Curious as to what the next big thing in home entertainment technology will be? Here to give us a sneak preview is Ryan Beaugureau, the owner of HAVPRO in Arizona, and a home electronics specialist. Beaugureau has previewed many of the latest products available to consumers, and tells us about a few of his favorites.
The field of home entertainment technology is rapidly growing and expanding every year. I am continually finding new products that I am excited about, and seeing new things that are increasing the quality of the content we are able to see.
Within the television industry, March, April, and May are the months when the newest product lines are rolled out. So each year, those months are an exciting time for people in our business to see which new products are going to be available for consumers to buy.
The latest thing that is exciting me right now is the introduction of LED and 3D TVs. Both of these things are really exciting for both me as a home systems installer, and for consumers, and I have no doubt that interest in both of these technologies will continue to grow as more people become aware of what is available.
LED Televisions
Most people have heard of plasma and LCD televisions, but LED is another type of flat screen television that has recently been introduced into the market. Essentially, LED televisions are a new generation of the LCD TVs that have been around for a while.
The real difference between an LCD television and an LED television has to do with the backlighting. Thanks to the new backlighting systems, the LED TVs are brighter than either the old LCDs. At the same time, the LEDs are made with a plastic screen rather than a glass one — which is the standard with plasma TVs — which produces a lot less glare.
Both the increased brightness and the reduced glare make LED the preferable option for anyone who watches TV in a room with a lot of windows or light, which is the case for a lot of my clients here in Arizona. The LEDs are oftentimes a little cheaper than the plasma televisions, so that is a great thing for consumers as well.
3D Televisions
The other new product that is being released right now is the 3D television. There has been a big drive from Samsung and Mitsubishi to release these TVs, and the Sony Playstation is supposed to have some games available in 3D within the next couple of months.
Although I have seen these 3D TV sets in person, I have not actually watched anything in 3D on any of them because little actual content is currently available in 3D.
To my knowledge, no content providers in the Phoenix area are broadcasting shows in 3D just yet, which makes buying one of these televisions not entirely necessary in my opinion. I haven’t even seen any DVDs available in 3D yet. So if you are seriously considering buying a 3D television, then that is something that should definitely be considered—there just is not that much content to watch in 3D formatting at the current time.
Three-dimensional television programming is a new technology that I am not sure everyone is quite ready for yet. If someone does want to buy one of these televisions, though, I can definitely sell them. And during the time from when they buy the TV until 3D programming is available, they can still watch their normal programs perfectly fine in a great high definition format.
By getting a 3D television now, consumers can prepare themselves and be ready as soon as 3D content starts hitting the airwaves. Still, because there is so little content available at the current time, the 3D TVs haven’t completely taken off just yet.
Price wise, there isn’t a huge difference between standard high definition televisions and 3D televisions right now. Basically, it is just a matter of buying the TV from a manufacturer like Samsung who is subscribing to the 3D concept. Although 3D capabilities certainly are not going to be present on the cheapest Samsung TV models, they are available on quite a few of the higher end HDTV models I am selling to clients—without any noticeably increased price.
Right now is an exciting time in the home entertainment industry, and I am always excited to see what new features the TV companies are going to come out with next.
