1. Electronics & Gadgets

The Dilemma Of Picture Quality

Is "better" picture quality still a goal worth pursuing? Hollywood and TV makers believe it is. The rest of the world isn't nearly as convinced.

When Is "Good" Good Enough?
TV / Video Spotlight10

Is Digital Taking Us Backwards?

Monday April 30, 2012

They say everything in electronics gets better, faster and cheaper.  They also used to say that two out of three ain't bad.  What if it's just one out of three?

The digitization of all things media is causing fallout effects throughout the various media industries.  That's hardly news, of course.  What we didn't see coming was that the blowback might seriously change the actual user experience for all that media -- to its detriment.

Amazon warning screen

In an age of HDTV and beyond, video quality often gets worse.  In an age of SACD and high res music files, music often sounds worse than ever.  In an age where every device is a camera, image purity is out, image vandalism is in.

It's a provocative topic that inspires passion.  Check out the feature story...what's your take?

Sony Hits A New High And Low

Wednesday April 25, 2012

It's hard to muster much sympathy for a big electronics maker that's notorious for bare-knuckled business practices, deliberate incompatibilities, and a corporate culture that makes parochial school look like Haight Ashbury.

But these days, you have to feel a little sorry for Sony.  They used to rule the roost as one of the world's most admired brands.  Now the company stands dazed and confused in a marketplace it used to dominate, battered by bigger, smarter and more nimble competitors.

For the moment, let's look past the company's financial troubles; these days they're not alone.  Instead let's look at a recent announcement of a flagship Sony product -- a new piece of gear meant to introduce  the next big thing in video according to Sony.

Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray player

Sony's BDP-S790 is 4K Blu-ray player.  That means it's compatible with the coming "Ultra HD" format, and will upscale your high-def Blu-ray discs to that resolution once you get a display that can actually play it back, assuming you ever do.

The announcement itself was not unusual -- Sony is often first out of the gate or close on innovations for A/V.  What was unusual was the price.  Sony's next-big-thing statement piece -- as good as it gets (and will get for the foreseeable future) for movie playback at home lists for $250.

To put this announcement in perspective, Sony's first DVD player, the DVP-7000, came out in 1997 for a list price of $1000.  That would be $1,429 in today's dollars.  Sony's first HDTV for the US market, the KW-34HD1, debuted in 2001 for a suggested selling price of (gasp) $8,999.  That would cost $11,656 if you bought it today.

In 2012, Sony's flagship new media "statement" product costs the same as a couple of dozen pizzas. If you're Sony, that can't be good.

Of course in a commoditized market where you can get a new Blu-ray player for the cost of a Blu-ray disc, even an asking price of $250 will seem ludicrous to the average, non-videophile movie fan.

No wonder Sony is desperately trying to reorganize, cut its losses in the money pit that the TV business has become, and move into arenas that have nothing to do with consumer electronics.

Will Sony ultimately become nothing more than a logo on your home entertainment gear -- made by someone else, from someone else's designs, components and technologies?

Might be worth asking Philips or RCA. Or Apple.

UltraViolet Video - Who Benefits?

Monday April 23, 2012

I've been thinking a lot about UltraViolet video lately.  If you don't know what that is yet you're not alone, but there are lots of interested parties that want to make sure you do know.  I've written an overview of UltraViolet here, but thought I'd share a personal experience that might make the concept clear.

UltraViolet Video logo

I recently switched my Netflix subscription from disc delivery to streamed movies.  Naturally (and unhappily), this cut down my movie options substantially.  But while browsing through thousands of films I never heard of (and I'm sure I'm not alone), I came across a few oddities that looked interesting enough to add to my queue.

One was a film adaptation of Ethan Frome, one of Edith Wharton's bleaker (and frankly, lesser) works that inexplicably ended up a mainstay on high school reading lists, at least back in my day -- probably because it's short.  Having eventually become a Wharton fan despite this misguided introduction -- this is not a tale that a teenager can relate to -- and enjoying other recent adaptations like the masterpiece Age Of Innocence and the underappreciated The House Of Mirth, I clicked to find out more.

The film had an incredible cast.  Liam Neeson starred with Patricia Arquette and Joan Kennedy in what is basically a three-person story; I could at least expect some interesting performances.  I'm not sure if this film ever saw a theatrical release -- I never heard of one -- but my interest was piqued.

So I started the movie on my big screen TV through my Roku streaming media player.  I got about 15 minutes in before the phone rang and the movie got shelved for the night.  That's ok -- Netflix lets you pick up later where you left off.

The next night, as I fired it up and continued, my wife got a phone call.  She likes to sit on the living room couch (ie, the TV couch) for leisurely calls, so the TV came off again.  I picked up my iPhone and continued the film from there.

Some time into her conversation, I asked myself why I was watching a movie on my phone when I have a brand new iPad in the other room (so new I forgot I owned it), so I picked that up to continue.  I watched a bit more and then finally finished watching the film a day or so later.

The movie really wasn't worth the effort, but the method is instructive.  I watched this movie at four different times on three different devices, and in theory, paid something to watch it only once -- goodness knows how Netflix calculates studio royalties on a forgotten title like this one.

Ethan Frome - 1993

But what if the movie was something popular, and therefore only available on disc or pay per view?  Would I have to pay for it three times to watch it in four days on three devices?

That's the question that has been bugging Hollywood and confusing consumers ever since the "watch-it-anywhere" concept took hold.  UltraViolet video is presented as the answer to all this confusion.  You buy a disc -- preferably a Blu-ray disc -- once, log into an account, "register" your purchase and now you can watch it anywhere anytime.  For a Disney hit that your kids want to watch upstairs, downstairs, in the car, at their friend's house etc, this all makes sense.

But for the vast majority of titles that with little purchase or rental appeal?  How much is even one view worth, much less four views?

UltraViolet solves the problem of rights and payments.  But it's a one-size-fits-all solution so far that only scratches the surface of the bigger issue. Not every film is worth buying.  And not every rental can be watched in the usual 24 hour allowance period.

It will be interesting to see if UltraViolet is something that becomes relevant for some content items, but not for others.  And if it's not for others, what will be?

The CE Industry: There Will Be Blood

Tuesday April 10, 2012

Take a look around you and you'd think the consumer electronics business must be as robust as it gets.  Seems like everyone's face is glued to a screen.  Everyone's ears are plugged up with headphones.  Everyone's fingers are texting as fast as they can.  Last we looked, the average household had 24 gadgets, not counting what you use in the car or at the office.

Grim Reaper

But the real story is very different.  The major electronics companies are having an incredibly hard time keeping up with major changes in how their products are made, sold and bought, and instead are cutting back big time.

Yesterday, Sony announced it lost would be trimming back 10,000 jobs (you read that right).  At the same time, Sharp announced a record $4.7 billion dollar loss for the fiscal year (you read that right too).  And today, Best Buy announced that their beleaguered CEO has resigned, which actually triggered a slight uptick in the company's stock value.

Why all the bloodletting?  The industry is changing.  Stalwart products like TVs glut the market so heavily that there's almost no profit to be made.  Former stalwarts like stereos and surround systems have been happily replaced by iPods and soundbars.  How many people want a new digital camera when their phone takes perfectly respectable pictures?

We'll be seeing a lot of changes in this industry, and following them closely here.  Let's hope the future is brighter than the present, and that there's truth to the old adage that to make an omelete, you've got to break some eggs.

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