So I read this article at Forbes the other day (yes I read Forbes — it helps me learn big words) which outlined the decline in TV sales. It didn’t surprise me because modern TVs are made to last and just about everyone made the transition to LCD/Plasma/OLED TVs over the past decade because of their increasing affordability. Also HD was a worthwhile carrot (love how they tried to get us back to the trough for 3D TVs* - HA!).

I’m not a business or tech analyst, but I think there is one trait all TV manufacturers lack, and that is imagination. The cookie cutter appearance all TV’s have can be disposed of in favor of unique designs that represent the varying tastes and interests of consumers everywhere.

I believe we’re at that threshold where TVs have to diversify their appearance to encourage market growth, a tactic the automobile industry latched onto several decades ago. Functionality and engineering have been nearly perfected - it’s time for style.

Take this Iron Man design above. Definitely geared towards the comic book geeks, techies, film buffs, car lovers and so on - not exactly a niche market! If something like this were available, it might provoke some to think about getting a second (or third) TV, or to eschew paying rent for one month for a complete upgrade (let’s face it, we geeks are bloody impulsive).

Look forward to more TV designs based on films, comic books, and video games in the coming weeks. Check out this Star Trek TV from a while back if you like this one.

*That same article cited an increase in 3D units shipped, but no hard sales numbers. A 14% increase from what exactly?