The New Black

Henry Ford famously said that customers could buy a Model T in any color, as long as it was black. The equally famous reason, probably apocryphal, was that he chose black because it dried faster than other colors, and that let him crank up the assembly line, and crank out "flivvers" faster, and hence cheaper. Probably not as well known is that Model Ts were also available in green, red, and blue.

All of which leads us to TVs. For several years, the ubiquitous “piano finish” glossy black ruled the showroom floor. Black plastic doesn’t dry faster on the assembly line — it’s just that customers liked it. But there is a trend away from black. We’ve seen deep red colored bezels, and now Pioneer is testing the waters, at least in Europe, with new designer colors for some Kuro models . . .

Audi Drives Toward HD

It’s easy to get blinded by all the i-this or i-that bling. Blu-ray is cool and that steals lots of headlines. And it’s easy to oogle the latest big-screen whatever. But let’s not forget that good, old-fashioned radio is still chugging along.

I know that surprised you, so I’ll wait a second while you wipe the spewed coffee off your keyboard.

Okay. Radio is still being broadcast. Moreover, in addition to the analog variety, there’s digital radio. Placed right on top of the familiar carrier frequencies, many stations broadcast HD Radio. In most cases, it’s a simulcast of the analog station, but it might also contain new multicast content. Currently, approximately 1,800 AM/FM stations broadcast HD Radio, with 900 multicast (extra) HD Radio channels on the FM dial.

Of course, you need an HD Radio receiver to tune in. Since a big chunk of radio listening is done in the car, it makes sense that automakers are offering HD Radio in their vehicles. Audi is the latest automaker to join the ranks, and will offer HD Radio as standard equipment in some new cars.

2008: A Very Good Year

Business is bad. The market is tanking. Instead of retiring at age 65, you’ll have to work until 95. But at least more and more of us can watch Knight Rider in high-def. That’s what market researchers at iSuppli are saying (the high-def part).

In particular, shipments of HDTVs have surpassed shipments of SDTVs this year. Even given the sorry state of our credit cards, not surprisingly, they don’t see the trend reversing. So, it looks like SDTV is a goner, with HDTV taking over the market.

iSuppli is predicting that HDTV will have an annual compound growth rate of 20% through 2012, when 241 million sets will ship (compared to 97 million last year). In contrast, SDTV shipments will decline at a rate of 27% from 115 million units last year, to 23 million in 2012. In fact, the crossover point is happening right now. In 2008, 124 million HDTVs will ship, compared to 87 million SDTVs. So, 2008 will be a very good year, at least for HDTVs.

Streaming Samsung

Netflix is a company on the move. They've already become the world’s largest online movie rental service, and they're fast sewing up their leadership in online streaming.Hard on the heels of their announcement that LG will offer Netflix compatible Blu-ray players, now Netflix has partnered with Samsung.

The Samsung BD-P2500 and the BD-P2550 Blu-ray players ($400 apiece) will be the first that allow streaming from Netflix.

Fade to Black

According to the folks over at TVPredictions.com — whose jobs are, apparently, to predict things about TV — the February 17 switchover to digital TV will be the best thing to ever happen to American society since the invention of the TV. In particular, fewer people will be watching TV.

About 15% of the U.S. population receives their TV over the air as an analog broadcast. A survey by ABI Research predicts that fully 20% of them will not get a converter box to make their sets digital compatible, and they will not opt for pay TV. Instead, they'll let static prevail on those TVs. (70% will get a converter box, and 10% will switch to satellite or cable).

How many is 20%? It adds up to 3 million people. Not a lot, but not a few either. One thing seems clear – if those folks stick to their guns, advertising rates for local broadcast TV stations will take a hit, along with their networks. As if broadcast networks need that – they are already in a death spiral as they compete with ever-expanding entertainment options.

According to ABI's chief analyst . . .

Hard Times

Hey buddy, can you spare a nickel? Better yet, how about $700 billion? Everyone is feeling the pain these days, even Sony Corporation.

The electronics giant issued a revised earnings report, and the news was not good. Consumer demand is slowing so sales are off. An unfavorable dollar/yen thing (the dollar hit a 13-year low against the yen today) means Sony's products cost more in the U.S. Plus, Sony's investments in Japanese equities have taken a tumble (join the club).

Adding insult to injury, the South Korean won ("won" is their currency, aka, "₩") has weakened by 31% this year, so products from competitors such as Samsung and LG are now cheaper in the U.S. As a result of all that, Sony cut its yearly profit outlook by 38%. In particular, Sony's profit estimates — $2.4 billion in July — have now been cut to $1.5 billion.

According to Forbes magazine, things look bad at Sony, and things may be even worse than they seem . . .

The merchandising will be with you. Always.

 Star Wars fans know that creator George Lucas is no stranger to marketing. I've personally purchased the original Trilogy four times, and know that I’ll be in to George for at least one more go 'round once he releases them on Blu-ray.

On the one hand, you’ve got to hand it to Lucas for retaining the rights to his films in what turned out to be the shrewdest, billion-dollar move Hollywood ever saw. On the other hand, this marketing blitzkrieg ends up producing fan repellent/toy-friendly characters like Wicket the Ewok and everyone’s favorite Gungan, Jar Jar. And for the truly self-hating Star Wars fan, check out The Star Wars Holiday Special. (Shudder!) Tech site Gizmodo went so far as to call Lucas “Dark Lord of the Sh**” for his marketing, um, prowess.

 Earlier this week, we saw the release of Star Wars bowling balls. Well, LucasFilm's Death Star-like marketing department is working overtime this week, and their latest move to Jedi mind-trick you out of some cash is the release of a Darth Vader TV/DVD combo. While the idea of a Sith lightsaber-styled remote is kind of cool, especially if it lit up and had some sweet sound effects, $200 seems like a lot for a bit of merchandising that really serves little purpose. And with this baby featuring a 14-inch CRT, it must be straight from, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” Come on, George. You know Vader would use Plasma! Also, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting on this thing getting THX certification. – John Sciacca

John Sciacca is The Custom Installer columnist for Sound & Vision. His company is Custom Theater and Audio.

Lexicon debuts its first OEM car audio system

Yet another esteemed audio brand has found its way into the automotive market. In a press event staged Tuesday at Harman International headquarters in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, pro/consumer audio company Lexicon teamed up with its new partner Hyundai to introduce the new Discrete-Surround Audio System for the new 2009 Hyundai Genesis.

Lexicon’s known for elite professional reverb units and ultra-expensive home theater surround-sound processors. To an automotive know-nothing like me, it came as a shock to find such a high-end audio brand mingling with a car brand I think of as low-end. But the Genesis is a real luxury ride; a fully loaded model costing more than $40,000.

Flat Panel Long-term Slump

We love reports from DisplaySearch. They completely break down all the industry trends so we can all understand what's going on. Their latest report indicates that the recent downturn in flat panel sales isn't a short term slump, but a trend that will continue into the future.

The reason is market maturity, because flat panels have already replaced CRT sales. DisplaySearch predicts that 80% of all TVs will be flat panels by 2011.

Keep reading for their complete release, and a link where you can go to purchase the report.

Netflix Blu-ray Indicative of Industry?

We reported just a few days ago that Netflix is expecting about 500,000 subscribers, or 6% of their subscribers, to pay their Blu-ray premium. $1 a month to get Blu-ray movies delivered to your home. We thought that was good. 

However, a story on engadget tracked numbers from Nielsen VideoScan. They compare Blu-ray sales to DVD sales of recent blockbuster releases. According to their calculations, Blu-ray sales are closer to 10-12 percent of the market, with DVD making up the rest. (Does anyone sell VHS anymore? Didn't think so!)

Their reasoning is interesting . . .