HDTV woes

From engadjet:

"Verizon FIOS customers have been feeling left out of the great HD race lately. Sure they have access to some of the fastest Internet connections in the US, but at a time when other providers are adding HD goodness in record number, FIOS customers only got one new HD channel in the past six months. Well the big V has finally broken its silence and promises that starting in the spring it'll deliver more 60 new HD channels, -- on a market by market basis -- and will have more than 150 HD channels by the end of 2008. Of course this begs the question, why is it going to take so long? Seriously, it's not like they have to wait for a satellite to launch or something. It's almost as if there's a limitation in their current infrastructure."

Flat Panel Buyers

This year more than any other we see the emergence of the Flat Panel shopper- people who buy them - not because they Want To - but because they feel they Have To - to keep up with the Jones' their brother-in-law, the neighbor, their children's expectations, their OWN expectations.

They buy them without any accessories, no cables, no new speakers, no reciever, and no joy.

But today- I saw projector buyers, these people were happy, interested in buying a new system that was going to enhance their lives, a new toy, a new family experience.

I like buyer's excitement, interest, and happiness.

Black Friday

It's been moderately busy- 10k in Flat panels before 11 AM and 3 people interested in distributed audio systems and Home Theater design filled in the afternoon.

Intro to nanotheater

nanotheater is the natural reaction to a overblown and over-hyped Video and Audio, Home Theater equipment market. We seek to help you design small, quality, media rooms and home theaters.

Unless the rest of your home looks like an Egyptian Tomb, the Starship Enterprise, or a Opera House- we don't think your home theater or media room should. We think of your principal media room as a place of rest and solace after a hard day of work, a place where you can go to wind down, enjoy music, and socialize with your family.

We would like to think of nanotheater as an alternative design school that melds high tech components into your existing decor- rather than vice versa.

Think minimalist, with advice on good basic design elements, recommendations on media systems placement, systems configuration, operation and control that will work -even if you are building a Baroque Opera house.

Along the way we hope to give you equipment reviews, design tips, control and operational tips and bug reports that make your life a little easier and more centered.

Like Bauhaus, we'd like to think that less is more. Rather than the KFC biscuit, mashed potato and fried chicken bowl- think crushed walnut and endive Hors d'oeuvre. Lots of taste, surprising finish, but still good comfort and satisfaction.

Feature Creep - New Yorker

Very apt!

"Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, allowing us to do things more quickly and efficiently. But too often it seems to make things harder, leaving us with fifty-button remote controls, digital cameras with hundreds of mysterious features and book-length manuals, and cars with dashboard systems worthy of the space shuttle. This spiral of complexity, often called “feature creep,” costs consumers time, but it also costs businesses money. Product returns in the U.S. cost a hundred billion dollars a year, and a recent study by Elke den Ouden, of Philips Electronics, found that at least half of returned products have nothing wrong with them. Consumers just couldn’t figure out how to use them. Companies now know a great deal about problems of usability and consumer behavior, so why is it that feature creep proves unstoppable?"

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2007/05/28/070528ta_talk_surowiecki/

Furniture makes the room

Added some Herman Miller Furniture to the display- will post photos later