an old thread regarding televisions

[allenmurray]

Can someone point me to the old thread regarding televisions (or better yet, answer a simple question). Other than blue-ray videos, is there any real advanage to 1080 over 720? The price difference is huge, and I can't really tell any difference to the naked eye on "regular" tV shows.

[YourLandlord]

Can someone point me to the old thread regarding televisions (or better yet, answer a simple question). Other than blue-ray videos, is there any real advanage to 1080 over 720? The price difference is huge, and I can't really tell any difference to the naked eye on "regular" tV shows.

I think sports look much crisper in 1080 over 720. You can really tell when they put up graphics on the screen -- the 720 graphics look "fuzzier" than the 1080.

Of course, you don't watch sports for the graphics -- but this "fuziness" carries over to all parts of the program.

[blazindw]

You want 1080...you can really tell the difference.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Can someone point me to the old thread regarding televisions (or better yet, answer a simple question). Other than blue-ray videos, is there any real advanage to 1080 over 720? The price difference is huge, and I can't really tell any difference to the naked eye on "regular" tV shows.
From what I've read, on sets 32" and smaller 720p is fine. On larger sets, you'll see a difference when 1080p starts to get broadcast. Of more importance is a faster refresh rate than 60 Hz for sports broadcasts. I'm seeing lots of 120 Hz and some 240 Hz sets on display. The Vizio 42" set at Costco (or Sam's Club) are about $100 more for the 240 Hz sets compared to the 120 Hz sets ($850 vs. $750).

[allenmurray]

From what I've read, on sets 32" and smaller 720p is fine. On larger sets, you'll see a difference when 1080p starts to get broadcast. Of more importance is a faster refresh rate than 60 Hz for sports broadcasts. I'm seeing lots of 120 Hz and some 240 Hz sets on display. The Vizio 42" set at Costco (or Sam's Club) are about $100 more for the 240 Hz sets compared to the 120 Hz sets ($850 vs. $750).

Thanks. I think I'll probably go with a 1080 at 42" instead of the 720 of 50" I had been looking at. I'm not willing to spend the money required to go bigger than 42" and get the 1080. I had already deicded to get the TV at Costco (I don't have a Sam's club membership) even if it can be had a bit cheaper at BestBuy/HHGregg/etc. I like their customer service and often they run specials where an extended warranty is included in the price.

[Indoor66]

I have always considered extended warranties on quality electronics products to be a very poor investment. My experience has been that failure happens withing 30-45 days or not at all within a reasonable life expectancy.

I go on my personal experience but would like to hear about other experiences and opinions.

[YourLandlord]

I have always considered extended warranties on quality electronics products to be a very poor investment. My experience has been that failure happens withing 30-45 days or not at all within a reasonable life expectancy.

I go on my personal experience but would like to hear about other experiences and opinions.

Agreed completely. It's simple: if extended warranties didn't produce excess profits, why do sales people push them so hard? Answer: Because the vast majority of people never use them. Plus, they're not cheap.

You might be able to get a much cheaper policy through your insurance agent or credit card company -- I pay $3/mo that covers $3K worth of electronics (computer, etc.) from ANY damage, not just failure.

[rthomas]

What about LED TVs, vs. LCD and plasma?

I have an Apple LED monitor for my computer and it's awesome but are they better TVs?

[allenmurray]

I have always considered extended warranties on quality electronics products to be a very poor investment. My experience has been that failure happens withing 30-45 days or not at all within a reasonable life expectancy.

I go on my personal experience but would like to hear about other experiences and opinions.

I agree as well. But if I can get one "thrown in" (meaning the TV costs the same at either place but one includes the extended warranty gratis) I'm more than willing to take it. I'm also past the age of getting in line at BestBuy at 4:00 in the morning to get one of their "super-duper-right-before-Christmas, we're-sorry-we-only-have-a-limited-supply-of-3-per-store" deals. So an extra $50 at Costco and a free warranty might be the ticket, even for a cheapskate like me.

There are some electronics for which I am glad I bought the extended warranty (particularly if the primary user of the time is a person under the age of 17 or so). My son's ipod was replaced twice, both times quickily and easily (at BestBuy of all places). I also remember reading one time that big screen TVs (I don't recall if they were speaking of LCD, Plamsa or both) were one of the items on which it makes sense to get the extended warranty (and this article was written by someone who usually reccomends against them).

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Can someone point me to the old thread regarding televisions (or better yet, answer a simple question). Other than blue-ray videos, is there any real advanage to 1080 over 720? The price difference is huge, and I can't really tell any difference to the naked eye on "regular" tV shows.

Going forward you will see more and more 1080p sources besides BluRay. DirecTV already broadcasts 1 PPV channel in 1080p and you can download VOD in 1080p.

Plasma vs LCD is slowly becoming a moot point as LCD black level are basically the same as Plasma. The choice comes down to where will you be watching TV. Bright room = LCD. Dark room = Plasma.

[YourLandlord]

What about LED TVs, vs. LCD and plasma?

I have an Apple LED monitor for my computer and it's awesome but are they better TVs?

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/whats-an-led-tv/

just read this this morning.

[Indoor66]

Going forward you will see more and more 1080p sources besides BluRay. DirecTV already broadcasts 1 PPV channel in 1080p and you can download VOD in 1080p.

Plasma vs LCD is slowly becoming a moot point as LCD black level are basically the same as Plasma. The choice comes down to where will you be watching TV. Bright room = LCD. Dark room = Plasma.

Also, Plasma uses much more power than does LCD.

[hc5duke]

you should consider viewing distance as well:

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/

e.g. If you're getting a 40" screen, but sitting 10 feet away (green area in the chart), you can't tell the difference between 1080 and 720. If you're getting a 50" screen at 10 feet away (red area), you probably can.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadgethd.com/media/2006/12/resolution_chart.jpg

[hughgs]

From what I've read, on sets 32" and smaller 720p is fine. On larger sets, you'll see a difference when 1080p starts to get broadcast. Of more importance is a faster refresh rate than 60 Hz for sports broadcasts. I'm seeing lots of 120 Hz and some 240 Hz sets on display. The Vizio 42" set at Costco (or Sam's Club) are about $100 more for the 240 Hz sets compared to the 120 Hz sets ($850 vs. $750).

I'm not sure that the refresh rate is important. Your eyes only sample at 60 Hz. Maybe there's an interlacing/aliasing issue or something else at work, but if you refresh the entire screen faster than 60 Hz you aren't really seeing things "better".

[hurleyfor3]

I'm seeing a $70 difference between 720 and 1080 for teevees that are otherwise the same. (specifically, $599 vs. 529 for a 37" Panasonic from B&H. Free shipping, no tax outside of NYS. Geez, teevees have gotten really cheap.) Why not get the 1080?

[rthomas]

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/whats-an-led-tv/

just read this this morning.

very informative. Thanks!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I agree as well. But if I can get one "thrown in" (meaning the TV costs the same at either place but one includes the extended warranty gratis) I'm more than willing to take it. I'm also past the age of getting in line at BestBuy at 4:00 in the morning to get one of their "super-duper-right-before-Christmas, we're-sorry-we-only-have-a-limited-supply-of-3-per-store" deals. So an extra $50 at Costco and a free warranty might be the ticket, even for a cheapskate like me.

There are some electronics for which I am glad I bought the extended warranty (particularly if the primary user of the time is a person under the age of 17 or so). My son's ipod was replaced twice, both times quickily and easily (at BestBuy of all places). I also remember reading one time that big screen TVs (I don't recall if they were speaking of LCD, Plamsa or both) were one of the items on which it makes sense to get the extended warranty (and this article was written by someone who usually reccomends against them).
Costco includes a 2-year warranty with the purchase, and isn't offering anything longer than that. Buying it on you Amex card may or may not extend it another year, since Costco is already extending it a year - they may overlap.

[Jim3k]

If you are viewing the screen from an angle, you might want to compare how far to the right or left you will still get a good picture. The LCDs seem to vary quite a bit, but some are outstanding.

[DukeUsul]

I have a Smsung DLP TV with an LED light engine. Man this sucker is bright.

[cspan37421]

Thank you for this thread! I'm in the market and am very overwhelmed by all the parameters one must now consider in buying a TV. I'm a weird crossbreed - geeky tech-head, but late adopter (translation: proven technologies that have come down in price). I welcome all advice and would like to share what little I've gleaned if it can help someone else:

- viewing angle: I was at BestBuy this weekend and your viewing angle has to be absurdly severe (in most cases) for the advantage of plasma to be noticable.

- plasma screen is more impressive, marginally. BUT: the screens really reflect light. If you've got one lamp or window that could be seen as a reflection, you WILL see it.

- 1080 is noticeably better than 720 in the store - where you're far closer to the TV than normal. Still, it is nicer.

- the refresh rate is the new thing on me. There's a pretty good price step from 60 to 120 to 240 (what, no 180?). What would you even notice? I don't know.

- brand quality? I used to swear by Sony, til the late 90s, then I began to be very unimpressed. Now... ? Does brand matter, statistically?

- mounting. I would prefer a wall mount but even a large LCD is HEAVY. I'd think you have to have it put on the studs like a heavy mirror. I think we'll go for a stand, but would prefer one more than 22-24" off the floor. That just doesn't seem very high in the big room we have. Suggestions?

- I can't talk my wife into front-projector. We've got a big dimly-lit room, huge wall, seems like it would be a natural. Saw Superbowl XL that way at a friend's house - Jerome Bettis larger than life! But it's a non-starter for the fam room. I'm allowed to do it in the rec room. Anyone done that?

- Any other features that are must-haves, which may not be on all TVs?

[DukeUsul]

First, I wouldn't trust anything you see on a screen at Best Buy. You need to really see it in an actual room.

I like the Samsungs. I have a Samsung DLP, which people often overlook these days. Samsung makes em nice, it's only 13" thick. You obviously can't go DLP if you want to mount, but if you are going to put it on a stand, consider a DLP. You can get the same size for half the price. I got a steal on my 60-incher.

[rthomas]

As far as hanging a big flatscreen TV on a wall. Yea, it freaked me out to think about doing that, but I decided to pay Best Buy to do it for me. They have a thing where you pay someone to come to your house to check it out and give you advice, then the actual cost of the work subtracts out the advice cost.

They did a great job and I had no worry that I was going to pull a wall down on top of my tv and me. Other places probably have a similar service.

PS I also got BB to run speakers from my stereo into my walls and outside on my deck and they did that seamlessly as well.

[dairedevil]

Make sure you try out/ check all of the features you might use. My mother is hard of hearing, so she frequently uses captioning...imagine our surprise when we found out that the LG LCD tv that we bought has a captioning feature, but it will only go through the coaxial cable, not the hdmi...so we have a great choice - hd picture or captions. We are using the captions that we can get thru the cable box, but they are a bear to turn on and off, so they stay on most of the time, and for some reason seem to be in the middle of the picture most of the time. UGH!

[allenmurray]

I would prefer a wall mount but even a large LCD is HEAVY. I'd think you have to have it put on the studs like a heavy mirror. I think we'll go for a stand, but would prefer one more than 22-24" off the floor. That just doesn't seem very high in the big room we have. Suggestions?


As far as hanging a big flatscreen TV on a wall. Yea, it freaked me out to think about doing that, but I decided to pay Best Buy to do it for me.

Basic household tools (electric drill with proper size bits, a screwdriver, a stud-finder is helpful, but not necessary) a little bit of patience, a bit of common sense, and good planning skills is all it takes to hang something that size and weight on a wall. It is far simpler than most folks think.

[hc5duke]

Basic household tools (electric drill with proper size bits, a screwdriver, a stud-finder is helpful, but not necessary) a little bit of patience, a bit of common sense, and good planning skills is all it takes to hang something that size and weight on a wall. It is far simpler than most folks think.

I am still shocked and somewhat scared that the 20" lcd monitor I mounted in front of our elliptical machine is still there :rolleyes:

One thing to note for mounting is that (at least from what I had been told when I was looking around this time last year), it's illegal in some areas to run powered cables through the wall behind the TV. it's supposed to be a fire hazard, though I haven't heard of any cases where such a set up caused problems.

[allenmurray]

I am still shocked and somewhat scared that the 20" lcd monitor I mounted in front of our elliptical machine is still there :rolleyes:

One thing to note for mounting is that (at least from what I had been told when I was looking around this time last year), it's illegal in some areas to run powered cables through the wall behind the TV. it's supposed to be a fire hazard, though I haven't heard of any cases where such a set up caused problems.

Speaker wires, HDMI wires, coax cable all can go through the wall. The power supply should not (unles it is hard-wired rather than simply running the cord through the wall). The wall where I am going to mount the TV backs up to the laundry room - making things a bit easier in that if I have to create an access hole in the wall it won't be in a place that matters.

[rthomas]

Basic household tools (electric drill with proper size bits, a screwdriver, a stud-finder is helpful, but not necessary) a little bit of patience, a bit of common sense, and good planning skills is all it takes to hang something that size and weight on a wall. It is far simpler than most folks think.

I have the basic household tools. Not much of the other stuff you mentioned.

[Indoor66]

I have the basic household tools. Not much of the other stuff you mentioned.

LOL to that!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I am still shocked and somewhat scared that the 20" lcd monitor I mounted in front of our elliptical machine is still there :rolleyes:

One thing to note for mounting is that (at least from what I had been told when I was looking around this time last year), it's illegal in some areas to run powered cables through the wall behind the TV. it's supposed to be a fire hazard, though I haven't heard of any cases where such a set up caused problems.
And here's hoping you don't have the Chinese wallboard that is causing so many Sulfur related problems. :eek:

[hc5duke]

And here's hoping you don't have the Chinese wallboard that is causing so many Sulfur related problems. :eek:

hmm my landlord *is* Chinese... I should look into that ;)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

hmm my landlord *is* Chinese... I should look into that ;)
Only if your place was built in the last few years, when building supplies, specifically wall board, was in short supply because of the building boom. You remember that, don't you? :D

[allenmurray]

So, I think what I have learned is that:

1080p is a must,
120hz is far better than 60hz,
LED vs. Plasma is almost too close to call,
Plasma uses more electricty.

Does anybody have any quality reviews/experience with Insignia (Best Buy's house brand) or Scepter (available at Costco)? They both have a 46" 1080p 120Hz LCD for $800. I've bought Best Buy Insignia products before and have been pleased, but they were small and cheap items (under $125). I've never heard of Sceptre.

[cspan37421]

Thank you allenmurray. I was going to post to see if anyone had anything to say about modern TVs other than it's entirely possible to hang heavy stuff from walls. I was least curious about that - as I said it is probably not going to happen for us. Thanks for the DLP tip DukeUsl - are you suggesting the rear-projection ones? There seem to be very few of those in the stores. Will they survive as a line?

Allenmurray: same with me on Insignia. Cheaper stuff has been fine.

[YourLandlord]

So, I think what I have learned is that:

1080p is a must,
120hz is far better than 60hz,
LED vs. Plasma is almost too close to call,
Plasma uses more electricty.

Does anybody have any quality reviews/experience with Insignia (Best Buy's house brand) or Scepter (available at Costco)? They both have a 46" 1080p 120Hz LCD for $800. I've bought Best Buy Insignia products before and have been pleased, but they were small and cheap items (under $125). I've never heard of Sceptre.

I'd recommend going to Consumer Reports' website and signing up for a trial or 1-yr subscription. They'll give you the lowdown on all your brand quality questions. It won't be more than $20 I'm sure, and when you're spending almost $1K, that's worth it to get a good item.

Plus, you can use their services for whatever items you might purchase within the next year.

[hughgs]

So, I think what I have learned is that:

1080p is a must,
120hz is far better than 60hz,
LED vs. Plasma is almost too close to call,
Plasma uses more electricty.

Does anybody have any quality reviews/experience with Insignia (Best Buy's house brand) or Scepter (available at Costco)? They both have a 46" 1080p 120Hz LCD for $800. I've bought Best Buy Insignia products before and have been pleased, but they were small and cheap items (under $125). I've never heard of Sceptre.

I still don't understand why 120 Hz is better than 60 Hz. It may be more expensive but where do you see that it's "better"?

[hc5duke]

I still don't understand why 120 Hz is better than 60 Hz. It may be more expensive but where do you see that it's "better"?

http://gizmodo.com/231872/120hz-hdtvs-the-secret-to-making-movies-look-as-smooth-as-butter

I'm no engineer (wait, no, I am) but it has less to do with our eyes' ability to see at 120Hz but rather the translation from the 24Hz movies are encoded at. 24->60 isn't as nice as 24->120

[bigj4194]

i haven't payed attention to plasma vs lcd discussion...but herea re my $0.02...plasma is better for movies and tv shows, LCD is better for sports. i am in the process of getting a new tv and am getting a 58" samsung plasma. in all my looking and talking to people that's what i decided to get. as another side note...i look at a LCD display all day (my computer) and so getting a different type of display (plasma) is actually slightly better for your eyes.

good luck and enjoy your new tv

[hughgs]

http://gizmodo.com/231872/120hz-hdtvs-the-secret-to-making-movies-look-as-smooth-as-butter

I'm no engineer (wait, no, I am) but it has less to do with our eyes' ability to see at 120Hz but rather the translation from the 24Hz movies are encoded at. 24->60 isn't as nice as 24->120

OK, that makes sense. Aliasing issues at 60 Hz which you don't get at 120 Hz.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

So, I think what I have learned is that:

1080p is a must,
120hz is far better than 60hz,
LED vs. Plasma is almost too close to call,
Plasma uses more electricty.

Does anybody have any quality reviews/experience with Insignia (Best Buy's house brand) or Scepter (available at Costco)? They both have a 46" 1080p 120Hz LCD for $800. I've bought Best Buy Insignia products before and have been pleased, but they were small and cheap items (under $125). I've never heard of Sceptre.
Vizio has become a mainstream brand (vs. the el-cheapo brand it began as) and is available at both Sam's Club and Costco. I've heard, but can't site sources, that reliability has been very good. I bought my daughter a 32" Vizio (720p) last December and it has done fine.

[Jarhead]

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/whats-an-led-tv/

just read this this morning.

I agree that thie linked information was very interesting and informative. I had not had the privilege of viewing a so called LED TV until last month while in England. My reaction? Awesome, but I had also considered my 1080 Sony LCD (in the sun room) awesome. The difference in England was that right next to the LED set was and LCD set showing the exact same programming. Both were Samsung, I think. The LED set won for me, easily. The price difference was less than £100. I imagine that we are not going to get pure LED screens any time soon, but I expect the LED back lit models to soon dominate the market.

[DukeUsul]

I've been reading some of the 120Hz threads at AVS Forums (THE source for all things A/V). If you really are interested in 120Hz, make sure the TV is really doing 5:5 pulldown (where it takes each of the 24 frames of video in a second and repeats each five times over the 120 cycles/sec the TV outputs). Some 120Hz sets are actually doing 3:2 pulldown (repeat the first frame three times, then the next frame twice) to get to 60Hz and then just doubling that to get to 120Hz.

You should be able to find what kind of pulldown the TV is doing in the specs.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archive/index.php/t-978301.html

[Indoor66]

I have been looking at 42" LCD HDTV sets. I found this one: Sharp AQUOS LC-42D64U 42-in LCD HDTV and it appears to be a good selection.

It is 1080p and, as best I can determin has a refresh rate of 60Hz. It is thin and lightweight.

The best price I have found online is $699.99 including shipping (http://www.hdhut.com/productdetail.asp?ProductID=3268).

Does anyone have any experience or comment in this item?

[allenmurray]

I have been looking at 42" LCD HDTV sets. I found this one: Sharp AQUOS LC-42D64U 42-in LCD HDTV and it appears to be a good selection.

It is 1080p and, as best I can determin has a refresh rate of 60Hz. It is thin and lightweight.

The best price I have found online is $699.99 including shipping (http://www.hdhut.com/productdetail.asp?ProductID=3268).

Does anyone have any experience or comment in this item?

I had a Sharp brand CRT television a few years back that I was very pleased with (and their quality reputation for CRTs was very high) - I don't know if that translates to their LCD sets or not.

[moonpie23]

I have a Vizio 42" lcd in our Studio A control room for the computer monitor and it looks absolutely awesome.

At home i have a 65" Syntax Olevia LCD and it looks awesome too......the only thing is, it WEIGHS 285 FRICKIN LBS (129 273.825 45 grams) I wouldn't dare try to hang it on a wall....shoot, i had to get a special TV stand just to hold it on the ground...

BUT.........when they show that over-the-field cam on monday night football, i DO think i'm there.. :D

[77devil]

I had a Sharp brand CRT television a few years back that I was very pleased with (and their quality reputation for CRTs was very high) - I don't know if that translates to their LCD sets or not.

I recommend buying Panasonic or Sony for plasma and Sharp for LCD. I have owned all three for multiple years with no issues. The Korean models, Samsung and LG are one notch below in screen technology based generally on being one iteration (12 months) behind but still very high quality and probably indeciferable to normal vision. Can't speak to Hitachi, Toshiba, JVC etc, but I would absolutely recommend buying major label quality. The second tier manaufacturers for the most part do not buy flat panel display materials from the technology leader.

[elvis14]

I have been looking at 42" LCD HDTV sets. I found this one: Sharp AQUOS LC-42D64U 42-in LCD HDTV and it appears to be a good selection.

It is 1080p and, as best I can determin has a refresh rate of 60Hz. It is thin and lightweight.

The best price I have found online is $699.99 including shipping (http://www.hdhut.com/productdetail.asp?ProductID=3268).

Does anyone have any experience or comment in this item?

Last year I bought a 32" Sharp AQUOS for my bedroom. I've been very happy with this TV, especially the HD picture. Thanks to all who have posted informative messages in this thread. I recently bought a house and the living room has lots of built in shelves. My floor standing RP main TV will have to be replaced :D and reading the information here has been a useful start to that investigation.

Now if I could just get my house in NW Raleigh sold!

[hc5duke]

Sears Black Friday Ad Leaks: Boatloads of Cheap HDTVs (http://gizmodo.com/5391757/sears-black-friday-ad-leaks-boatloads-of-cheap-hdtvs/gallery/)

haven't actually read through them, YMMV

[allenmurray]

Sears Black Friday Ad Leaks: Boatloads of Cheap HDTVs (http://gizmodo.com/5391757/sears-black-friday-ad-leaks-boatloads-of-cheap-hdtvs/gallery/)

haven't actually read through them, YMMV

Those are some great prices. They all say, "minimum of 2 per store, no rainchecks". My desire for a bargain is not strong enough to camp out all night in the Sears parking lot after having Thanksgiving dinner.

[moonpie23]

oh, one thing i DO highly recommend .......READ THE MANUFACTURER'S PIXEL POLICY........some of them are different.....

if you get a few white pixels in the middle of your screen, it can be maddening....

[hurleyfor3]

Those are some great prices. They all say, "minimum of 2 per store, no rainchecks". My desire for a bargain is not strong enough to camp out all night in the Sears parking lot after having Thanksgiving dinner.

Those prices aren't whole lot cheaper than mail-order retailers I've looked at, especially when factoring in taxes and the hassle of going to a store and dealing with other human beings/store hours/sellouts etc. I use bhphotovideo.com , which has a sterling reputation in the photography world (I've ordered photo gear from them many times) and a famous physical store to boot, on 34th and 9th in Manhattan.

[chattpanther]

I am noticing more and more wireless hdtvs on the market. Does anyone recommend that I get a wireless/internet connectible TV? Also, if I decide to go with a smaller TV, such as a 32" or 37", should I get one with built in DVD player.

Both of those options add to the price. I am more curious about the wireless option. I would think that all tvs are moving to a internet connection. I wasn't sure if I would be getting "ahead" of the curve by going with a hdtv that has a built in internet wireless connection. Thank you for your help.

[Highlander]

I am noticing more and more wireless hdtvs on the market. Does anyone recommend that I get a wireless/internet connectible TV? Also, if I decide to go with a smaller TV, such as a 32" or 37", should I get one with built in DVD player.

Both of those options add to the price. I am more curious about the wireless option. I would think that all tvs are moving to a internet connection. I wasn't sure if I would be getting "ahead" of the curve by going with a hdtv that has a built in internet wireless connection. Thank you for your help.

Depends on how close your router is to your TV as to whether a wired connection is better than wireless. If your house has a prewire or it is easy to get a wired connection, I would just go with that. If not, wireless would work as well. Either way you will need a router if you don't already have one.

Main advantages to a connection are streaming content and home networking. You can connect to pictures, videos, etc on your home PC, plus stream content over the internet from services like Netflix. There's also the advantage for updating firmware. Ultimately it depends on how much that benefit is worth to you. I recently got a blu-ray player with a wired connection, but the only benefit it has given me so far is downloading the new firmware, as it isn't Netflix capable apparently.

Right now it's more hype than function in my mind, but there is a ton of potential that could be made available through the medium in the future.