A/V Processor Upgrade Cycle
Dear Gary,
In the near future, I intend to upgrade my Lexicon DC-1 A/V processor. I’m considering models from three high-end companies. All three of those companies presently only support HDMI v1.1. I am very concerned about investing $6,500 to $9,000 in a product whose HDMI v1.1 ports would likely be obsolete soon. Naturally, a future product upgrade would ensue. Unfortunately, I would be left with no upgrade path.
My focus is on the substantial technical improvements in the evolution from HDMI v1.1 to v1.3a. When I step back, I can see we are in a huge upgrade cycle, moving from an analog world to a digital world. The dust seems to be settling at HDMI v1.3a, although it is not completely settled.
Let me momentarily shift to the home computer. Consider some of the more common things we expect: from an entertainment standpoint, look at what we can do. We can play movies from the Internet, play DVDs, listen to stored or online music, record (DVR) movies or TV shows, watch TV, play MP3s, burn CDs and DVDs, rip CDs and DVDs, copy any media, etc.
Most importantly, we can easily expand functionality. That extends the life of the computer, and it keeps our machines up to date. We can upgrade computer hardware via the video card or ports, attach monitors and TVs, add USB ports, add memory—either RAM or hard drive capacity—upgrade the sound card, and add drives, MP3 players, printers, scanners, etc, etc. The motherboard can also be replaced. Software and firmware are simple Internet downloads. And what’s really nice is that all of these things can be done totally by the owner of that computer.
Back to the A/V processor. Compare the A/V processor to the computing environment. If you think about it, the parallels are glaring. They almost fall in line tit for tat, hardware and software and function for function.
The A/V processor is basically a computer (it has a CPU) with a BUS and a bunch of hardwired circuits that allow the functionality earlier mentioned. Connect some ports to the BUS and you have an A/V processor. Add in an amplifier and you have an integrated A/V processor. The A/V processor manufacturers act as if their product is somewhat different. In the all-analog world, they had a point. But, they have perpetuated the look and feel that their gear is something completely different. Are they in denial? If it doesn’t look like a computer, then it must not be a computer.
Why do we have to buy a whole new A/V processor every time we upgrade, run out of ports, add new software features, etc. It seems to me, if these A/V boxes were built like the rest of the real world’s ever-changing components, everyone would be happier. You could pull out the old, slide in the new, download the software upgrade from the Internet, and yes, it should be that easy. Instead, we are forced into a situation of frustration, lack of information, and risk poor timing for purchase choices.
Is there any reason the various manufactures don’t build their A/V chassis with modules? I would think it would put them, and us, into a manageable yearly/biyearly upgrade cycle. We would essentially become a fish on their hook. They could easily engender customer loyalty and create a new revenue stream instead of putting us in a position of having to make a choice for a new vendor on a semi-regular basis. There’s a real good chance most of us would purchase a new A/V processor with the same company after upgrading for three to five years.
The high-end manufacturers seem to provide every excuse in the book as to why they don’t want to make these sorts of changes. They say that upgrading from HDMI v1.1 to v1.2 to v1.3a is a major hardware and software upgrade and expense. So why is it that they don’t put everything related to those tasks on plug-in modules?
Bob Brown, Naples, Florida
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:
You make excellent points. I, too, would like to see a modular approach to high-end A/V processors. A few companies have released modular processors in the past, and some are now readying to introduce new-generation A/V processors built on modular platforms with full HDMI 1.3 functionality.
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