AV Adviser

I don't care where you buy your TV, just buy the right one

There's no margin in selling TVs.  It's been a cold, hard truth to those of us in the consumer electronics business for nearly five years now.  Sometimes Walmart will be selling a TV cheaper than the distributor sells it to the independent retailer.  It's totally illogical and it gets worse.

These TV manufacturers are not making any money.  That's why they tried to push 3D TV on us.  They thought it would be another revenue stream.  The big box retailers, especially Walmart, dictate pricing from manufacturers and it's not just in the TV industry.  This leaves the  manufacturer with razor thin margins between the cost of manufacturing a TV and the price they are forced to sell it to the retailer.

We saw it begin to happen late decade when the flat panel TV started to go mass production.  The demand was high and TVs were hard to come by.  Yet the prices continued to drop steadily.  It totally went against economics 101.  It got so bad that some manufacturers set up secret price fixing deals.  And they got caught, having to pay fines to the government. 

So I don't really care where a customer buys their TV, as long as they make an informed decision.  I'll often help them make that decision as part of the project, but sometimes I don't get involved until the TV has been purchased. 

Here's a nice primer from CNET on TV technology that a consumer should know before shopping for a new one.  HDTV Buying Guide [update].

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

A modern day boombox

I have a couple of ways to share my music at outdoor parties or the beach.  My friends here in Cleveland know it's a given  that I'll be bringing the tunes.  If it's a party I usually bring along a guitar practice amp.  They're loud and compact.  I do need to plug them into AC power and my iPhone/iPod/iPad is tethered with a mini to quarter inch cable.  That presents limitations. 

More convenient but not as loud is the iMainGo.  You simply place your iPod or iPhone inside the device.  It reminds me of carrying around a transistor radio as a kid.  I love it and get compliments on it all the time. 

Now comes along a larger portable music player from Eton, appropriately called the Rukus.  Think of it as a modern day boombox.  What's really nice is that it operates via bluetooth so there's no cable to connect to your mp3 device as long as that device is bluetooth enabled.  It's also battery powered. Or you can spend another $50 and get one that's solar powered.  At $100 for the non-solar Rukus it's fairly priced.

Both of these products fit my lifestyle perfectly.  I wouldn't be without one whenever I head outside for some fun. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Congress clueless when it comes to the future of tech

Congress has been shown to be clueless about technology many times in the past.  Once again they're showing their ignorance as the Senate's Commerce  Committee hold hearings over the future of television.

In an excellent story by Stacey Higginbotham for GigaOm, The future of TV isn’t TV, it’s broadband, she discusses why the committee is misguided in their discussions and where the real focus for the future of TV should be. 

In essence the future of TV is broadband or content over the internet.  And there are many critical issues that need to be resolved for the good of the people. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Use caution when shopping online for AV equipment

Here's how it goes down.  I put together a proposal for a customer who's, say, building a home theater in his basement.  Unlike some custom integrators who bundle their quotes, meaning they hide specific costs of equipment, I line item each product.  It shows integrity and transparency and my customers appreciate it.

That means some of them will shop the list online.  They'll report back to me that they found such and such receiver for significantly less money.  I'll ask them the site on which the item was offered.  Inevitably it's some unknown name that is operating in what's called the grey market.  That means they aren't approved sellers of the product which means no manufacturers warranty.  It also means that you may never get the piece you ordered.  I've heard numerous stories of items being back ordered forever.

I'll respond to the customer by telling them it's a crap shoot.  Maybe you'll get a deal then again maybe you'll get screwed.  If they insist on buying all their product online, from unauthorized dealers, I'll bow out of the project.

There are some legitimate online dealers, most notably Crutchfield.  And now comes a new one called Get AV Products.  An advanced warning, their present home page may be offensive to some but, hey, I guess sex sells. 

I'm fine with sites like this for the do-it-yourselfer.  As long as the DIY guy knows what he's doing.  When you start getting into architectural speakers and products specifically designed for the custom market you'd better have a good handle on design and installation. 

I imagine an online retailer like this is going to have many returns from customers who inadvertently bought the wrong thing.  I hope their policy and customer service is as good as online shoe seller Zappos but I doubt it. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

MLB and TV

As a fan of baseball I've been frustrated that my AT&T U-verse U200 package didn't contain the MLB channel.  I'd hear friends talk about it being included with Time Warner's standard membership here in Cleveland and was jealous. 

I finally got around to investigating an upgrade to the U-verse U300 deal.  As it turns out they have a promotion going on.  Upgrading entitles you to a $50 AT&T gift card which I'll spend on movie rentals and free Showtime for a few months. 

Here's the no-brainer part though.  The upgrade will cost about $15 a month but allows for one free secondary room receiver box.  I'd been paying $7 a month for that box.  So that cuts the new monthly increase to just $8. 

There's over one hundred new channels but, quite frankly, not many that interest me except for MLB.  Still, the 50 bucks, free Showtime and free second room box convinced me to pull the trigger. 

On the subject of baseball, my iPad/iPhone MLB At Bat app is great.  I've gushed about it here in the past.  There's a glitch though.  Everyday the app offers one free game to be viewed and not just listened to.  The picture looks terrific on my iPad but when I try and send the stream to my Apple TV and big screen TV via Airplay it doesn't work.  All I get is the spinning, loading icon.  I'm doing some investigating and if I come across a solution I'll let you know. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

LG's latest home theater print ads offer a different angle

A couple of weeks ago I showed you a site that offered images of vintage hi-fi advertisements.  Today's home theater print ads just don't seem to have the pizazz of those old ads.  That's why LG's new series of ads touting their home theaters are pretty cool.

The three ads feature famous movie posters but from a different angle, literally.  Forrest Gump, Kill Bill and Pretty Woman are all fairly recognizable images.  Showing them from a different view grabs your attention. 

LG is selling their 3D sound.  I'm not a fan of this marketing in general.  3D sound?  Really?  You want o hitch your cart to a horse that's going nowhere?  Still, I enjoy the ads very much.  Here's all three of the ads.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

Turntable sales grow 50 percent in past year

As vinyl record sales have grown over the past five years it's no wonder that people are beginning to buy turntables once again.  In fact, sales have grown 50% during the past year.  It doesn't mean record listening will surpass mp3s and streaming, but the demise of vinyl records just isn't happening. 

There are a few reasons for this niche market growth.  There's the abundance of old records one can find at second hand stores, yard sales and the Goodwill.  The belief that the analog sound is fuller and more accurately represents the original recording.  There's also a romanticism to playing records, of sitting on the couch and looking at the large format record cover while listening. 

When I design a system for someone's home I usually create a listening room, apart from the home theater.  This two channel stereo with a turntable and a good pair of speakers usually is set up in the den or study.  I enjoy getting comments from these customers who appreciate that I've turned them onto music once more. 

Yesterday the New York Times did a nice story on how to buy a turntable, Enjoying Turntables Without Obsessing.  In it you'll find a nice primer for novices to the world of the record player. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

A home theater doesn't have to be obtrusive

I came across a good story of a woman in Manhattan who wanted a new home theater system.  Now, unless you're very wealthy, living in Manhattan means living in close quarters.  The last thing you need is a system that overwhelms a room.

Here's a good example of how to achieve that from Big Picture, Big Sound, High Performance Home Theater - Manhattan Style.  The key ingredient to making it stealth is the Mirage satellite speaker array.

I did wince a bit at the messy wiring photo.  That could've been cleaned up.  Still, it's a nice design and I enjoy sharing these installs once in awhile. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

Calling Cleveland Crestron customers

Calling Cleveland Crestron customers (how about that for some alliteration).  If your home or business is equipped with a Crestron system, more specifically one that uses analog video here's your chance to trade in that equipment for dollars toward some new digital gear. 

In fact going digital is something everyone should consider.  Component (analog) video connections are going away and, if the powers that be have their way, existing component video will be downgraded to standard definition.  It happened in the Europe and it can happen here. 

For you non-Crestron folk that means possibly updating your TV and/or av receiver so that all your connections are HDMI (like the one pictured in my blog banner).  If you have Crestron equipment here's the lowdown, Get cash for analog trash. 

The easiest thing to do is send me an email .  We can set up a free walk thru so that I can assess your video situation and get you on the right digital track. Besides, digital means a better looking picture, less cables and easier operation.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

 

Sonance's iPort creates a simple smart home

Sonance, one of the largest speaker manufacturer's around, especially when it comes to in-wall and the custom world has come up with a product so cool they even created a separate website for it.  It's called iPort and it can turn your home into a smart home in one day. 

The iPort is a device that is installed into your wall or placed on a counter top.  In this device you mount either an iPodtouch or an iPad.  The beauty of the iPort is that it keeps your Apple products charged. Here's an ad for the Launchport, the product made for the iPad. 

So I live in a small ranch home and since it's usually just myself in the house there's really no need for an iPort system.  On the other hand, if you live in a large home with a family this system could be very useful. 

Set up all the Apple devices with the identical apps.  Apps that will control your AV system, maybe Sonos and Apple TV.  Heck, with Apple's Facetime you can have a video intercomm system.  Now you've got wall mounted keypads just like high end smart home systems.  

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal