Friday, August 24, 2012

I (didn't) Smell a Rat!

Working on a couple PA issues at the Congregation Beth Jacob Community Center, in the old Methodist Church across from the Old Courthouse here in Plymouth, we had a couple interesting findings

Their Microphone input module blew out and disabled the pulpit mic.   Now their TOA brand amp is a real battleship of reliability.  So I'm guessing a lightning strike; not uncommon in a tall church reaching up into the sky.

And the left speaker died.   HMMMMmmm?   I climbed up and tested it; the speaker was fine and the wiring was tight.   So today, my helper Owen climbed into the catacombs and we pulled thru new cabling, a nice double - jacketed 16-2 heavy pro cable and as we pulled out 45' of old "thermostat" cable (solid-core) we found mouse or other rodent damage.

It isn't common, but then again its not really rare either!    Seen it before and will see it again.

I'll mention that thru the line break, plus the short for the missing insulation that had been eaten away, that TOA amp worked like a champ right thru, on the remaining speaker!


here ya go!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Welcome Gunther Tooties to Plymouth

Welcome Gunther Tooties bagels - muffins - sandwiches & great beverages and featuring my favorite Speedwell coffees ( I like the French Roast, as-is ) by local coffee roaster Derek Anderson.

The new shop is bright & clean and has a LOT of selection, I was amazed to see all they have.  Say hi to Tony and his crew, enjoy your favorite caffeinated libation, while you enjoy their PM Systems music system installation - speakers, amp and streaming music :)

Again, say hi to Tony, Derek & Crew - tel 'em Peter sent you in!

Gunther Tooties - 22 Court Street - Plymouth, MA

Welcome The Pie Hole

New to Plymouth is The Pie Hole, a concept pizza shop offering a big 20" pie, and slices to go.  But the Hole?   Why is there a big hole in the center of their pizza, well for the fillings !  So come in soon and check them out.   Bring the family, or the friends really late ( and I mean really late, like you wouldn't believe! ).   And enjoy the sound system by PM Systems - ceiling speakers & amp and music streaming to create a nice atmosphere :) - So say hi to the manager, Jackie & have a nice experience.

The Pie Hole - 20 Court Street, Plymouth, MA ... open from lunch to the wee hours!

Service or Dis-Service? What's your judgement?

So I get a call that a good customer off exit 5 - her TV and phone are out after the last big lightning storm.  I'm there promptly the next morning and in a few minutes see that on her Verizon triple-play ( TV-phone-wifi ) that everything is out.  Totally.  This elderly (no, she asked me to report VERY ELDERLY) couple has no TV or phone, or internet.  A call (cellular) gets Verizon to tell her a six-day wait to come out.

Now I find that lightning on the street took out her FIOS main power supply, a small white box in the utility closet.  And I can't believe that Verizon would take almost a week to get out so I call.  After a bit on hold I get a very courteous individual who tells be the option is to cancel THEIR service call, and put in for another LATER on.   Well doesn't that just bring a tear to the eye.  Then I see their bill - $190/month

Hey, I like FIOS, but I see it as wonderfully installed with the intention of it not breaking, but if you have a problem, beware.   You know if this was a blockbuster storm, roads impassable, hundreds of customers out, that would be one thing.   But a week's outage on a single case?   Sad, Verizon Fios!

This time I'll say I think Comcast holds the service edge!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The best streaming music services




AOL Radio, Grooveshark, Jango, Last.Fm, Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify are all major players in the streaming music space, but which of these services are worth a listen? We dissect the available options.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380776,00.asp

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Filling a room with wireless sound: NY Times

About a year ago, I wrote about the best way to set up wireless audio -- how to get the music that lives on your computer onto speakers scattered throughout your home.
My conclusion back then -- that a combination of iTunes, Apple AirPort Expresses and some low- to medium-price powered speakers was the best solution -- remains a pretty good one. But in the intervening months new products have arrived (indeed, Google announced on Wednesday the Nexus Q, its own home-entertainment module), and my position has, as the politicians say, evolved.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06E1D9143AF93BA15755C0A9649D8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Friday, July 13, 2012

Sony's new WiFi AV Receiver at $499


Initial reports on this are VERY positive- an unprecedented feature-set at this price, and all the connectivity you could want! Not surprising are reports that the menu navigation can be challenging though.   PM Systems should have availability of this shortly as its shipped.

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 7/12/2012

Sony - Sony is bringing out an A/V receiver (AVR) promoted as the industry's first with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
SonyĆ¢€™s STR-DN1010 AirPlay-enabled A/V receiver features built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.Sony's STR-DN1010 AirPlay-enabled A/V receiver features built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.The networked $499 STR-DN1010 is also the company's first AVR with Apple AirPlay.

The component will be available July 16 at Sony-owned stores, the company's website and retail outlets.

Via Wi-Fi, the component streams music from such Internet music sources as Sony Entertainment  Network's Music Unlimited, Pandora, Slacker  and vTuner. The AVR also streams music via Wi-Fi from DLNA- and AirPlay-enabled PCs, from Apple's AirPlay-enabled mobile devices, and to Wi-Fi-equipped tabletop speakers, including models in Sony's HomeShare line.

Bluetooth enables streaming from other mobile devices, including Bluetooth-equipped Android phones.

The AVR can be controlled from a free app installed on iPhones and Android phones.

  The 7.2-channel component is rated at 7x140 watts into 8 ohms at 1kHz with 0.05 percent THD.

  Key features include five HDMI 1.4a inputs (up to 1080/24p capable), HDMI output with audio return channel, video up-conversion to near-HD quality, and Dolby ProLogic IIz post processing to deliver two front-height channels. 

 A front-panel USB input streams music and video from a connect iPod or iPhone. Surround decoders include Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD, Dolby Digital Plus and 96kHz/24-bit PCM.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Gone Viral- 100 Greatest Rock Licks from NPR

This is great to you music lovers & especially rock music fans - I caught it Sunday morning 7/8 on WGBH 89.70 driving into Kiskadee Coffee in Plymouth for my morning fix :)

National Public Radio does the interview with Alex Chadwick of the Chicago Music Exchange & its good to listen to the interview but PLEASE PLEASE when you listen to the YouTube video go thru your stereo system ( surround system ) or headphones.   No TV or laptop speakers allowed here - you want to get a better glimpse at the music fidelity as you listen.

Don't have the hookup, or the $5 patch cable?  PM Systems AV can hook you up!

It goes on a bit - the video just over 12 minutes - but you'll probably recognize most of these.

Take it away .... Chet !

Here's the link!

Saturday, June 30, 2012

iTunes Overhaul coming!

Just reported from PC Mag ... a big overhaul from Apple coming to your iTunes

here's the full story ... as it develops
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406455,00.asp

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

the Perfect Pandora Station

How to Create the Perfect Pandora Station


If you’re in search of the perfect music station, with a little dedication and patience, you can customize Pandora. For the uninitiated, Pandora is a free online music-streaming service. Unlike other “free” online music services, it can be streamed to smartphones, tablets, TVs, media-streaming devices, and more without a premium subscription fee. Because of Pandora’s licensing agreements, you can’t choose specific songs to create playlists. Also, you cannot skip more than a few songs each hour unless you purchase a Pandora One subscription for $36 per year.
Pandora became popular for its Music Genome Project, in which it looks at the “DNA” (musical qualities) of a song—vocals, rhythms, and a number of other identifying factors. When you choose a song, album, or artist, Pandora finds other songs with similar qualities and adds it to that station. While a song is playing, you can find out its DNA—country influences, mellow rock implementation, paired vocal harmonies, melodic horn lines, and many more distinctive qualities—by clicking on the menu or button and choosing “Why did you play this song?”
Customize Your Stations
If you are dissatisfied with the songs that play on a station, or you want to listen to the quintessential station of ’70s storyteller vocalists, you can create your perfect station. To be successful, you must consistently use Pandora’s tools.
The Tools in Pandora’s Box
Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down: Sure, these are basic tools to mark the music you like and don’t like. On Pandora, they’re also tools for shaping your ideal station. Using the Thumbs Up button while a song is playing tells Pandora you want to hear more songs on this station that are similar to the current song. Thumbs Up also adds variety to the station, as the DNA from that song is added to what Pandora looks for when it adds songs to the station. If the current song has more horns than the song that started the station, then more songs with horns will play.
Using Thumbs Down tells Pandora you don’t think the current song fits this station. Thumbs Down does not necessarily mean you don’t like the song. It simply means, “Don’t play this song on this station.” You may like the Rolling Stones, but don’t want to hear the band’s music when you’re listening to a Norah Jones station (an unlikely scenario, but you get the point). The song may play on another one of your stations. Thumbs Down narrows the DNA that creates a station with songs that have more musical qualities in common.
Add Variety
Perhaps Pandora is missing the mark and the songs played on a particular station don’t fit what you had in mind. Or maybe you’ve narrowed the list and the station is getting boring. There are tools exclusive to the Web-browser version of Pandora on your computer to help you. With the Add Variety tool, you can either mix it up or show Pandora another example of the kind of song you like. Click the Add Variety button below the name of the station in your station’s list. Type in a new artist or album and more songs like it will play.

Edit the Station
A station can be edited from your computer’s Web browser. To edit a station, log in to your account at Pandora.com, click the Options button beneath the station name (i.e., Weezer Radio), and choose Station Details. This will bring up your station’s page. There will be a list of artist seeds and track seeds, along with all of the songs on which you clicked Thumbs Up. This is the most direct way to customize your station. By clicking Add, you can add artists or specific tracks to help shape the station. If a song or artist is taking the station in the wrong direction, remove it or them from the page. Here, you can also delete songs from the Thumbs Up list if you feel they are affecting the choice of music.
Final Tips
If you want the perfectly customized Pandora station, it may take merciless use of Thumbs Down. If you like a song but don’t want it to play in this particular station, you can move the track to another station or create a new station from that song or artist. After you have created the new station, you can give it the Thumbs Down in the current station. This way, you know you can still listen to the song, but it won’t mess up the customization of the station. As hard as it was, I’ve had to Thumbs Down Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills & Nash because I was trying to create an all-girls station. Many listeners find that they want better-quality audio than Pandora offers. The premium Pandora One subscription offers that high-quality sound.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Sony & Panasonic - a Joint OLED venture

Sony and Panasonic are expected to announce a cooperative agreement next week to develop ways to mass produce next generation organic light emitting diode (OLED) televisions, sources told Reuters Friday.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/sony-and-panasonic-to-announce-oled-hdtv-partnership-next-week/

Why This Is Important: With LG and Samsung planning to release 55-inch OLED TVs within the next year, a collaboration between Japanese TV giants could speed development of competitive products.

Confirmed: The New iPhone Will Have A 19-Pin “Mini” Connector

Although the form factor and actual size are still unknown, TechCrunch has independently verified that Apple is working on adding a 19-pin port, replacing the current 30-pin port, to the new iPhone. It is a move that will surely send shocks through the iPhone accessory ecosystem.

The new port is similar in size to the Thunderbolt port available on many MacBook devices but we're told by three independent manufacturers that the pin-out will be different.

Apple’s 30-pin ports have been the standard since Apple released the third generation iPod.

Sharp unveils 'world's biggest' LED TV

Sharp announces 90" LED LCD TV - Imagine this mounted in your Home Theater!

Standing 4 feet high and 6 feet, 8 inches across, the new Sharp Aquos LED TV is called the biggest of its kind.
Standing 4 feet high and 6 feet, 8 inches across, the new Sharp Aquos LED TV is called the biggest of its kind.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Sharp unveils a 90-inch Aquos, billed as the biggest LED TV in the world
  • The TV stands 4 feet tall and is 6 feet, 8 inches across
  • Set is less than 5 inches thick and weights 141 pounds
  • The cost? Roughly $11,000
(CNN) -- How's this for a superlative? The biggest TV in the world.
It may not be that simple. We know of at least a couple of plasma screens that are larger.
But with a 90-inch screen, Sharp may have just rolled out the biggest LED high-def television on the market.
The new Aquos LED TV, unveiled Tuesday, stands 4 feet tall and is 6 feet, 8 inches across. (As Consumer Reports notes, that means your television screen would be as wide as an average NBA forward is tall).

Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Perpetual Debate: Owning Music In The Digital Age (NPR)

The discussion over music sharing and compensation has been taking place since long before digital downloads were available.The discussion over music sharing and compensation has been taking place since long before digital downloads were available.

This past weekend's post from Emily White, our current All Songs Considered intern, provoked heated discussion about the current state and possible future of music consumption and creation. Emily's personal essay — as a young person who came of age after the moment when music became widely available digitally — was about the evolution of her views toward the music industry, artists and how to support them, as those issues relate to rapidly changing technology.
As Emily writes, she put together a large collection of music from a variety of sources, mostly from friends and her job at a radio station, but including some file-sharing in elementary school. She concludes by saying she has since "come to realize the gravity of what file-sharing means to the musicians" she loves, and that she "can't support them with concert tickets and T-shirts alone."
But Emily's essay stepped directly into a massive, ongoing and very heated debate about how we get music and how we compensate the people involved in making it. One reader notes in the comments section that people who file-share music think they're "sticking it to the man," but that "the only thing the consumer, who calls him/herself a 'fan' is sticking it to [is] the independent artists." Another reader writes, "You are killing the souls of future musicians." One of the most referenced (and thorough) responses came from David Lowery, songwriter for the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, and lecturer for the University of Georgia's music business program, who took on (among other things) the revered place that new technology holds in moving the younger demographic away from payment to musicians. "Congratulations," Lowery wrote, "your generation is the first in history to rebel by unsticking it to the man and instead sticking it to weirdo freak musicians!"
On the other side, some readers noted Emily's desire to see a new way to pay artists for their work. One wrote that her generation is "on the cusp of a new vision, a new way of seeing the world, which unapologetically demands more not less." Others called her "brave." Today we got "In Defense Of Emily White" from the co-founder of Whitesmith Entertainment and Readymade Records (in a complete coincidence, she's also named Emily White).

The passionate response we got from our readers echoes more than a decade of musicians, record labels, record stores, fans, songwriters and lawyers trying to sort out a way for everyone to be compensated or charged fairly. Over that same time, we have seen huge changes in the field, from the rise of Pandora and other streaming services to reports of huge increases in royalties payouts for digital sales and streams to Spotify's announcement today of a streaming radio service. And yet, it can sometimes feel like we haven't made much progress.
Let's be clear: The debate over compensation doesn't break down along generational lines, and didn't begin with Emily's essay. We know people have been downloading and sharing music — legally and illegally — for years. The 21st century models for recording music, getting it to fans and compensating everyone involved remain works in progress. The way that these models are changing and the ways in which the many individual viewpoints intersect and come into conflict have played out on our site and on our air over these years, and we look forward to continuing the discussion.

For more reading, head over to The Record and check out "Where To Buy Music To Get More Cents On The Dollar To The Musicians" and more in our "That's What Fans Are For" series.

NPR's standards and views on personal use of the music (and books) we receive for review, are covered in our editorial guidelines. You can also download our complete Ethics Handbook.

80% of Blu-ray players stream ...

( from Home Media Magazine ) Blu-ray Disc players are doing more than resurrect disc sales with the only true 1080p home entertainment experience, the devices are increasingly used to access subscription video-on-demand (more content) http://www.homemediamagazine.com/digital-evolution/npd-80-connected-blu-ray-players-stream-content-27571

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Sharp's 90-inch AQUOS is World's Largest LED TV



Earlier this year at International CES, Sharp took the wraps off their LC-80LE844U, which at the time was the world’s largest LED LCD TV, measuring an 80-inch screen. Now bettering their own achievement, the brand has launched an LED HDTV that measures 90-inch, giving it the tag of the world’s largest LED HDTV.
Why This Is Important:
These extremely large, high-performance LED HDTVs have created a new, lucrative market for retailers and, as Sharp explains, do not use as much electricity as one might assume.

Young listeners opting to stream, not own music  http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/15/tech/web/music-streaming/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5

Saturday, June 16, 2012

New Updated Airport Express - still $99

At WWDC 2012, this week, Apple announced an update of its little Wi-Fi router, the AirPort Express Base Station.
 
 The new model is no longer a wall wart design, instead taking on the square, low-profile look of Apple's Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule. With the redesign, it has both 10/100 Ethernet LAN and WAN jacks and one audio jack to connect to speakers  The audio jack works with standard analog minijack cables or optical minijacks, for an all-digital connection. You can use any iOS device (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) or an iTunes-equipped computer on the AirPort's network to stream music to that device using Apple's AirPlay feature. The big upgrade this time around is dual-band 802.11n -  it runs 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies simultaneously, so it'll automatically connect to the one that will give you the fastest connection. Otherwise pretty much the same handy little device.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

How to make your speakers sound better than ever

Play great-sounding music Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs like these.
Since most people listen to music on free earbuds, plastic computer speakers, or car audio systems, it's easy to understand why great-sounding new recordings are rare. Even so, exceptional ones sneak through from time to time, and when I have a stack of candidates, http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57451651-47/how-to-make-your-speakers-sound-better-than-ever/?tag=posts

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Remembering Mom And Dad's Record Collection (NPR)

Remembering Mom And Dad's Record Collection

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen, possibly singing with his parents, circa 1959.
Enlarge Courtesy of Bob Boilen All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen, possibly singing with his parents, circa 1959.

June 5, 2012
If you grew up with parents who love music, chances are you raided their record collection at some point. What did you find? Was there an artist or album or song that shaped your tastes in music today, or something you still carry around with you years later?

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

LG to sell 50,000 OLED TVs in 2012

LG Electronics, the world’s second-biggest flat-screen television maker, plans to produce and sell 50,000 55-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions this year, a senior company executive said.

Why This Is Important: While the number from LG seems low for a worldwide launch, given the high suggested retail and the buzz surrounding OLED technology, the unit sales prediction for this year seems in line with what is expected to occur.

More on OLED technology


PM Systems is a LG dealer and will have OLED available as it arrives in the next few months.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Universal Remote training

well I trained today in Woburn - CCP University - or Computer Control Programming, with Mr Hank Eisengrein from Universal Remote Control.  He's a great trainer from New Jersey - a nice blend of education and good humor, and practical tips along the process.   Oh and he bought us all lunch.  So I took notes and now at home I'll apply as much as I can; probably tomorrow nite I program the plasma TV, the cable DVR and the Blu-ray player.   Then I'll add in the Roku and the Squeezebox :)  I came back with a couple of their new model MX-780 remotes that use this CCP programming and are their most affordable.

Listening to Folk Alley in the background, speaking of streaming music.  That station always makes me happy!

Scott's TV

Here's Scott's TV we did a year ago in Weymouth in his new beautiful condo.  This is a 37" LG 1080p LCD - he doesn't have a home theater; I may suggest here a sound bar with powered subwoofer for performance with simplicity.  This TV and audio covers his living room and kitchen areas, and the LCD TV is on an articulating mount that lets him adjust its optimal angle as he rearranges his living space.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

When will we have perfect speakers?

Interesting article by Steve Gutenberg on CNET the other day ...

Speakers make sound by moving air, but perfect sound reproduction may be a long way off in the future.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57442737-47/when-will-we-have-perfect-speakers/?tag=mncol;1n

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

WUMB (FM 91.9 Boston) is hosting a fund raising concert on Sunday, June 3 from 1-5PM.
There will be performances by Tracy Grammer, Tish Hinojosa and our own Guy Davis!
The concert will be in the Lipke Auditorium and tickets are only $20 for
members and $25 for non-members.  Come on out and hear some great music and
help the station.  More details in the link below.

http://wumb.org/events/specialevents.php

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Well as I sip my coffee this morning I read of the passing of Eugene Polley, who invented the first TV remote while he was with Zenith Radio Corporation, in 1955.  His design used a sensor at each corner of the picture tube, and the "remote" was a highly focused flashlight that was aimed at the appropriate sensor

Zenith's Gene Polley ushered in the era of channel surfing in the middle of the 20th Century during the Golden Age of Television. Mr. Polley invented the "Flash-Matic," which represented the world's first wireless TV remote. Introduced in 1955, Flash-Matic operated by means of four photo cells, one in each corner of the TV screen. The viewer used a highly directional flashlight to activate the four control functions, which turned the picture and sound on and off and changed channels by turning the tuner dial clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Later from Zenith came ultrasonic remotes, and into Infrared (IR) that are with us to this day, controlling almost all of our home electronics and more.   I can remember my grandparents TV in (North Hanson) and clunky remote that "chugged" it was thru channel changes.  We've come a long way!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Isn't it kinda funny how we think in most cases we've been moving ahead in technology and performance?   And yes overall we have.  Healthcare, Aerospace, quantum physics, computer power and internet.   But how about music?   There's certainly alot!  But selection and quantity?  Back in what I'll call the heyday of audio systems when transistors merged with tubes, and techies met at Boston Audio Society meetings at or near MIT, we worked tirelessly at whatever financial level we were at to tweek and pull the best sound possible from the source to our seats or beanbags :).  And today's generation of home theater "philes" would have no idea why we were excited by going to the auto supply department at Benny's for a can of STP, which we were going to use to enhance our album playback quality.

Well hats off to Steve Jobs, RIP! for being truthful, and enjoying his music over his technology.

I found this on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Steve Jobs 'listened to vinyl rather than iPods', says Neil Young

Steve Jobs was such a fan of music that he listened to vinyl rather than his iPod, according to the singer Neil Young.

Steve Jobs 'listened to vinyl rather than iPods', says Neil Young
Neil Young, left, spoke to Steve Jobs about creating a format that would contain 100 per cent of the data of music as it is created in a studio Photo: GETTY
"Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music. His legacy is tremendous," Young, who is campaigning for higher fidelity digital, said. "But when he went home, he listened to vinyl (albums)."
Young told the "D: Dive Into Media" conference on Tuesday that he spoke with Jobs about creating a format that has 20 times the fidelity of files in the most current digital formats, including MP3.
Such a format, he said, would contain 100 per cent of the data of music as it is created in a studio, as opposed to five per cent in compressed formats including Apple's AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). Each song would be huge, and a new storage and playback device might only hold 30 albums. Each song would take about 30 minutes to download, which is fine if you leave your device on overnight, he said.
Although Young did not have a practical plan for developing such a format – saying it's for "rich people" to decide – he said Jobs was on board with the idea before he died from cancer at age 56 in October.
"I talked to Steve about it. We were working on it," Young said. "You've got to believe if he lived long enough he would eventually try to do what I'm trying to do."
Young's opinion of Jobs was confirmed by interviewer Walt Mossberg, a journalist with News Corp.'s All Things D website, which hosted Jobs at its conferences.
Mossberg said Jobs expressed surprise that "people traded quality, to the extent they had, for convenience or price."
An Apple Inc. spokesman declined to comment.
Young also said that "piracy is the new radio," suggesting that illegally copying low-quality songs was an acceptable way for fans to sample music before buying higher-quality versions.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

I came from the days of audio tweaking, all kinds of crazy ways to enjoy better sound from vinyl, haha.   There was silicone damping in turntable tonearms, platter pads, tube amplifiers and exotic cables, and amplifiers of varied designs and specs.   Oh and would you believe 300watt per channel receivers!  Well maybe you'd enjoy reading on to regain some of the losses in today's digital music.    Thanx for you interest / Peter

Is High Resolution Audio Making a Comeback?

by Clint DeBoer last modified May 16, 2012
Is High Resolution Audio Making a Comeback?
Is High Resolution Audio Making a Comeback?
We work pretty closely with CEDIA, and lately, they've been taking a good hard look at some signals that indicate high resolution audio may be making a comeback. For years, MP3s and compressed digital files have been growing in popularity and dominance, but a taste for fidelity seems to be creeping back into the market now that the flat panel craze is winding down. It's not winding down because people no longer like flat panel TVs - it's just that everyone now has one... or two or three - in their home. Even vinyl has experienced a revival among the hardcore purists (although we don't believe vinyl is necessarily "pure" given the nature of the recording process). In any case, and awakening into the world of high fidelity audio means that consumers are waking up to realize there is more out there for them to experience and enjoy.
Custom installers are rejoicing because high resolution audio is another market to be "re-tapped". It often involves greater care over how content is managed and stored, which leads to more involved solutions for whole home audio control and playback. While CD quality was the norm just a decade ago, now the bounceback from the MP3 craze is yielding an interest in  24-bit and 96kHz (or greater) file formats. On top of that, cloud-based music distribution seems to be hitting its stride and high resolution, and even surround sound audio downloads are ripe for the picking. Even Neil Young is apparently involving himself in the development of a new system, according to the consistent description gleaned from his six patent filings on the subject:
Audio and video recordings featuring music and artistic performances; high resolution music downloadable from the internet; high resolutions discs featuring music and video of music and artistic performances; pre-recorded digital media containing audio and video recordings featuring music and artistic performances for storage and playback.
Online and retail store services featuring music and artistic performances, high resolution music downloadable from the internet, high resolutions discs featuring music and video, and pre-recorded digital media featuring audio and video recordings for storage and playback
With more resolution comes higher bit rates and larger file sizes. That means that storage and bandwidth will play even larger roles. Add to that the growing popularity of streaming media sources such as Netflix and Hulu Plus [or as we like to call it, Hulu Minus], and you get a home that has some pretty advanced networking and storage needs. For a custom installer who knows the ropes, this increased demand and a renewed fascination with high resolution audio can lead to bigger and more robust systems with, yes I'm saying it, more profit margins.
Want to find out more? We do. CEDIA is hosting a webinar on Thursday that will cover everything you need to know about adding high-res audio to your business's offerings. Join Rich Green for Success with High-Resolution Audio Sources: From Bits to DACs to Dollars on May 18 at 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PDT. This free one-hour webinar will give you a jumping-off point for creating revenue from projects that feature high-res audio.

Friday, May 18, 2012

I don't know about you, but I love music streaming.  Home or work, mostly always on wifi, it makes my day go better hearing music I enjoy.  Its certainly therapeutic!

There's Pandora out there as the big guy, but www.TuneIn.com if free and remembers your favorite online stations.  There's no end to the selection of stations - I know its at least in the tens of thousands!  So can't listen on your FM stereo to WGBH 89.7 or WMVY 92.7 fear not, just go online, where listening to Dublin or Budapest is just as easy.

Stream Linn Jazz from Glasgow, Scotland
Stream Linn Radio from Glasgow, Scotland
Stream Linn Classical from Glasgow, Scotland

email us your streaming favorites!