TV recording and playback technology is changing as well. DVD
recorders, which debuted about four years ago, have now become
affordable to the average family. A couple of years ago, they
were priced above $1000, but now you can get them for around
$250, in many cases. The main sticking point now with DVD
recorders is that not all of them will record/play all three of
the competing formats: DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW. They will have
difficulty gaining wide acceptance from the public until one
format is settled on or all recorders can record and play all
three formats.
One the other hand, digital video recorders (DVRs) and personal
video recorders (PVRs), just two names for something that is
really the same thing, seem to be gaining quickly in popularity.
DVRs/PVRs utilize a hard drive to record programs, without the
need for discs or tapes. DVRs/PVRs with larger hard drives are
becoming available and less expensive all the time. These
devices can record one show while you are watching another. They
can record more than one show at a time. They allow you to watch
the part of a show that has already been recorded while the
remainder of that show is still being recorded. They allow for
easy scanning, searching, and skipping through recorded programs
and even allow you to skip commercials with one touch of a
button. They allow you to pause live programs while you answer
the door or go to the restroom and then pick up where you left
off when you get back. With these devices, recording can be
automatic, i.e., you can program them to automatically record
every episode of your favorite shows, no matter when they air.
You can also have them automatically find and record programs
that match your interests. In addition, video can be
automatically downloaded to the device via a phone connection.
TiVo, the leading brand in the industry, has announced that it
will be teaming up with Netflix next year to allow downloading
of movies on demand via a broadband internet connection (see my
October 7 column for more details).
DVRs/PVRs are becoming so popular that cable and satellite TV
providers have begun including them as add-ons to their
receivers, either at no extra cost or for a small additional
monthly fee. About the only shortcoming of DVRs/PVRs is the fact
that they can't play pre-recorded DVDs or tapes, so you would
still need your DVD player or VCR if you rent or purchase
movies. However, hybrid devices which combine DVRs/PVRs with a
DVD player/recorder and/or VCR are now hitting the market. Those
devices would not only get rid of that problem but would also
give you the option of permanently transferring a recorded
show/movie from a hard drive to a recordable DVD.
Flat screen and flat panel TV technology is also starting to
boom. Many people are confused about the difference between flat
screen TVs and flat panel TVs. Flat screen TVs use the old
cathode ray tube (CRT) technology for their picture tubes and
are therefore bulky like traditional TV sets. However, they are
different from traditional TV sets in that they have a flat
screen. They deliver a picture that doesn't have as much glare
as traditional, more round screens. Also, the picture will look
the same to everyone in the room, no matter where they are
sitting. The picture on a traditional screen looks distorted
when viewing it from an angle.
Flat panel TVs, on the other hand, utilize either liquid crystal
display (LCD) or plasma technology instead of the old CRT
technology and are generally just a few inches thick. Many of
them can be hung on a wall. In fact, flat panel TVs that are
flatter than a credit card will be coming soon! What's the
difference between LCD and plasma? LCD is generally used for
flat panel TVs with a display of less than 30 inches and usually
has a brighter picture and better contrast than plasma. LCD is
used for flat panel computer monitors as well. Plasma is
generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of more than 30
inches and has a better color range than LCD. Plasma is becoming
more common as TVs get bigger and flatter.
Although I'm not so sure about this one, I will include
"entertainment PCs" because of their tremendous potential to
revolutionize home entertainment. The concept of "entertainment
PCs" is being hailed right now by both Microsoft and Intel. In
fact, Microsoft has developed a special operating system for
them. They could be used as the hub for all home entertainment
and could enhance a family's experience of television,
radio/music, and internet and actually help to combine all of
these into one. They could be used to download content from the
internet and play it on a TV. They could provide such
sophisticated TV recording interfaces that VCRs, DVDs, and DVRs/PVRs
could all eventually become obsolete. In addition, they could be
a better source for photograph and home video editing and
processing than regular PCs. With that being said, I'm not so
sure that people will be willing to accept PCs as a source of
home entertainment. Bill Gates begs to differ and is willing to
put his money where his mouth is.
Obviously, not all of the cutting edge electronics technologies
mentioned above will meet with great success. Some of them might
actually go the way of Betamax, digital audio tape (DAT), and
DIVX. However, many of them are sure to catch fire and become
such an intricate part of our everyday lives that we'll wonder
how we ever got along without them. Which ones will they be?
Only time will tell.
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and
trivia buff from Virginia, USA. He operates a website -
http://www.commenterry.com
- on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as
politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal
finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of
view that is not often found in meanstream media.
Terry Mitchell is a software
engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Virginia, USA.
He operates a website -
http://www.commenterry.com - on which
he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics,
technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance,
and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that
is not often found in meanstream media.
|
