The Electronics Hardware Windfall!
Back in
the 1960s and 1970s, the idea of having Hi-Fi equipment was a fun luxury that
could cost some money, but there were always the premium products at premium
prices, like the better speakers, vinyl record turntables and receivers. When CDs showed up, that broke the idea of
digital into the mix and with LaserDisc, then DVD and now Blu-ray and HDTV, we
all know how bonkers you can go in spending money on a home theater.
When DVD
arrived, VHS was suddenly cheap and those who could have cared less had a nice
windfall of cheap tapes and machines.
This also affected the 12” LaserDisc format, which included some very
nice machines with great digital sound playback suddenly becoming available at
unimagined low prices. They made great
CD players, it was going to take a while before DVD caught up to the Laser
catalog and cheap Lasers made the whole affair fun much like what just happened
with the death of HD-DVD.
Now, a
new windfall is happening and reflects the unusually swift nature of change
happening in the home theater market.
With Blu-ray arriving, DVDs and DVD players are suddenly cheaper than
ever, including some pretty good machines.
With analog TV cut off in February 2009, there will suddenly be a glut
of analog TVs, including some nice big screen models (think 32 inches and up)
with pretty good performance people are getting rid of as those who can upgrade
do, instead of just getting a digital-to-analog converter box, for which there
will probably not be enough. But the
most interesting benefit of this upgrading are in receivers.
Sure,
there are always inexpensive models and there always have been, though they
have their performance limits. However,
there are suddenly some very well built and expensive models suddenly available
cheap that have great sound performance that is so good, that those who cannot
afford expensive machines could grab for the price of a cheap one. Why?
Because those who can afford the latest HDTVs, Blu-ray players and high
end equipment are using HDMI and that includes receivers and other devices that
have HDMI inputs, outputs and switching.
So many
fine machines that have DTS and Dolby chips along with other goodies were
manufactured over the years and without HDMI, as the industry only settled on
the digital hookup a few years ago (over IEEE 1394 FireWire in particular) as a
matter of both copyright protection and because it was cheaper than other
hookups (like 1394) and that means a whole new generation of receiver. Not have full HDMI capacity will not cut it
for the latest state of the art home theater system, but if it does not matter
as much to you because you do not want to spend as much money or don’t need the
latest hardware, there are some amazing deals out there online and especially
at stores that sell used equipment where you can find them.
If you
are interested in a cheaper upgrades that will give you the most bang for your
buck, now is the time to look for this better equipment and with the economy
shakier than expected, the low process for high quality are bound to shock you
and your friends.
This was
our homepage letter beginning in Mid-September 2008.
