Industry

Count ’em: *TWO* CEDIA Expos

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

CEDIA (the show) has been growing by leaps and bounds each year, so CEDIA (the organization) announced that they’re adding a Spring show in Las Vegas. I do think that there is room for another targeted CE show in the first half of the year; CES has gotten way out of hand. CES is so big and so crowded that it’s impossible for a small company’s announcement to stand out and nearly impossible to navigate for attendees. But CEDIA is scaling back expectations for the event, saying that, “Feedback from CEDIA members indicates that there is strong support for a …

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Industry

HES Come, Gone, Missed

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

The New York Home Entertainment Show has come and gone… and I missed it (I was tied up at a meeting most of the day Friday and had commitments on Sunday). I am upset that I missed seeing Internet-only retailers Outlaw Audio, who showed off a new line of speakers, and Aperion Audio, also a speaker vendor. I can ask for review units (my home theater isn’t set up again just yet, but at least it’s not under water any more), but without a dealer channel, open-to-the-public shows like HES are the best venue for normal folks to see and …

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Uncategorized

The State of Home Theater View

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Home Theater View does not have a huge audience, but, based on the feedback I get, the quality of the audience is high. That said, my posts have been steadily slowing down: 2004: 9 posts per month (Nov. & Dec.) 2005: 3.3 posts per month 2006: 2.1 posts per month 2007: 1.5 posts per month It’s not just the post count that has changed, but also the focus. Many recent posts were tilted more towards digital entertainment and less at hard core home theater. There are several reasons for the shift, which I do hope to reverse – at least …

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Computing

Love Vista, Just Can’t Recommend Upgrading to It

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Microsoft sent over a copy of Vista Ultimate and I upgraded my Media Center test box to put it through its paces. I have had mixed results. First, the positive. Vista is building on XP Media Center, which was already a good media platform. XP Media Center 2005 Edition crossed over the threshold of "good enough" to serve as a PVR instead of a TiVo or ReplayTV. I found it quite stable, though it still needs an antivirus subscription, and works best as a DVR when used almost exclusively for TV rather than combination work/TV/test box with all the software …

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DVD

Getting Harder To Sell Obscure DVDs

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

The New York Times (free registration required) has an article up on the difficulties facing independant DVD labels: DVD sales are stalled Retail is flooded with titles Retail space is shrinking (big box stores are cutting back, while independents and record chains are going out of business) Shelf space that might be dedicated to less mainstream titles is instead allocated to HD-DVD and Blu-ray The most important point? Overall DVD sales are stalled. I suspect that sales will start to fall next year as collectors have built their libraries and the market is saturated: anyone who doesn’t already own a …

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Displays / DVD / HDTV / Industry

50% of HDTV Owners Don’t Have HDTV

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

The Wall Street Journal has a great article (subscription required) quoting a recent survey showing that 50% of consumers who bought an HDTV set don’t actually have HDTV service. What’s more frightening – and yet entirely believable – is that 25% of HDTV owners think that they do have HDTV when they don’t. Well worth a read. -avi

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Computing / Industry

Apple TV Knocking off Cable?

- by Avi Greengart - 1 Comment

Alan Graham proposes that Apple’s Apple TV is aiming at the heart of the cable TV business model: Is Apple Out to Kill Tivo? by ZDNet‘s Alan Graham — Yeah, I’m calling it. I think Apple (and others) are about to send Cable TV and Tivo a clear message…your time is almost up. The Web 2.0 world is about to kick the door in and escort the old methodology to pasture. And I think it is going to happen pretty quickly. Don’t let the […] It’s well argued, and there’s no question that Apple TV is a TiVo competitor, but …

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Industry

CES and MacWorld

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

I will be attending both CES and MacWorld next week, but as you can imagine when you cram two shows and two cities into one week, I will be extraordinarily pressed for time. Therefore, I will only be taking meetings with clients at CES, though I will be attending most of the press conferences on Sunday. I will also be at Digital Experience Sunday night and Showstoppers on Monday night. Journalists who would like to contact me for quotes and reactions to the announcements can call me on my VoIP line: 703-788-3788 or shoot me an email at: agreengart (at) …

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Accessories / Audio / Computing

LIVEDigitally Posts Avi’s Holiday Gift Guide

- by Avi Greengart - Leave a Comment

Yes, it’s been a long time since the last post here at Home Theater View, but that’s not because I haven’t been writing. My Last Minute Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide has just been posted over at LIVEDigitally. As I write this, there is only one day left to Chanukah and a couple of shopping days before Christmas. I figure there’s no need for a last minute gift list with obvious entries. Let’s face it, if you didn’t already get an HDTV or MP3 player for your home theater and gadget-loving giftees, you don’t need me to tell you that you …

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