Shelley's Stereo & Video

May 18th, 2010

Category: Articles, Entertainment Networking, Automation, and Your Digital Computing Devices

Hooked Up to the Big “e” Highway!

Well, for those of us who have been observing and participating (most of us, I presume), each year the landscape changes more and more as traditional entertainment audio and video products continue to evolve, getting better and better while also getting more “intelligent” as they reach into the digital “cloud” that the Internet makes possible. More and more music and video servers are appearing; ready to “talk to” and send their signals (from stored, streamed or physical media) to other output devices such as your TV’s and your audio speakers, strategically located throughout your home. All of this intelligence, made possible by embedded processors, the Internet, computers, automated control products and software, can be designed into a home entertainment system that is truly amazing in performance and function, while easy to use, and fun!  Of course, only if you are “hooked” up, wired and wirelessly.

This accelerated pace of new product introductions and advances in networking are driven by our tremendous and voracious demand for entertainment and “data” broadly defined – games, sports, music, financial and other news, movies, TV, YouTube, family photos and video, and all sorts of social networking schema. If you’re not connected in some way, today, you’re frowned upon as a living dinosaur. Yup, Americans, and most of the civilized world want their “e” everywhere and on every device they can get their hands on.

Today, our entertainment, sports, news, other content AND our social networking (email, texting, chat, Twitter, Facebook and the like) are available everywhere. And Cable and Satellite subscriptions continue to grow. As well, TV’s can now routinely download “extra” free content and/or subscription content, as does your blu-ray player, your computer, your phone, and other devices. Moreover, the software for delivering broad content to your computer, on both the Windows and the Apple operating system platforms is getting better and better in design, with available content growing exponentially. Check out Hulu Desktop, for example, or Windows 7 Media Center. The Apple iPad is but the latest computing “content” device to hit the streets. Soon to follow, will be similar devices based on Google’s Android operating system, a more “open” system which I believe, will provide you with even more choices in how your “content” gets delivered and how much you might have to pay for it. 

Unfortunately (from my view), all of this content will be rife with advertising as the content providers and distributors push these ads to us, even while and despite the fact that we will be paying for a content subscription, in many cases.

All of this technology, too, can be overwhelming for most of us who don’t have the time to investigate or who don’t happen to work within the entertainment equipment or digital “content” delivery business, in one form or another.  And of course, becoming computer savvy is a continuing process which requires lots of time, an interest in keeping up, and a lack of the irrational and paralyzing “fear” that I’ve noticed in some of us when approaching a computer or other digital device.

It is easy for some of us to form the conclusion that life was better without all this stuff. Actually, I think not. The problem is not the overwhelming and growing number of choices that exist today. The problem is in the “not knowing” how to personalize it all, choosing only those technologies, software, and devices that make your individual life and the lives of your family more enriched and convenient, while not overwhelming you and keeping you from enjoying a more “balanced” and fruitful life. Content delivery today (in all of its forms), if gone, would be missed by all of us, I strongly suspect.

If you are a lay person, not familiar with all the questions that you might like to have answered, reliably and dependably, you can count on Shelley’s to bring you up to date.  We continue to stay abreast of all the latest technologies involving the delivery of content, whether music, video, or the news! And we know how to design an integrated home entertainment system for you that provides the most value, quality, and pleasure for your budgeted home entertainment and related content needs.

I have been considering, lately, whether the “computer” will replace just about everything in home entertainment electronics. Certainly the distinction between what your computer is now capable of doing versus what your audio receiver does, what your discrete speakers do, and what your TV does, is “blurred”.  My conclusion though is this.  Today, just about everything is “smarter” and can be thought of as a computer. No matter how our computers and traditional home entertainment electronics and automated controls evolve, you will be wise to let a pro “intelligently” design and tie together all these smart products for you. And no matter what happens, if you want it to sound good, you’ll need quality audio devices calibrated and chosen for your specific environment.  And if you want it to look good, you’ll need the kind of quality video equipment, HDTV, projectors and custom screens that our Shelley’s team “knows”, will work best in your home environment. That’s what we do here at Shelley’s Stereo & Video – “hooking” you up to a world of “e” everywhere, but just the right way to obtain a level of results for you and your family that will pleasantly surprise and enthrall you.

So, next time you’re thinking of upgrading or enhancing your home entertainment enjoyment, please allow Shelley’s to show you the “realm of possibilities”. Take the guess work out, eliminate the hassle, and allow us to build for you, an absolutely “intelligent” home entertainment environment that you’ll definitely love. An “e” hooked up home by Shelley’s is a wonderful thing to behold.

Over the coming months, Shelley’s staff will be exploring specific entertainment networking (distribution) solutions and automated controls for your “e” world, and explain how your computer and other digital devices fit in to those solutions. This article is but an introduction. Stay tuned for more, under the blog category,   “e” Networking, Automation, and Your Digital Computing Devices.

 

Richard Nomer (richard@shelleysstereo.com) 

Director of Operations

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