Near future?
Probably what I already have.
Each TV is nothing but a large computer monitor. All my TVs are driven by a computer. Before I cut cable, I used to have a PC/Tuner card that could record 6 HD shows at the same time and I used the PC to watch recorded shows.
Now I just stream/download the shows I want. When my girlfriend comes over (she still has a cable subscription), I stream her subscription to my TV.
She even brought over a DVD once, turns out my computer still has a DVD player so plopped that disk in and still used a computer to watch the show.
Computers are versatile, easy to upgrade (codecs are often automatically updated) and do just about anything you need.
Near far future?
I watched the 3D fad come and go fairly quickly. I remember watching a demo at a store, and they used a piss poor 3D example where a cat was walking and weaving between legs of a chair. Problem was, the cat itself looked 2D (like paper) that was in 3D weaving between the legs. Thing is, getting 3D programming isn’t a simple matter, so I don’t see that taking off.
4K TV - I hear it’s great, but having a 4K TV and using it to watch standard HD is no different than using a blu-ray player to watch a DVD. So this feature depends on the source transmitting the right format, and generally speaking, it’s not overly available (yeah, I hear sat TV carries some channels but I don’t use sat TV and haven’t for years). Bandwidths need to get fatter. I think people for the time being are happy with HD. Hell, my TV blows me away from time to time when I get some high res image displayed.
VR - This one intrigues me. Problem is right now you have to wear something like this:
I wore something like this in the very late 80’s or 90’s that was central to a video game (that I completely sucked at as I couldn’t seem to hold the gun level enough, kept shooting the floor). It was cool, but low res (no surprise, was emerging technology at that time). I’m curious at how good these things may have gotten.
Integrated wall/TV - I was thinking of that scene from Back to the Future:
And I guess I remembered it wrong, my current 80″ LED TV isn’t much different than this (except it doesn’t have a frame) and the multi-window setup isn’t hard to set up since I have a computer that drives it anyway.
What I’m thinking is something closer to this:
Which can migrate further to this:
When not actually in use, it can project an image of a wall, or a wall with a picture, or window. The options are endless.
The hurdle here is getting a video that takes advantage of this and any other user configurations (factoring in dynamic endpoints will be challenging).
Far, far future - long after I’m dead:
Holodecks.
The upper (or left depending how this answer rendered on your screen) pic is closer to reality (and not much of an extension of my last example), no interactive characters (requires serious improvements in holograph technology and force fields, which don’t even exist yet).
