(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick




Who Cares About Sound Quality?

from the it's-all-about-the-picture-these-days dept

It seems that the focus on in-home entertainment devices has moved from the stereo system to the home theater system. However, this change of focus from the audio to the visual means that many buyers are skipping out on the fancier speaker systems - much to the dismay of those who sell such speakers. Even though home theater systems require a complex setup of speakers to produce optimal sound, some are worried that many buyers are too focused on the picture they get from the screen, and thus only buy the cheapest speakers to handle the sound. Of course, they're working to change this perception. Though, there are some odd ideas - including "tactile audio" where the speakers end up embedded in the furniture of the room itself. This way, the viewer can actually "feel" the sound relate to whatever they're watching in the home theater.

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  1. Jan 26th, 2004 @ 8:09am

    Home theater

    by Anonymous Coward

    The problem is the cable mess and where you put the speakers (we're talking full-spectrum speakers, not that little crap they sell you with the toy systems.

    What's needed is high fidelity wireless transmission (but you still need to power the speakers).

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  2. Jan 26th, 2004 @ 12:44pm

    Re: Home theater

    I completely agree. The mess of cables required to connect devices has reached biblical proportions.

    The home-theater industry could benefit from some kind of standard that would allow power AND signal to flow between devices.

    A friend of mine has a Pioneer system that uses optical cables between boxes, so his cable situation is vastly improved. I've read that somebody created a method of pushing A/V data over a power cable using "space" between cycles on a 110 current. That was like, five years ago and I've never heard of it since.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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