Issue 6.11
This could also be called “the revolution that went Pfffft”. Anyone who watched Avatar or some of the other recent blockbusters in the theatre with 3D glasses probably came away very impressed. I regard my experience with that movie as memorable and wonderfully fun. I also have watched it on my home system in 2D and still enjoyed it immensely. Flat panel TV producers have found ways to re-create that experience in your home with the new 3D capable TVs.
While this is a major technological innovation and I believe it has a future, sales of 3D tvs have been about half of what producers were hoping for and some are dropping the whole idea. The problems are typical of many new technologies when they are launched. The problems are: 1) they are too expensive. A 3D TV can cost as much as twice the price of the same quality unit without 3D; 2) you have to buy expensive peripherals for the system to work. This includes Blu-Ray players with 3D capability, special glasses, etc.; 3) DVDs that are 3D compatible are still pretty rare and don’t yet justify the cost of upgrading to see the limited number available; 4) People (like me) that are working on a tight budget are willing to stay with the 2D systems we have already bought for the time being, even though we would love to be able to afford the 3D version.
Not only have the 3D sets been slow to sell, but the regular large flat panel tvs have been selling at a slower pace than was hoped for. This has created a supply and demand imbalance that is causing a drop in prices. There probably hasn’t been a better time to buy big-screen tvs than the last couple of months and some of the industry indicators are that, because companies have stopped producing them to let demand catch up with inventory, the prices are likely to rise soon. I suspect that most flat panel tvs will rise 15% to 25% over the next few months but it could be much more if inflation becomes a serious problem. Most of these tvs are produced overseas – many in China – and there are indications that much of the cheap technology that we have been getting will rise significantly in price over the next year as our trading partners adjust to the dropping value of the dollar.
This is also true for computers, monitors and peripherals for your computer system. We have already seen a rise in prices from the major manufacturers such as HP, Dell and Gateway. They are keeping a low-end price point presence in the market, but the quality of some of these “cheap” systems is becoming a problem. The cost of good systems that I get for my customers has risen about $50 per unit since December. Be sure you check out the quality of whatever purchases you make and what it may cost to repair if you have problems.
As always, stay safe – and make sure you have a backup of anything important.
Shaun McCausland has been in the computer industry for 29 years (locally with Musicomp & Bits ‘N’ Bytes) and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation, service, training and repair. If you have questions, you can reach him at 668-7118.