Audio News - AUDIOPHILE AUDITION

Mostly CEA News this week:

Audiophile of the 21st Century - According to an “Audio Consumption Study” released by the Consumer Electronics Association there has been an increased consumer enjoyment of audio content - including music and movies. More then 90% of adults online reported listening to music in the past year. The CEA said the study findings demonstrate that consumers have not lost their appetite for audio as part of their daily content diet, and the rise of audio consumption means increased opportunity for the industry and consumers. The total average value of devices used in the primary listening room of the home was $1500 and 87% percent of online adults reported being satisfied with the quality of their home audio listening experience. Sound quality, volume range and integration into the home decor were “satisfaction drivers.” Dissatisfied respondents included those who spent about half the average cost on audio components, those whose listening was mainly PC-based, and those with wiring issues.

CES Pres Addresses U.S. Communications Policy - CEA President Gary Shapiro delivered a speech last week to the Federal Communications Bar Association in which he characterized “the U.S. communication forest” as “growing, robust and stunningly beautiful.” He talked about the government-industry partnership which has given the U.S. the world’s best HDTV standard and resulted in Americans already owning over 16 million HDTV products. He said the broad array of technology and communications offerings expands almost daily.

However, Shapiro suggested six goals to further improve national communications policy:
1. Every American should have broadband access.
2. We must complete the shift to digital.
3. We must encourage competition among alternative media providers.
4. We need an open standard among technology providers to allow consumers choice in which products they buy.
5. We must protect consumer rights to manage content and to timeshift it.
6. We must protect the First Amendment and ...resist any content regulation no matter how offensive we may find some content.

Korean Dowry Change - South Korean society is both very traditional and yet fully wired. Marriage dowries are still the tradition, but they’ve gone high tech. Decades ago dowries consisted of cotton blankets, mattresses and so forth - taken by the bride to her new home. Today it’s home theater systems and giant plasma displays.