Home Theaters

One thing can be said about the end of HD DVD, everyone has a strong opinion. From those who seem devastated by its passing, to those who thumb their noses and say that the people who bought players and discs should have known better, or at least waited, and all those in between - each hold their own ideas about what might have gone wrong. Strangely, well-known talking head, John C. Dvorak states that he believes the whole thing might have been Microsoft’s attempt to mess with Sony Corporation. Whatever the reasoning, the fallout goes well beyond the DVD market segment.

  gone before the blush wore off!

Anytime something comes in like a lion, and then out like a lamb (and dies), it reminds all how fragile life on this planet is, and that the best laid plans are many times for naught. It is also going to be a reminder to many, along with the depressed economy, that a more passive stance is called for in many things.

My first thoughts about great changes soon coming are in regards to the upcoming switch to digital television broadcasting. I will predict that the number of televisions sold will drop significantly, and the more cautious approach of purchasing the DTV converter boxes will take place. Had HD DVD not tanked after looking like it had great legs, more televisions would sell, with people accepting that the transition must be well thought out, and so spending one or more big chunks of change would pay off in the long run. Now, second and third looks are cast the way of the boxes in each room of the house, and mental math takes place, assigning both an interim and long-range value to the possible purchase of something different. This is not to say people will stop purchasing these newer televisions, but fewer will be sold than might otherwise have been.

planning on one of these soon?

Hopefully the changes to digital television will be smooth, for as little as two months ago there was a large chunk of the public that had no idea of the coming changes, or why the changes were being made. The huge number of commercials on television since, financed by the government, through your tax dollars, is being put up to thwart any large uprising by the public. It is sad that not only do we pay for this, we pay for the government selling off the airwaves, for no bona fide reason, other than commercial greed and public servant pocket-lining.

The reticence to change, spurred by the HD DVD burn, will keep more dollars in pockets than any retailer even tangentially concerned would like. Fewer televisions sold means fewer new antennas sold, fewer new entertainment center purchases, and on the smaller scale, fewer Blu-ray discs and players, interconnecting cables, and any other accessory item they can imagine. The small wave of dissatisfaction with the loss of HD DVD will put ripples in many other ponds, around the world. Every employee of companies from Thomson (RCA, Magnavox, etc) to Noel Lee’s people in San Francisco (Monster Cable) is regretting the loss of HD DVD.

the cables and interconnects will sell in fewer numbers also

 these Monsters aren’t happy about the state of things..

This will have an effect on all technology purchases for a while - how large and how long is anyone’s guess. It is certain that the concurrently poor economy  will have a synergistic effect.

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