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Television Media Toys

Philips Introduces Mirror TV 223

Posted by CowboyNeal from the tv-tv-on-the-wall dept.
UnknowingFool writes "PCWorld.com is reporting that Philips is introducing mirror TV. It is a combination mirror with LCD monitor that will be rolling out to hotels. The screens will be 1280 x 768 resolution and come in 17, 23, and 30 inch sizes. It reminds me of TV PiP where the main part is the mirror and the smaller part is the monitor. Philips hopes to install it in homes later."
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Philips Introduces Mirror TV More

Philips Introduces Mirror TV

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  • bow chicka bow wow! (Score:5, Funny)

    by sweeney37 ( 325921 ) * <mikesweeney.gmail@com> on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:36PM (#6186360) Homepage Journal
    so if you mount it above your bed you and your loved one could either watch a porno, or be the porno.

    Mike
    • Loved one? How about just your liked one, or the one whom you can tolerate for an hour at a time?

      Do the "I love you because I'm drunk" crowd fit into your equation?
    • bow chicka bow wow!

      Am I the only one that finds that "porno music" joke so annoying lame as to cause physical pain every time I am forced to think of it? I think the worst part is having to see (or imagine) the smile people get on their faces after they make the joke, because they are so overjoyed by how clever they are.

      It is handy in one regard. It allows you to immediately disregard the possibility that the "joker" will have anything worthwhile to contribute to your life, so you can safely ignore them
      • Cow Chicken Cow Cow ???

      • Re:bow chicka bow wow! (Score:5, Funny)

        by AyeRoxor! ( 471669 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @08:07PM (#6186994) Journal
        Am I the only one that finds that "porno music" joke so annoying lame as to cause physical pain every time I am forced to think of it?

        Sounds like someone needs some sweet, sweet lovin'...

        bow chicka bow bow...
      • Seriously though, many great minds found humor in things that you probably consider to be "below you." (self esteem issues?)

        From stupid puns, to monty python, to womanizing and drinking beers, einstein, Richard Feynman (inventor of quantum mechanics), and others won't lose sleep over you putting them on ignore.

        Loosen up, tiger.
        • I'm perfectly comfortable with the basest humor, I promise. It's not that it's below me. It's that the people that make the joke tend to make it several times a day. After the fifteenth time you hear one person make the joke, it doesn't matter how not funny it was when they first borrowed it from some sitcom.
    • How vain would you have to be to watch yourself in the mirror while having sex?

    • Telescreens! (Score:4, Funny)

      by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:15PM (#6186685)
      > so if you mount it above your bed you and your loved one could either watch a porno, or be the porno.

      "SWEENY!", screamed the shrewish voice from the telescreen. "325921 SWEENY-37! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that. You're not trying. Lower, please. That's better, comrade. Now stand at ease, the whole squad, and watch me."

    • I read the topic first and I thought it was a TV on one side, yet people could see through it from behind.

      Like those mirrored viewing cages.
  • OKay, so now it's a mirror and a television...just a step or two more and it's 1984's technology, just 20 years late.

    Sign up now for your Inner Party membership.

  • 7 years bad luck (Score:5, Funny)

    by matto14 ( 593826 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:38PM (#6186377)
    man if I broke this I would really get 7 years and also out be out $5500.

  • Shaving dangeres (Score:5, Funny)

    by shanestyle ( 558160 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:38PM (#6186384)
    Now you can shave and watch the news. As if running a razor blade over your face was not dangerous enough. =-)

  • 7 Years Bad Luck (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:38PM (#6186385)
    It used to be said that a broken mirror would take 7 years to replace due to cost. Looks like the good old days are back :)

  • Teenie-Bop! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Davak ( 526912 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:38PM (#6186388) Homepage
    But the mirrors themselves can be larger, with the image appearing as a window within an otherwise conventional mirror.

    A teenage girl's dream! TV-Mirror in one!

    Davak

  • Finally... (Score:3, Funny)

    by A1miras ( 595087 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:39PM (#6186392) Homepage
    I'll be interested in what's on my tv even when its turned off!

  • And the point is...? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by dvk ( 118711 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:39PM (#6186394) Homepage
    I can sort of understand it used in hotels, where you may not want to waste room space by a monitor, and the monitor is used for some minor task such as weathcr-cheking/orders/etc...

    But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home???
    • Well, you might be able to use it to impress someone by claiming that you don't watch television because [insert macho claim here].

      Now, explaining why you have a 30"+ mirror in front of the couch in the living room might be a little more touchy...

    • Re:And the point is...? (Score:4, Informative)

      by gwernol ( 167574 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:45PM (#6186454)
      But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home???

      For when you want to watch TV in the morning while shaving/washing/applying makeup? A mirror in the hallway that also shows when the Next Bus [nextbus.com] is coming along? A mirror over your wet bar that can show cocktail recipies via the Internet? A mirror in your main room that can also be a control panel for your TiVO/MP3 jukebox/digital camera gallery?

      • Re:And the point is...? (Score:2, Insightful)

        by bob65 ( 590395 )
        Yes but why *mirror*?? I'd much rather have a screen in the hallway that shows when the Next Bus is coming along (why would I want a mirror in the hallway? That's just creepy), a screen over your wet bar that can show cocktail recipies via the Internet, a screen in your main room that can also be a control panel for your TiVO/MP3 jukebox/digital camera gallery?

        Maybe it's just me, but I don't especially like mirrors, except in the washroom/bathroom.

        • Re:And the point is...? (Score:4, Interesting)

          by gwernol ( 167574 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:45PM (#6186880)
          Yes but why *mirror*?? I'd much rather have a screen in the hallway that shows when the Next Bus is coming along (why would I want a mirror in the hallway? That's just creepy), a screen over your wet bar that can show cocktail recipies via the Internet, a screen in your main room that can also be a control panel for your TiVO/MP3 jukebox/digital camera gallery?

          Well its a lot to do with the style you want. For example a lot of Art Deco/Nouveau cocktail bars incorporate a mirror, so if you're going for that look you may want a mirror anyway. Similarly a mirror in the hallway is traditional; people would adjust their hair, makeup and attire after arriving at the house, often while waiting to be shown in. As a result a lot of people who want a traditional style in their house have a mirror in the hallway, even if their guests no longer use it that way.

          If you want your home to follow a particular aesthetic, you'll often have mirrors anyway. This would be a nice additional feature.
    • But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home???

      Well, some people like their TV hidden when not using it (shut up in a cabinet, one of those deals that folds into a counter top, etc) and this takes that to the next level.

      At least it's more useful than those TVs built into your kitchen appliances :)
    • But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home???

      To check on how their internet-fridge is doing.
    • Think of it as a flat monitor that becomes a mirror when the TV is off. Imagine of these 46" diagonal and the mirror is the whole screen. you could hang it in the middle of the living room, so when the TV is off you have a nice decorative mirror, but switch the tv on and you got video.
    • the point is so i can steal it from a hotel and keep it in my house, next to the stolen towels in my bathroom, duh!
      • Just replace it with a real mirror. By the time they figure out that it's not just broken, you're home free.

        As a side note, they will charge you for towels. Lightbulbs however, they tend to overlook. Same goes for shower heads and the batteries out of the remote.

        (thread of what you've stolen out of hotel rooms starts here)
    • Because a mirror is better looking than an idle television.
      • Whoa! Whoa! A mirror?? Hello!

        You can't just be telling that to all these geeks! Mass hysteria will ensue.

        *Brings guest over*
        *geek* "Look, instead of a TV, it's a..."
        *guest* "Holy hell, make it stop! It burrrrns!"

    • Re:And the point is...? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by silas_moeckel ( 234313 ) <silas@@@dsminc-corp...com> on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:13PM (#6186664) Homepage
      Acutaly when I was a kid I did high end finish work and we got asked to do this often enough with one way mirrors. You make a frame and build a space behind it to put a normal size tv. Philips seems to just be making it in a package. This allow a room to look good without having a big fugly TV sitting around. Granted this was the old days of 3 CRT projection TV's that were just massive but it still works even with Plasma TV's and LCD's. You do loose some brightness and viewing angle but a nicly framed mirror looks a lot better than a plasma TV over the mantle at easter dinner for some people. Add to that the fact that hit the remote and the game is on it's a win win for some people.
    • The point is that the tv/mirror is a much more attractive combination than having a clunky tv set, or even a flat panel on the wall. Plus you got the point of all new gadgets, the novelty feature.
    • I can sort of understand it used in hotels, where you may not want to waste room space...But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home?

      Uh, because you may not want to waste room space? Could be really handy in some of the ultra-dense urban areas (Tokyo, Manhattan, etc.), where even the tiniest studio apts are insanely expensive (and thus inhabited by people who can afford one of these).
    • But why would anyone want a monitor in their mirror at home???


      So I could watch horror movies without my sister sneaking up behind me?

  • Muay Glaven! (Score:3, Funny)

    by jeffkjo1 ( 663413 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:40PM (#6186395) Homepage
    My dreams are coming true... Now, if only there were a way to combine a time machine and a DeLorean.
    • Well, if you stand on your toilet and try to hang a clock while watching the mirror/tv, you might fall off and hit your head and come up with the flux capacitor ...
  • This might be good for museums, or historical areas where a computer would spoil the atmosphere, but a mirror would not look out of place. Then the lcd could display information about the room/area.
    • Might also be useful for a restaurant, where patrons could choose to have "the big event" seen on the wall next to them, or if they don't they'll just have a non-intrusive mirror on the wall rather than a turned-off TV.

  • Classic case neat technology, but no market (Score:5, Insightful)

    by NumberField ( 670182 ) * on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:41PM (#6186422)
    Technically, this sounds quite cool. I think they are playing tricks with the polarization. (LCDs typically change the polarization of the photons by 90 degrees. A polarizing filter then blocks either the rotated or unrotated photons.) I think the "Mirror LCD" technology can make the polarizing filter reflective, instead of just blocking photons going through. This would give a slightly dark mirror, but satisfactory for bathroom-type purposes. On the other hand, the business people behind this have been, um, watching too much TV. A normal 17" LCD TV runs about $475 and a 17" mirror about $25, so Philips thinks people will pay more than $1000 per square foot for wall space. If wall space was this valuable, wouldn't hotels would hang better paintings?

    • THINK! silly.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by arcite ( 661011 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:57PM (#6186558)
      How much space does a regular run of the mill cheap 25-30inch crt take up? You have the tv and then you need a big stand to put it on. With this new mirror thing, its all in the wall, flat...out of the way when you don't need it. Redesign the hotel rooms around this new technology and not only do you have more options with what to do with the space in the room, but the rooms could actually be made smaller, yet seem to be bigger due to hiding the tech in wall. The hotel could make an extra couple rooms per floor, I am sure that this fact alone would more than make up for large up front costs.

    • Re:Classic case neat technology, but no market (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      When TVs first came out they were designed to be good looking furniture. Some even allowed you to hide the screen when not in use. Because televisions are so common today, it is acceptable to have an ugly black box in the center of a room. The mirror TV is essentially a television that dissapears when unused. Many non-geeks who consider technology ugly will love a television that turns into a simple, elegant peice of furniture when off.
    • As an IT manager at a 5 star hotel in Sydney, Australia - I think that this type of technology enables us to "open up" the space in the room itself - one of the first impressions that Guest get walking into a hotel room is not the artwork but the space.
      As for why we don't hang better pictures on a wall is that even without expensive artworks our guest rooms cost around AU$850,00.00+ each to outfit already and as long as it matches the decore no-one notices the "average" art piece. It is in the lobby and oth

      • As for why we don't hang better pictures on a wall is that even without expensive artworks our guest rooms cost around AU$850,00.00+ each to outfit already and as long as it matches the decore no-one notices the "average" art piece

        How many tvs do you have to replace per year because customers break them? Would this cost increase or decrease with these new tvs? I suppose that would depend on how most of them break, right? Like if they're all tossed out of windows, and the new tvs are mounted in the wall, t

  • VT (Score:3, Funny)

    by donnz ( 135658 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:42PM (#6186428) Homepage Journal
    Good, so now we can get TV/VTs to watch the crap they put out themselves...I'm sure Douglas Adams would approve.

  • Slashdotted badly (Score:5, Funny)

    by sulli ( 195030 ) * on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:43PM (#6186439) Journal
    Here is a mirror! [pcworld.com]

  • Picture in article (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Phroggy ( 441 ) * <slashdot3@@@phroggy...com> on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:43PM (#6186443) Homepage
    The picture seems to show the TV part as only the lower 1/3 or so of a larger mirror, with the upper 2/3 being a regular mirror. I think that would be strange - you'd basically have a mirror directly above your TV screen. It would also lessen the appearance of saving space - now it's just a mirror on top of a TV (two things), instead of a single thing that changes from a mirror to a TV. I think they'd have more success with a smaller wide-screen framed mirror/TV so that there would be no mirror while the TV was on.

    Speaking of the TV being on, would you see your reflection during a dark scene in a movie? How would ambient room light affect this?
    • I would prefer to have about a 9" diag. screen in the upper right hand corner of the mirror.

      Not hard to make one with an old laptop display and some mirror film...

    • Speaking of the TV being on, would you see your reflection during a dark scene in a movie? How would ambient room light affect this?

      I imagine the trick to the mirror involves polarization of some type and the screen is still outputting photons durring a dark scene so there trick will probably still work.
  • ....loose money.

    Cheap shot, I know. But seriously, is it really worth spending money you don't have on a product you don't need? (or a product that can be replaced in 3 different products for cheapers?)

  • Take flat screen. Take a 'one way' mirror. Put bright screen behind mirror and ta-da, you get tv-in-mirror.
  • Just don't install a this and a videoconferencing camera in front of your toilet.

    SKROOB: (covers crouch) ACK!!! I told you never to call me on this wall!!!! This is an unlisted wall!!!!

  • Frys has LCD screens for under $200 now.
    Get a sheet of glass at a glass company for $20.
    Get a roll of mirror film at wally world for $8.

    Bada bing! Same thing at a 10th of the cost...

  • I want Mirror Universe TV. A TV that broadcasts 24/7 my life in a mirror universe.

    I wonder if I'd have a mustache and goatee and be ruthless...

  • what a gdarn nightmare (Score:5, Funny)

    by SubtleNuance ( 184325 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:54PM (#6186534) Journal
    fade into a middle aged man in a bad suit, balding

    male-voice-over:feeling down? self-image problems?

    man looks himself over, up and down in the mirror.

    male-voice-over:You're an unfashionable slob! Look at these attractive people!

    male/female models flash around him in a halo of images.

    male-voice-over:You look like NONE OF THESE PEOPLE! They are attractive, you on the otherhand, well, frankly are not.

    man's face drops, eyes tear up -- he looks dejected and sad, almost suicidal.

    male-voice-over:What you need is a week Visit at ZHHA Spa and Resort, a Bottle of Sup-Er-Pretty hair gel, and a Free 30day supply of E-Z-Thin diet tablets. See the Checkout Counter for details!

    man turns from mirror, picking up his bags - another person walks around the corner and the male voice over starts again: "feeling down? self-image problems?"

    Hmrphm, cause and effect friends... do I *really* need the intrusion of TELEVISION in the mirror, where, formally, I used to be ALONE with myself?

    • ... in the mirror, where, formally, I used to be ALONE with myself

      Do you really feel that looking in the mirror is a FORMAL occasion? Do you wear tails, or just a jacket and vest?

  • They're building it, but is anybody gonna come? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by LostCluster ( 625375 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:56PM (#6186550)
    You know, for some odd reason shower radios have been around for years, but shower TVs have been technically possible for a good while but nobody bothered to make it. Why? Because most people don't exactly want a TV in their bathroom, the idea of watching a newscast while naked and showering just doesn't seem appealing to most people.

    I expect that people who discover the Mirror TV at their hotels (because this is not a feature the participating hotels will bother to advertise) will be given a feedback card to send to Philips as they leave, and a majority will be returned with the box for "I don't know whether it works well because didn't feel like using it." marked.

  • Vampire Practical Jokes (Score:5, Funny)

    by cosyne ( 324176 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @06:59PM (#6186574) Homepage
    This is just begging for a computer vision system to render your reflection, but delete the person sneaking up behind you. Then, once they scare the shit out of you, it switches back to mirror mode so the other person shows up again.
  • Hell, Philco was making mirror TVs in 1939! Take a gander [earlytelevision.org].
  • ... to hook a webcam up to a conventional flat screen monitor? Then you could forgo the mirror.
  • Seems to me it would be WAY to easy to hide a camera behind the mirror and claim it was part of the TV... personally, I've suspected some hotels of spying on patrons for quite some time.
  • Phillips also announced the expansion of their new 'technology splicing' line with the addition of the mobile phone/tazer and the combination bidet/kitchen blender.
  • Seems to me that if you put a $5000 piece of equipment that easily fits in a suitcase into a hotel room, you're just begging to get ripped off. They'd have to wire each of these with alarm sensors to detect removal.
  • this is just great.

    not only can we turn on the tele-mirror and see all of the beautiful people running around doing beautiful people things wearing beautiful people clothes, but we can immediately see how much less beautiful we really look when compared to those idealized images.

    then we can watch commercials featuring make-up and creams, clothes and other products that we need so that we can be beautiful too.

    reminds me why i don't own a tv anymore...

    --Cycon
    http://www.deltaflux.org [deltaflux.org]

  • Scary thought (Score:4, Funny)

    by Mu*puppy ( 464254 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:19PM (#6186722)
    Imagine the 'typical' date-less geek in front of one of these when power to the TV goes out.

    "Oh yeah... Cindy, ride that big ol'-"
    *zot!*
    "AaaaAAAAhhhhh, who the hell's THAT ugly bastard, and what's that in his hand?!?"

  • OK, a 17-inch screen "for less than $2500" is kinda outrageous, even with a nifty mirror in front.

    However LCD monitor/TVs are really great and I've been looking for one for awhile. I've a couple of buddies with them in their kitchens and been itching to put one in myself. Something that won't take up counterspace, can be hung on the wall, let me use a wireless keyboard & mouse if I want to look up that FoodTV recipe directly, etc.

    Doesn't need incredible brightness, not gaming so response time isn't

  • why aren't they offering it in 1080i? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by The Lynxpro ( 657990 ) <[moc.liamg] [ta] [orpxnyl]> on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:23PM (#6186743)
    The resolution they are offering MirrorTV matches the resolution level of Microsoft's version of movies in *HDTV* courtesy of Windows Media Player9... And if you need proof, check the stats of Artisan's latest DVD release of "T2." Same exact screen resolution on the Windows DVD disc... So where are the 1080i and 1080p versions of MirrorTV?

  • Um, why not just a normal Flat TV, and a Camera? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by corsec67 ( 627446 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:23PM (#6186746) Homepage Journal
    It seems to me that this would be easier with a TV and a camera. Eiter point it out, so it sort of looks like a mirror, or have it blend in with the wall. I think that a mirror would affect the image quality, as opposed to just displaying a specific image on a standard TV.

    Just my 0b10 cents
  • The new "touch-screen" version is really pissin' off the cleaning crew, sick of wiping smeared fingerprints off the mirror/tv.

  • Get your genuine Disney magic mirror right here (Score:3, Funny)

    by JoeSilva ( 215173 ) on Thursday June 12, 2003 @07:45PM (#6186882)

    Throw in voice recognition and we are there.

    "Mirror, mirror... who is the geekiest of them all?"

    Add a camera and image processing and it can really get itself into trouble.

  • The hotel could configure it to handle bill payment and other hotel services

    You mean a $2500+ mirror TV could be configured to do what every TV in every half decent hotel already does? Amazing.
  • victory gin in the bathtub,
    the ol' pair of two-eyes a swimmin'.
    yeah 2003 was when the hubbub
    died down, the world had begun its dimmin'.

    these days, tubed in and happy,
    my two-eyes plays only the best tunes.
    true, reception's a bit crappy,
    but can't recall different in many moons...

    ahh, a news update -- how exciting!
    the war may be close to ending, says the voice.
    i smile warmly to two-eyes, inviting
    patriotic appearance to shield my secret choice.

    the white speck of dust, my betrayer;
    there is no place to keep th
  • A mirror with a video screen? Madness! But, with the small addition of a webcam, you can at last see what you look like when you talk over a videophone link!

    Am I kidding or serious? Well, that's a question I leave to the moderators.
  • The next model will also feature a video-conferencing camera mounted behind an unbreakable plexiglass screen.

  • 1984 (Score:2)

    by pz ( 113803 )
    Just add a webcam and centralized control from the hotel's back office and we come ever closer to George Orwell's predictions.

    Don't mod this funny, this is seriously getting scary.
  • It's also great when you want to ask your mirror "Who's the Fairest One Of All."

    It can do a google image search, and present you with the answer.

  • ...wants to watch themselves watching TV?

    If you want a "mirror" just attach a camera to the monitor and reverse the image. Then you don't need the big, heavy mirror.

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