically they should copy apple since they don't seem capable of anything interesting themselves lately 

Basically Flappo, neither B&O nor their core customers actually care about all that stuff.

I have a BV7-32 in my lounge at the moment. I use it to watch terrestrial TV and the picture is excellent. It plays the odd DVD now and again when the grandchildren come round and guess what - the picture is excellent.

I have it connected to Sky with STB and the picture is - you got it - excellent.

The set is super stylish and my wife is happy to have it in her lounge. She can operate it with the Beo4 no problem.

I'm happy, she's happy in fact everyone is happy. Except you!!!

 

if nobody cares about the internet or future technologies or indeed half decent hardware - explain to me why bno fired their ceo and their market share / stock price is dropping like a dead fly ?

i'll tell you why - bno tried to mimic apple and failed dismally , their problem is they have this ridiculous notion that they're a big player in the world of a/v when in fact they're not even a minnow

i prefer the old days when they were exclusive and didn't try and compete with the big boys - now they just look pathetically old fashioned in comparison 

Puncher:

For a true reflection of what the consumer thinks of B&O and their products we need to ask Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and their pals, not the majority of folks here.

Would you honestly ask a pro footballer a question that needs a modicum of thought to answer. My guess is they would be 'over the moon' !

 

   Jonnie

Reporter for MTV cribs: So David why did you buy a B&O Avant for your house

David Beckham: Erm because the people in the box open the curtains and face you when they speak. With my old TV I had to move my chair.

joeyboygolf:

Flappo The Grate:

i think the problem facing bno now is that since they have pretty much a closed system unless all the links in the chain are of the utmost quality then people will start to question the whole validity of a bno system

bno make good tv's - if overpriced for the panels that are used , excellent speakers and mediocre music systems

unfortunately their dvd players and hard disk recorders are utter outdated overpriced rubbish 

 

so - is it worth buying a tv that is designed to work with bno only products , many of which ( the middleware ones ) are basically very poor ?

nope 

 

bno really need to either get out of the whole middleware market or at least massively redesign their entire range and not just externally , they should embrace the future , the internet and digital downloads

 

basically they should copy apple since they don't seem capable of anything interesting themselves lately 

Basically Flappo, neither B&O nor their core customers actually care about all that stuff.

I have a BV7-32 in my lounge at the moment. I use it to watch terrestrial TV and the picture is excellent. It plays the odd DVD now and again when the grandchildren come round and guess what - the picture is excellent.

I have it connected to Sky with STB and the picture is - you got it - excellent.

The set is super stylish and my wife is happy to have it in her lounge. She can operate it with the Beo4 no problem.

I'm happy, she's happy in fact everyone is happy. Except you!!!

 

well lets assume that Graham is the only one who does not talk nonsense .

 

I know many millionaires that have BnO the 9000, the avant ect.

Now lets assume that most millionaires are not to dense for a minute- their comments are 12K for a plasma, 9 K for an LCD - they must be joking- and they have voted with their feet and bought meridian or some other high quality system. Clearly, apart from barking millionaires the BnO strategy is collapsing and we will see this clearly over the next 6 months.

Prices so high it is an 'aspirant brand'  every one is aware that the performance is not there and they can get BETTER fat better for far less.

But some individual beleive that BnO will carry on as they are with HUGE pricing for poor quality- they are in a dream world- together with the management of BnO im afraid to say

Bingo:

Unless B&O lowers their prices, it is not worth buying a new B&O flatpanel television. They are extremely overpriced for what they offer and the technical value is short with the fast improvements in AV-technology.

 

TripEnglish is going to love this one....

 

I can smell the smoke already.

 

Russ

Looks like this could be one long dabate. Personally I am more than happy with my B&O CRT TV's. Bv3-32 which I purchased new just over 3 years ago, and an MX5500 which we have in the Bedroom. At the moment I see no reason to buy an LCD or Plasma. Maybe in a few years time when there are more HD chanels available I might think about it. Also I hope by then the technology has become more stable, I don't want to pay a lot of money for it to be obsolete 12 months after I have brought it. Some may say that CRT is obsolete now, but I do not see it that way. If you are watching an SD source, then I think CRT is perfect. Even now the picture qulity of my BV3-32 still amazes me.

 

Craig

ask the beonic man how he feels about his 7/40 - from what i've gleaned he's not very satisfied at all 

tbh i can't see any v in the current range worthy of replacing my avant

the avant was arguably the ultimate tv in it's day as well as being not only pretty advanced but actually rather 'good value' , something bno seemed to have lost the plot on recently

2003ish - for £5k you got a superb picture , excellent sound , dvd player and impressive ( for analogue ) connections all wrapped up in a compact all in one design

in just five years.. 

2008ish -for £5k now you get a mediocre lcd with out of date connections , an ugly great big speaker ( actually that's an optional extra ) and a design that just looks plain weird

..most millionaires didn't get rich by being gullible and stupid , believe it or not 

 apart from our beloved sportsmen of course :) 

as 355f has said people will vote with their feet / wallet in the next 6 - 12 months

i actually fear for the future of bno unless they drastically change course 

I skipped reading all posts before this one.

I only want to add my opinion.

I am a satisfied user of the first ever Beovision 7.

I never had any doubts about my purchase. 

 

I believe every word you say, Coolskin, but would you buy it again, the same size for the same price now?

Bingo:

I believe every word you say, Coolskin, but would you buy it again, the same size for the same price now?

Some may say that I'm crazy...

YES I would buy it without hesitation.