Archive for the ‘Consumer Electronics’ Category

Look Out Below! Americans Toss Analog TVs

April 9, 2008

The Consumer Electronics Association claims that only 15 million televisions will be ‘removed’ from the homes of people who get their TV signals over the air, and of those, 95% will be “sold, donated or recycled.” 

But who would buy an analog television when what the CEA likes to call the “digital television transition,” (a process now approaching the length of the 100 Years War) is complete? 

As for donations, tried to donate a monitor or computer lately?  Many people end up doing nocturnal dumpster dumps in frustration.  And the last thing charitable organizations want is a haul of unsellable obsolete televisions.

That leaves recycling.  How it will be done isn’t so clear; Sony will take back their own aging TVs, but other owners are out of luck.   While Erin Monaghan suggests making your TV into a planter or fish tank, you still need to get rid of the TV tube, which Earth 911 suggests can contain 4 to 8 pounds of lead.

I say bring back the halcyon days of Led Zeppelin at the LA Hyatt, the notorious “Riot House” on the Sunset Strip, and launch the old TVs from the balcony to an empty swimming pool.

Look out below!

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Posted in CES, Consumer Electronics, analog-to-digital-TV | No Comments »

The Analog TV Set That Won’t Go Away

December 5, 2007

The Consumer Electronics Association has been saying the US is in the midst of the ‘digital transition’ for years.  If so, it’s one of the longest on record.  With less than a year and a half to go before analog programming is cut off, less than 15% of Americans have digital sets.  Worse, less than half of those actually watch high definition programming according to Nielsen Research.  (Hat tip to www.nikkifinke.com).

It’s no surpise: analog televison sets are persistent in your house–they just work. Unlike computers, they don’t get obsolete every two years.   And although prices on plasma, DLP and LCD TVs have been dropping, so have real estate values–it’s harder to get a home equity loans to make your house pay for its home theatre.

The CEA’s sales numbers  look good; sales of digital TVs rose from 12.5 million in 2005 to 18.5 million or so in 2006, or 50%.  But there’s probably close to 300 million TVs (one for every American at home, in the bars, hotels, etc.) meaning 250 million CRT analog sets are still humming contentedly.  Only a fraction will be replaced by 2009; prepare for lots of ‘fixes’ using set-top box analog to digital converters. 

I’m bracing for another massive Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.  And this year, with high gas prices, foreclosures up and a recession coming, the sunny view always portrayed by Gary Shapiro of the CEA (home of the ‘biggest and best CES ever’, every year) looks gloomier.

Posted in 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, CES, Consumer Electronics, analog-to-digital-TV | 1 Comment »

Lamest Advertising Claim

May 8, 2007

In the coupon section of the Sunday LA Times, I came upon this lame claim: RAYOVAC: Lasts as Long as Duracell & Energizer

Not exactly “Tastes Great, Less Filling” stuff, but at least it won’t make the corporate lawyers nervous.

But the marketers must have realized that ‘me-too’ advertising isn’t very compelling.  (And batteries are hardly the sexiest consumer electronics category .) So unshaven, over-the-hill quarterback Brett Favre holds up the package, as if that (along with the complex three-part mail-in $3 rebate) would be the clincher.

Posted in Advertising, Brett-Favre, Consumer Electronics, Sports | No Comments »

Spiderman 3 Pirates Nabbed by Flo and Lucky

April 27, 2007

Even though the first Spiderman 3 DVDs were fakes, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has a serious issue on its hands.  Nine out of every 10 DVDs sold in China is an illegal copy.  But MPAA spokesman Dan Glickman isn’t the most charismatic and Jack Valenti has passed on  What to do?

Put Flo and Lucky on the case!

 Lucky and Flo sniff at DVD pirates

Flo and Lucky are the silent spokesdogs of the MPAA, deployed throughout Asia to literally ’sniff out’ pirated movies and games.  The heroic dogs, trained to detect polycarbonate, even put a stop to a stash of child pornography.  No wonder the pirates of Malaysia have put a bounty on their heads.

You don’t have to believe a word of it.  It’s still a brilliant PR gambit by the MPAA, as people care much more about chocolate Labs than camcorder-wielding movie pirates or bloated movie moguls.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Hollywood Follies, Journalism, MPAA, Public Relations, Spiderman 3, chocolate-Labs, dvd-pirates, heroic-dogs | 3 Comments »

Grand Theft Corporate

April 13, 2007

My humble suggestion for Take-Two Interactive’s branding challenge.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, Public Relations, Videogames | No Comments »

The Biggest and Worst CES Ever

February 2, 2007

Yogi Berra said, “It’s so crowded no one goes there any more.” That’s what happened to COMDEX, which went from 225,000 attendees in the 90’s to zero by 2003.  And it may happen to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

The man in charge, Gary Shapiro, likes to say, “This year’s CES was the biggest and best ever.” With over 140,000 attendees and 2700 exhibitors in 2007, it was indeed the biggest.

But as my 19th straight CES, I’d say it was also the worst, packed with people and a nexus for disease from around the world. (Stomach flu and alcohol poisoning, anyone?)
103-inch-tv-small.jpg “Mine is bigger than yours” is what passed for a story line, as Panasonic, LG and others jousted for the pointless title of world’s largest TV.

I couldn’t get into several press conferences because they were so jammed. A couple I did get into should have been closed down by the fire marshall. Even the usually unflappable CEA people in their blue shirts showed frayed tempers. Apple upstaged everyone, launching the publicity-grabbing iPhone at MacWorld in San Francisco.

Even Bill had nothing to say. “The Digital Decade is truly here”?

pc-builders-at-work.jpg There were a few fun throwbacks to tech days, like this PC building race sponsored by Tiger Direct.

And the booth babes are still displaying product…model-in-chains-small.jpg

But attendees complained that too many consumer electronics categories were jammed together; the show should have been split up. Fat chance; it’s all about the dollars.

Posted in 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, Consumer Electronics, Public Relations | 1 Comment »