How future proof are today's electronics?

digitalvideo

I was wondering how "future proof" today's electronics are if you bought either an LCD/Plasma tv, reciever, HDMI wires and will they be able to transmit later advances and technologies when they come available? For example, today's good recievers can transmit Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA, THX+ Ultra2 Plus and so on. Current tv's can display up to 1080p. HDMI wires are 1.3a or 1.3b Category2 certified fot 1080p. Now in the future when Dolby and DTS release more advanced sounds to decode that are superior to Dolby TrueHD will my Pioneer SC05 reciever be able to transmit it? When tv's are designed with 1440p, 1600p, 1920p, 2160p resolutions will current HDMI wires, recievers and tv's be able to decode and transmit it properly or will all the electronics we own now need to be replaced to handle the new formats?

Hillbilly61

You must be young. It's the way of life, man.

nooshinjohn

It's a theory called planned obsolesence. It works by playing into the desire to have the latest and greatest stuff whether it be cars or electronics or anything else for that matter. What they do is build something knowing that it cannot be upgraded, thus forcing you to have to spend money on a new one when the time comes. They also build things of percieved high quality using parts that fail after a predetermined point in the future, also ensuring the need to spend.

BlueFox

Today's electronics are good for today's, and past, standards. While there is a possibility they might work with future standards, I would not place much money on that bet.

bobman1235

nooshinjohn wrote: »

It's a theory called planned obsolesence. It works by playing into the desire to have the latest and greatest stuff whether it be cars or electronics or anything else for that matter. What they do is build something knowing that it cannot be upgraded, thus forcing you to have to spend money on a new one when the time comes. They also build things of percieved high quality using parts that fail after a predetermined point in the future, also ensuring the need to spend.

That's the conspiracy theorist's way of looking at the world, at least.

nooshinjohn

bobman1235 wrote: »

That's the conspiracy theorist's way of looking at the world, at least.

no actually, a GM executive came up with that idea back in the 1960s. The assumption was that they could always count on the american public to buy new every three years, and they set their product cycles accordingly. New every three also meant the need to spend less on quality improvements, due to "planned obsolesence". Then the times changed and the Imports took advantage of it with devastating effect.

digitalvideo

Sort of like "some" computer companies that know that a certain component like the hard drive will only last a certain time before you need to replace it.

Epson printer company also got exposed for having something in their printers that effected the amount of ink that was left in and not letting the owner/consumer know they needed to refill the ink or making them refill it much sooner than it needed. It's on Epson's wikipedia page.

bobman1235

digitalvideo wrote: »

Epson printer company also got exposed for having something in their printers that effected the amount of ink that was left in and not letting the owner/consumer know they needed to refill the ink or making them refill it much sooner than it needed. It's on Epson's wikipedia page.

The fact that the Epson thing was a huge public relations hit for them and is mentioned on their Wikipedia page just proves that most companies do not blatantly plan obsolescence, it's pure conspiracy. I'll believe companies don't spend as much time planning for longevity as they used to, but that's much more the function of a more competitive and fast-moving development environment, not to mention exponential increases in complexity of products, than some kind of vast conspiracy to make people spend more money.

Comparing modern electronics where there are hundreds of competitors to cars of the '60's, when you had the choice of maybe three companies, is asinine.

thsmith

Some AVRs and BRP allow for F/W updates but even then there is no guarantee.

inspiredsports

"How future proof are today's electronics?"

How familiar are you with the buggy whip industry? (some of you youngsters will need to google it)

nooshinjohn

bobman1235 wrote: »

The fact that the Epson thing was a huge public relations hit for them and is mentioned on their Wikipedia page just proves that most companies do not blatantly plan obsolescence, it's pure conspiracy. I'll believe companies don't spend as much time planning for longevity as they used to, but that's much more the function of a more competitive and fast-moving development environment, not to mention exponential increases in complexity of products, than some kind of vast conspiracy to make people spend more money.

Comparing modern electronics where there are hundreds of competitors to cars of the '60's, when you had the choice of maybe three companies, is asinine.

not comparing two completely different industries, only that they appear on paper anyway to follow the same path. and as far as hundreds of companies, there are in reality only a relative few when it comes to subcomponents. take a look at how many companies use the same plasma/lcd screens for their tv's or the same transport mechanisms in their cd players. Hell Marantz and Yamaha and Carver were using the same cd drawer mechanism for their 5 disc changers if I remember correctly...

digitalvideo

This could be an example (or maybe not) of a company claiming it has a "future proof" HDMI wire. Is this a legit product?

http://www.amazon.com/PROFESSIONAL-BDP-09FD-provides-lossless-supports/dp/9981737976/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239571417&sr=8-3

tcrossma

digitalvideo wrote: »

This could be an example (or maybe not) of a company claiming it has a "future proof" HDMI wire. Is this a legit product?

http://www.amazon.com/PROFESSIONAL-BDP-09FD-provides-lossless-supports/dp/9981737976/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239571417&sr=8-3

It's just a cable, so probably legit up to a point. But what if the next round of HDMI has different connectors? Nobody can see into the future so nothing is guaranteed future proof.

But a cable is a heck of a lot different than electronics, and to answer your original question: buy something for what features it offers today and don't expect it to magically sprout new functionality just because a new format/specification/feature is invented down the road.

Hillbilly61

tcrossma wrote: »

buy something for what features it offers today and don't expect it to magically sprout new functionality just because a new format/specification/feature is invented down the road.

EXACTLY. The only time technology become "future proof" is when it has reached an evolutionary dead end. In that vein, Beta, (an now) VHS, quadrophonic sound, 8 mm video tape, ASTM television transmission, etc are now future proof technologies. This sort of thing has and always will be around in the audio/video world (and most other things too).

This is why the system design strategy of using as many components as possible exists. Long term savings can be had by not having to pitch out some integrated components when you want to/need to upgrade. Integrated components provide the advantage of short term savings.

Like I said in my response, it's the way of life!

Rocco1

I know one thing..........great speakers, if taken care of, are future proff

digitalvideo

I'd like to know how long my current entertainment system will be able to give me most if not all the latest technology for sometime, I know it's hard to predict the future and I invested a lot in my current setup and I hope it's a good investment and not need to update it or replace equipment anytime soon. I posted my entertainment setup a few times on here, I'll post it again and would like your opinions about how long I can get by on it.

Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-111fd plasma 50"
Pioneer Elite SC-05 reciever
Pioneer BDP-05fd
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature 400 seven 7-Channel Amplifier (Soon to purchase)

I use my entertainment system for mostly tv/sports, movies/DVD/Bluray, and video games.

cfrizz

All of it is in your hands. YOU decide when enough is enough. By todays standards my system is ancient.

By MY needs, it has everything that I want now & in the long distant future. I couldn't care less what latest and greatest thing they come out with every few months.

madmax

The only future proof product you ever buy will be the one that comes out the same day as a garbage truck runs over you.

nooshinjohn

unless you are the government and buy B-52' combined with the cash to upgrade them every 3 or 4 years. They are obsolete on so many different levels, but you cannot argue they are legendary for their ability to remain current where it counts....

Marty913

cfrizz wrote: »

All of it is in your hands. YOU decide when enough is enough. By todays standards my system is ancient.
By MY needs, it has everything that I want now & in the long distant future. I couldn't care less what latest and greatest thing they come out with every few months.

I agree. Rarely is “obsolescence” caused by the inability of a piece of equipment to do what it was designed to do. It becomes obsolete because it won’t do the new things an owner wants to have done. I’m sure your display will continue to do 1080p even when 4Kp is available; and your receiver will continue to decode the existing lossless audio formats although perhaps not the future ones. Perhaps it will be Dolby PLIIz, or built-in wireless, or 9.1 surround that will drive your next purchase. Maybe it will be Profile 3 BR (whatever the hell that will be) that will do in your BDP-05fd. Regardless, it probably won’t be “obsolescence” pre se.

cnh

With broadband transmissions getting vamped up, new cables being put down, etc. I don't think the upgrades of the future will be hard copies. Resolutions will 'increase' beyond Blu-ray, no doubt. HDTV will hold steady for a while--look at all the problems we have with the current 'transition'?

But with greater resolutions will come another generation or two or three of Super High Def TVs. I doubt 'players' beyond blu-ray will be necessary--super-streaming will help control piracy? Pay/View might become THE model.

Then again...everything I just said may occur in an entirely 'different' way or not at all. The great thing about predicting the future is just how WRONG you can be. Ask Sony Betamax and Toshiba HD-DVD?

cnh

Hawkeye

Landfills (dumps) are full of future proof items. If you can be content with what you have then your gear could last a lifetime. If you "have" to be the owner of the latest wizbang widget all bets are off and plan on spending every couple years.

Gordon

mhardy6647

digitalvideo wrote: »

I was wondering how "future proof" today's electronics are if you bought either an LCD/Plasma tv, reciever, HDMI wires and will they be able to transmit later advances and technologies when they come available? For example, today's good recievers can transmit Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA, THX+ Ultra2 Plus and so on. Current tv's can display up to 1080p. HDMI wires are 1.3a or 1.3b Category2 certified fot 1080p. Now in the future when Dolby and DTS release more advanced sounds to decode that are superior to Dolby TrueHD will my Pioneer SC05 reciever be able to transmit it? When tv's are designed with 1440p, 1600p, 1920p, 2160p resolutions will current HDMI wires, recievers and tv's be able to decode and transmit it properly or will all the electronics we own now need to be replaced to handle the new formats?

They are not at all future proof; that's why most are made to be disposable.
The continuous upgrade mania will guarantee that most folks won't even test the longevity of the hardware. The re-orientation of the economy might break folks of that habit, but I sort of doubt it.

In contrast (and as an example), the EICO HF-81 amplifier in my living room is as old as I am (late-1950s vintage). Virtually all parts are available as new production; even the power and output transformers are still available (albeit as special-order parts) from their original supplier (Heyboer Transformers). As long as "line level" analog output signals are available, this amplifier is "future proof". Anything you buy today -- forget about it...


I'll dodder back to my rockin' chair and sip some warm milk, now... :-)