Eg., one where you could buy a upgrade display chip(s).. somewhat like a desktop computer where i can upgrade my soundcard, mother board, hard drive, etc... basically, in a bigass tv, there are a number of components that remain ok, but the technology that changes the image is the dlp chip, in a dlp tv, for instance. we don't really need to toss out the box, audio, lens (maybe), projection mirrors, screen, etc.. i realize some of those components are optimized around the design of the chip probably, but it would be an eco-friendly tv if you could upgrade w/o ditching the whole thing. clearly, the manufacturers consider how they can extract the most money from the buying public, so they want to sell a new model as often as they can. but there is some average replacement cycle in effect, whether it's 4 yrs or 8 yrs or whatever. in the meantime, they are selling me nothing, other than maybe repairs.

as it stands, if i want a better picture, i have to buy a whole new unit. so i wait several years before doing that. on the other hand, if i could buy a new display chip every 2 yrs for a couple hundred or more, i might do that. eventually, the rest of the box will become out of style or need more repair of other parts of the overall system, and i'll get a whole new thing.

whaddya think? they might even get a little milage out of being eco-friendly, not that most people seem to give a rip about that, but some do. kinda like buying energy star appliances. (and this kind of thing - waste reduction - is my job, so i gotta be thinkin about it)