Cables: Are Other Monsters Lurking About?

There have been several new entrants into the A/V cables market lately.  Accell has been an OEM for others’ products for a while, and has decided to launch their own brand.  The packaging isn’t especially eye-catching, but the products are well priced and well constructed.  Accell sent over a large box of goodies around the beginning of the year, and I’ve been using them interchangeably with traditional AV brands such as Monster and Acoustic Research with no noticeable performance problems.  I haven’t seen them distributed anywhere at retail yet in New York/New Jersey, so that could be a bigger hurdle …

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New LCD contender: Samsung reinvents CRT?

The rumors of the CRT’s demise may have been overstated. Gizmodo dug up this Nikkei Electronics article reporting how Samsung has developed a 32″ TV using proprietary CRT technologies that allow a total cabinet depth of just 15″. Now, it’s still going to be heavier than a comparably sized (and much thinner) LCD, but if they can keep prices down to current CRT pricing levels (under $1,000 for HDTVs), this could be a killer product. The article describes how difficult an engineering challenge it was to acheive; production is expected to ramp up throughout 2005. Keys here: Samsung is once …

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Is HD-DVD (the format) Already Dead?

Interesting analysis over at Gizmodo, particularly the charts highlighting market share for the studios. I think it’s premature to declare the format wars over well before any product actually reaches the US market – so many things could go wrong for either camp. As I’ve written before (here and here, and here), a bigger issue is whether there’s much of a market for prerecorded HD content in the first place. Anamorphic DVDs cross the “good enough” threshold for most people – even on HDTVs. Star Wars on DVD – remastered yesterday, but shot in 1977 – looks spectacular on my …

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Unusual Home Theater Accessories

One of the hottest areas of home theater – consumer electronics in general, actually – is accessories. Accessories have high margins for everyone in the chain, don’t require frequent discounting, and (compared to TVs, anyway) don’t take up much shelf/inventory space. Now, when you think of accessories, you probably think of cables, remotes, and perhaps furniture. There are other interesting opportunities, such as label makers. Yes, label makers, one of the most critical tools in any home theater owner or installer’s toolkit. All those wires look the same when they’re plugged in, so if you don’t label them, you’re asking …

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Welcome!

Welcome to Home Theater View – a semi-regularly updated forum for news, analysis, and reviews of home theater and digital home entertainment technologies. This site has several parents and influences: Most recently, I wrote the home theater blog for JupiterResearch, where I launched a home theater research service (I am now at Current Analysis, where I focus on wireless and personal devices). I have contributed show reviews and product reviews for Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity (where I am a staff writer and will continue to write). I wrote the AskAvi column at Greengart.com, and continue to respond …

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