HDTV Now a “Must Have” - Million more homes will be turning on HDTV in 2005. The prices of some of the largest-screen highest-tech displays have come down and there’s actually good stuff to watch available on satellite, cable and OTA (Over The Air). Sports programs are the most popular in HDTV, but such primetime programs as Law & Order, ER, The West Wing and The Tonight Show are now in HDTV. An analyst reports that households with a “hi-def capable” set nearly doubled in the past year, by the end of December about ten million households will have an HDTV, and that number should grow to 45 million by 2008.
Plasma displays top the holiday wish lists as the “Most Wanted TV,” in spite of their high price, limited lifespan, and danger of burning in if one has video game players in the house. A survey found that the majority of consumers opted for plasma over LCD display, although they said they were confused by the various flat panel technologies and multiplicity of options offered. The survey also uncovered the lengths to which married men would go to get their wives to agree to a coveted plasma TV. Thirty-six percent would offer to do household chores for a year and 50 percent would be willing to let their in-laws visit as often as they wanted. And sixty-eight percent were willing to let their significant other choose where the plasma TV would be located in the house.
Sony Says Profits Don’t Come Easily - Sony’s president said this week that though unit sales of flat-panel TVs and DVD recorders were very strong, sliding prices were making it difficult for electronics manufacturers to boost profits. He told an industry group that LCD and plasma displays are declining at 25 to 30 percent a year and a DVD recorder that was $900 a year ago is now $500. Profits in Sony’s electronics division fell by 83 percent in July-September. He also mentioned the high cost of developing flat-panel TVs and the declining market for home audio goods.
Another Jazz Artist Debuts His Own Label - Grammy-winning bassist Dave Holland has, like many other jazz performers, launched his own label imprint: Dare2 Records. Holland said he had a long held idea to create his own independent record label, and mentioned the most successful of these being Herb Alpert’s A&M Records, as well as pioneers in the field Charles Mingus, Max Roach and Horace Silver. He indicated “The rapidly changing landscape of the record industry and the addition of the Internet...have made artist-owned labels a realistic goal...” His debut release will happen February 22 with the latest CD from his Grammy-winning Dave Holland Big Band.
Dec. 22, 2004 
