The world of consumer entertainment technology is an ever-changing and rapidly advancing field. No sooner than you buy your newest smartphone is there a better version of it available. You just finish setting up your cutting-edge home theater system, only to see the ‘updated’ version being advertised. That Blu Ray player that has barely a few movies played through it has now evolved to feature streaming capabilities. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with all of the ‘latest and greatest’ marketing, but some people seem to be on top of the trend at all times.
Home electronics have come a long way since the days of the cassette player connected to an analog stereo amplifier and a pair of speakers. Today’s home electronics are a fusion of computer technology, Wi-Fi, streaming media and multi-channel, multi-room digital applications of every sort imaginable. Surely you would need to purchase such items at a specialty audio/video establishment, right? Well, you can, if you want to pay top-shelf prices!
Many new audio video entertainment technologies have become commonplace in the recent years, but none have progressed as far and as quickly as video displays. After the introduction of High Definition television displays in 1998, the format has evolved and grown more capable ever since. We look back on standard DVDs and the monitors designed for that type of resolution as artifacts of the past. Transitioning from 640x480 lines of resolution to 1280x720 and 1080x1920 seemed amazing in its day, but now screens with 4096 x 2160 (4K) and 7680 × 4320 (8K) resolutions are becoming the standard. Content is never far behind, and in some cases is actually the driving force behind the emergence of these standards.