Raeuber wrote:

Nowadays the picture quality of almost every TV is very good, almost of a Samsung for 399 EUR!

Exactly. And match a modern 2012 TV with a decent HD source and you get a very good picture. There's no such thing as "poor" picture quality on modern TVs. You just get very good (most TVs), excellent (BV7-40, BV10) and exceptional (BV7-55, BV12).

The V1 is a very good B&O TV for the low-cost B&O price point. The design may not appeal to everyone, but for the price it's a good step on the B&O ladder for many users.

To add another 2 pence worth / opinion.

I went to my local dealer today to have a look at the V1.  I was very impressed with it.  Certainly a good picture and seemed up there with the BV-10's and BV7's of a similar size.  I'm sure if you had them all side by side rather than spread over the room you might well spot differences.  However, I suspect anyone buying a V1 will be very pleased with the picture.  But I think a lot of this can be subjective as we all see things slightly different.  Lets all agree though the picture is worthy of a B&O.

The sound is for me often what sets B&O apart from other TV's and that's before you get into external speakers and again the V1 has this, in fact to my ears I thought that just on the internal speakers it was better on the V1 than the BV-10 today we listened to, very good bass and tone.

The design I like and again IMHO is worthy of the B&O name, although with the stands they currently have and the wall bracket it looks a little bit too industrial I think for my lounge.  The dealer told me STB Brackets are working on some mounts for this TV that fit much closer to the frame than the B&O ones and maybe that might work better for me, we'll have to see.  If I had a loft apartment this would be the TV I'd buy.

I've currently got a BV7-32, the last 32" model with the 2 x HDMI and would like to upgrade to a 40" screen, I'm also an Apple fan with an ATV and have been slowly converting my DVD collection to hard disk, so the V1's connectivity is appealing.   Give me all that on the BV7, then we're talking!

As a slight aside, while there I also heard the Beolit 12 and the sound on that little thing is absolutely amazing.

John wrote:

This is where the V1 comes in for me; sensible pricing, modern and different, and yet very appealing styling, and importantly, from the technical papers I've read on it, incorporating a state of the art surround sound processor (who else is offering such in a TV, let alone with the facility to offer different speaker groups with individualised distance and level settings for different seating distances/areas for instance) AND an by all accounts excellent ACTIVE speaker system doubling as the centre channel in an AV setup.  

In other words, for someone like me, who also wants to buy into a complete B&O system, and as a new customer to B&O, it's almost the perfect entry level product to form the centrepiece of an B&O AV system.  As I say, I'm very excited by it, and I think at last I've found the B&O product to get me to dip my toe into the B&O audio/visual world.

Hi John,

Couldn't agree with you more.  I love the inbuilt sound processor - saves having an extra AV receiver! and a perfect entry level product.  Can't wait to see it.

Cheers

Michael.

Paul W wrote:

Great design and art creates HUGE debate!

Love it or hate it - the fact that we are talking about it is probably what was intended.   Many many companies use polarising designs to bring new customers to the brand. 

Let's wait and see how it actually sells before giving its demise! lol

It's funky! It's cool and it's amazing to see the attention to detail given to this design. From the 5 HDMIs to the thought of the Apple TV box to even including the proper BANG&OLUFSEN electronic curtain just shows that real attention to detail has been given to this TV. I applaud it in every way and my 20 something crowd are really getting into the B&O PLAY brand to sit alongside their Apple products. It's just what is needed for today's young, funky generation!

Paul W wrote:

...20 something crowd are really getting into the B&O PLAY brand to sit alongside their Apple products. It's just what is needed for today's young, funky generation!

....who spend about £500 on their TVs. Do you know how little disposable income 20-year-olds have in 2012? :)

I work in a 1000+ employee tech publishing company. Mostly 20 somethings. Average income £22,000. Maybe they'd stretch to a MacBook Air - which would be their most expensive product they own - but there's no way they'd spend £2499 on a TV. And most of them have no idea what B&O is, won't see the TV as it's not sold outside of the B&O showrooms (a fact we've forgotten) and would never go in a B&O showroom.

We live in a distorted reality if we're thinking that, in a double-dip recession, where 1 in 10 <24-year-olds are unemployed, that a stamped of 20 somethings are suddenly going to ditch the chance of buying a £549 Samsung and switch to a V1.

Sadly, this 

markiedee wrote:

ed7 wrote:

What is this??? bang&olufsen designs definitely going from bad to worse??!! ,who ever sanctioned this tv to go ahead should be sacked!!😭

Thats what i've been saying throughout this thread it just doesn't look b&0 to me it's a hideous looking design i reckon david lewis god rest his soul would have designed it alot better than what it looks like period... i have had alot to say because for the money it costs to much compared to the competition and in design terms it just doesn't warrant the price especially for the size too 40" for £2500.

they could have included all the features and technology that  this tv has to offer and put it into a more sleek and comtempary looking design. I read a comment yesterday where somebody went to selfridges to check it out and he said it's one of the ugliest tvs his seen and really went into one about the stand.

I for one thought that it would have loked similar to an apple imac with a minimalistic metal swivel table top stand which would have looked entry level for a b&0 tv but highend in comparison to the samsungs and sonys it just doesn't deliver in my view regardless of who wants to disagree with me.

I think the reason for me ranting so much is because i really wanted this tv so badly and the expectation was so high for it. It would have been my first b&0 tv and the bubbles burst for me.

 

 

In some respects I can see where you're coming from.  

However, like you, this (if I buy one) will be my first B&O TV, and my first real dip into the world of B&O.  I've been standing on the sidelines, watching, for a long time, to see how things would pan out with the company, and it's new direction under the new CEO, and meantime lusting for an even longer period after a pair of Beolab 5's.

Apart from pricing, I've no hesitation getting into B&O with respect to their speakers whatsoever; the TV's have been another kettle of fish though, because of the high pricing, and short life spans of TV's these days given the ever changing technology.

So the choice there becomes either source and buy second hand one of the top B&O TV's, such as a Beovision 9, 7-40 or 10-46, OR, bite the bullet and buy new with considerable expense and the likelihood of the technology and picture performance being surpassed in short order by cheap and cheerful korean sets.  OR, buy a V1 with it's cutting edge tech and connectivity, and trade up to a higher end B&O when the technology settles down/matures - especially as regards OLED waiting in the wings.

To be sure the new V1 doesn't look elegant and refined in the manner of B&O's mainstream TVs; but then it doesn't cost anywhere near as much either.

Does it look as elegant as say a Sony Bravia with the aluminium 'foot', or a Panasonic GT50 in glossy black plastic?  Judging from the photos, I'd say no, it doesn't, but by the same token it does look fresh, striking and innovative, and dare I say it 'arty' and I would feel from the photos right on target for it's market - the 20 or 30 something young professional.  Certainly it doesn't look 'grandfatherly' in the way an aforementioned Sony/Panasonic can - they are elegant yes, but also everywhere, and there's something terribly suburban and conservative about the design of those sets, where the V1 is out there - fresh, vibrant and attention getting.

And importantly, unless you fancy having two separate systems in a home - one for music and one for AV/movies, then a TV in lieu of a projector becomes the centrepiece in an combined music/AV system.  Here, the V1 with it's inbuilt surround sound processor, and active speaker system able to double as a centre channel speaker in an AV role, provides a very clear technical advantage over the aforementioned Sony and Panasonic sets, and indeed anything on offer from the Koreans.

Overall, as a total package, I find the V1 highly appealing, and I also feel that whilst it might polarise opinion as to it's looks as Paul mentions, some of the criticism it is attracting is a little short sighted for the above mentioned reasons.  Personally, I will reseve judgement until I have seen one, which will not be until around mid June here in Australia I believe, but from the photos so far, I confess to quite liking it, - certainly as much as a Sony/Pana/Samsung/LG whatever plastic fantastic box; if not as much as a mainstream B&O.

Importantly, for B&O to be around to provide the kit that we all aspire to, it needs to make money and be a profitable business; if the BeoPlay range helps them in that goal, I can only applaud - I am after all a very tiny B&O owner thus far (3 telephones, 1 answering machine and a set of headphones) but I hugely admire their products, intend buying in to B&O, and want them to be around for the long haul.

Best Regards

John.. 😐

A nice positive review. Should get the word round, regards of our likes and dislikes. Notice how the V1 is always called the B&O V1 and only in passing is the "play" branding mentioned😳.

Hope it sells anyway.

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2012/05/02/meet-the-first-apple-hd-tv-set-the-bo-v1/