TV and home entertainment as we know it is in a flux. The rapid development of technology is such that any new unit you buy right now might be outdated in a year or two. That is not to say that it is no longer unusable, rather that the device and it’s underlying technology will have been superseded by something totally different. Any thoughts on backward compatibility might not even be included in the new design.
In a large way, going with a high-tech company for your consumer devices is a smart move. A company which is diversified, and heavy into research and development is a sure sign that it will be releasing products which are on the cutting edge of technology. The planned obsolescence of a new product will be set back a bit in real years and not just in product development cycles. One of the most aggressive companies today in consumer electronics is Samsung. The Samsung LCD HDTV is one of their top sellers in consumer electronics.
LCD TV has been replaced on the top of the high-tech list by plasma TV, and now by 3D TV, but still, this may be a high ticket item which is very cost effective for the long term. With better electronics, more innovations are expected, which might include 3D TV without any need for glasses. Samsung is expected to be one of the companies who would lead into these new technologies. It is also expected that they would find a way to bring this to regular consumers at an affordable price at the earliest possible time.