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In the previous pages, I listed several home theater products that are considered "Hot" for this holiday shopping season. Now, here are some products that should be considered for the "Not" list.
While almost all U.S. households have at least one VCR and with VCR prices now in the $50 price range, this product has definitely passed its heyday. With inherently poor picture quality and environmentally susceptible recording media, I have never been satisfied with the VHS VCR as the best way to record and watch video.
That being said, the VCR has been around for 30 years and has given consumers control over what and when they watch on their TV. Despite early fears from the movie studios, the VCR has given a second life to many films (both classic and new) as whole new generations of viewers have access to films just by going down to the video store.
However, DVD now dominates both the video rental and retail market. VHS movies and VCRs are not only being pushed out of valuable shelf space by retailers favoring more profitable DVD movies, players, and DVD recorders, but most manufacturers have stopped making standalone VCRs altogether, opting instead to include them only as a part of a DVD Player/VCR combo or DVD Recorder/VCR combo.
Consumers are finally being faced with the slow demise of the VCR. My suggestion; if you really need a new VCR, get a DVD Player/VCR combo, or a DVD Recorder/VCR Combo, especially if you are buying it as a gift.
With the popularity of burning music, data, and video CDs on home computers, the popularity of the standalone audio-only CD recorder, although initially received with great excitement, has begun to fade into the background as viable product.
I, personally, prefer a standalone audio CD recorder; it makes it easy to copy your vinyl records or cassette tapes to CD without having dump them onto a hard drive and then recopy the files to a CD, as in a computer. Also, with little effort, audio-only CD recorders can be taken to other locations for live CD music recording, with addition of an audio mixer.
Most audio CD recorders are great products, but it is hard to compete with CD burners that can rip music files in high speed from just about any source, including the internet, in several formats. My advice; if you are recording from vinyl to CD, this is a great option. However, new audio CD recorders are getting scarce; get one while you can.
Analog Televisions
The era of the analog television is over. Analog-only Televisions are longer available as all Televisions now have to become equipped with both an analog and digital TV tuner. In fact, since last holiday seaon, except for house and generic brands, most of the big-name brands have closed down their tube TV manufacturing and concentrating solely on making flat panel and projection sets.
With the increase in digital and HDTV program offerings steadily increasing on broadcast, cable, and satellite, it is becoming more desirable to invest in an HDTV if you are considering a purchase, especially, of a larger screen TV that you expect to keep for awhile.
In addition, with prices of HDTV sets almost down to what their analog counterparts were just a few years ago, and with features that make analog video sources, such as DVD look great, now is the time to make the move to HDTV.
My advice is this: If you are considering purchasing a TV for yourself or, as a gift, definitely consider an HDTV if it has a 26-inch or larger screen size.
Once all TV stations upgrade their capacity to broadcast digital TV, currently targeted to be February 17, 2009, their analog transmitters will be turned off, as required by the FCC. When that happens, you will need an digital-to-analog outboard tuner/set-top box to continue using your analog TV for reception of broadcast television signals.
CRT Televisions
In addition to end of analog television, the CRT, or traditional Picture Tube Television, is no longer available at many retailers, and may be completely gone from the consumer market by the end of 2008. Major manufacturers, such as Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Hitachi are no longer making CRT televisions in any screen size. The only major manufacturers that are making CRT televisions are Samsung, Philips, and RCA - but only in screen sizes 30-inches or smaller. If you are shopping for a television this holiday season, your choices at most retailers will be LCD or Plasma Flat Panel sets, and LCD or DLP projection sets.
Go Shopping...
There you have it, an overview of my "Hot" and "Not" product categories for the holiday shopping season. Be sure to check out other resources listed on the left an right side bars of this article. Now, go shopping, don't get too stressed, have fun, and have a happy holiday shopping season!
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