Author: Avi Greengart

Audio / Industry

And Now We Have a Post About Silly Names

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

  I promise something more substantive in a different post ( <– that's just a writing flourish. No actual promise is intended or implied), but I wanted to pass this along. I get press releases every day about companies introducing new products, changing management, or using technology. Many of them are incomprehensible – it's as if PR people speak a different language. Here's the headline from one that crossed my inbox this morning: Leading Architectural Audio and Video Supplier Builds on FST GUI Technology for New Streaming Media Product Line   Who? What? After reading the press release a couple of times …

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Audio / Industry

NHT Leaves, Returns; Miss Them Much?

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

NHT (aka Now Hear This) has been a respected mid-tier speaker manufacturer based in the U.S. since 1986, but as the recession hit earlier this year, they chose to shut down product development and manufacturing, take some time off, and approach the market fresh. They weren't bankrupt – at least not yet – they just saw their distribution channel erode as independent dealers and custom installers went out of business, and their price points crept up to the point where they were out of line with economic realities. Some of this was driven by rising commodity prices, some by a …

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Computing / Games / Industry / Television

E3 Wrap-Up

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

I'm in charge of Consumer Devices at Current Analysis, which is actually composed of two separate groups: Mobile Devices and Digital Home. I've been in charge of the devices portion of our Digital Home service since the beginning of this year, and while I intend to continue posting here about home theater, I thought I'd plug noteworthy Digital Home reports on this blog as well. This year's E3 (the electronic gaming show) crossed over both of my coverage areas. I stayed home this year – I'm on the road a lot as it is – but Bruce McGregor, our Senior …

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Industry

Regional CE Stores Picking Up Where Circuit City Left Off

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Yesterday's WSJ had an article (subscription required) on how regional consumer electronics stores are thriving despite the economy. The keys to success seem to be a) taking advantage of the demise of Circuit City, and b) the use of a trained, commissioned sales force. I can't help but point out that one big reason that Circuit City died was the move away from its own trained, commissioned sales force to lower paid, non-commissioned shift workers. Of course, Wal~Mart's spokesperson is quick to point out the flip side: many consumers are doing their research online and hate pushy commissioned retail salespeople. …

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Uncategorized

Vizio is Smart, Consumers Are/Aren’t Idiots

- by Avi Greengart - 5 Comments.

The New York Times is reporting that Vizio is getting out of the plasma TV business and focusing solely on LCD. That leaves only Samsung, LG, and Panasonic as plasma TV brands in the U.S., and both Samsung and LG have been shifting more of their lines to LCD. Vizio's rationale is clear: consumers prefer LCD. Why do consumers prefer LCD? Because it's the brighter technology on the showroom floor. Of course, the showroom floor is hardly representative of a consumer's home, and every expert agrees that plasma TVs offer better picture quality than LCD.  I've yet to find any …

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Uncategorized

We Wish You a Happy Super Bowl XLIII

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Oh, why is this Sunday different from all other Sundays? On other Sundays we care about a team playing, on this Sunday we just hope the game is worth watching in the fourth quarter. On other Sundays we dip only once, on this Sundays we dip wings and chips and salsa and fries and maybe a few veggie sticks and franks n blankets. (Plus hot dogs and hamburgers, but you don't dip those, though you do slather them with condiments.) On other Sundays we TiVo the commercials to skip them, on this Sunday we TiVo the commercials to rewind them …

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DVD

Blu-ray Not Dead?, Part Whatever

- by Avi Greengart - 2 Comments.

CNET lists 9 Reasons Why Blu-ray Will Succeed.Jeremy Toeman says CNET is wrong.Jeremy is right. Look, it's a great format, and I certainly try to rent Blu-ray (from Netflix) and buy Blu-ray discs in the rare cases where I'm buying. I'm even upgrading a few discs from DVD to Blu-ray: Groundhog Day is coming out on Blu-ray on January 27! We watch that one at least annually. When Star Wars comes out on Blu-ray, yeah, I'll buy it yet again even though the DVD is pristine. The thing is, even CNET admits that the only reason a consumer would buy …

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Audio / Displays / Industry

Post CES Thoughts and Unintended Poetry

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

As usual, I attended CES 2009 and spent a lot more time talking with mobile devices vendors (my day job) than home theater. This was a good strategy for anyone this year because the Palm pre stole the show, but there were still plenty of thin LCD TVs, 3D TV, mobile TV, and a few speakers and receivers sprinkled throughout the sprawling show floor. I didn't make it to the Hilton, where most of the high end audio was housed, at all. Still, it's hard to avoid home theater when you have to attend press conferences from Sony, Samsung, LG, …

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