Utah AV experts react to the end of plasma TVs

Devin Brown

Last month in Seoul, Korea, LG announced it would end its plasma line by the end of November. LG was the last company manufacturing the more than 20-year-old technology.

Utah LG dealers think LG will take its available resources to focus on OLED TVs – a new TV design that uses organic light-emitting diodes. Many dealers said plasma TVs are better than LED TVs in picture quality.

Jim Young, the president of AVI Systems in Draper, Utah, said LG is following both Samsung and Panasonic’s decision to stop manufacturing plasma TVs. He said LG’s 2014 plasma TVs were low in quality. According to Young, Panasonic made the last high performance plasma TV.

“It was a sad day when Panasonic ended their plasma line last year,” Young said.  “All of us in the AV industry just hung our heads low.  Ever since then plasmas haven’t been the same.”

In this image released by Samsung, it shows it's 65" F8500 series
plasma TV. (Samsung) 

Young said he expected LG and Samsung to end their plasma TV lines but he said he was “remorseful” to see the technology end. He doesn’t believe LED TVs have the same high performance as plasma TVs.

According to Young, LED TVs have less color accuracy. He said plasmas TVs have better color quality, deeper black levels and smoother motion. 

Young said he would rather sell his customers a projector instead of a LED TV. He claims projectors give the viewer a “smoother” picture.

Chad Evans, a sales rep for the buying group ProSource, said his company still has 42” and 60” plasma TVs in stock. He doesn’t expect more shipments from LG anytime soon.

Young said the last plasma TV his company sold was a Samsung 65” PN64F8500. It currently is for sale on Samsung’s website for $4399.99.

OLED TVs, according to Evans, are a good replacement for “plasma fans.” He claims the new technology will be very close to a plasma TVs performance. He said OLED TVs give direct light to the panel and LED TVs pass light through a filter on the frame of the TV.

“The black levels will also be more accurate because OLEDs can shut off each individual pixel,” Evans said. “This will give you a true black image. LEDs can’t do that.”

Jared Walth, a manager at AVWORX in Layton, Utah, said he hasn’t sold any OLED TVs because of the “high” price.

Currently on LG’s website a 55” OLED TV sales for $3499.99

Increased audio sales expected due to lower prices

By Devin Brown

According to a report by the Consumer Electronic Association, electronics spending for the holidays is expected to increase 2.4% from last year. Some Utah dealers believe consumers can get lower prices on audio products till the end of the year.

Klipsch, Paradigm, Denon and Definitive Technology are all currently having holiday sales on audio products. Many dealers believe manufactures want to increase sales as the economy has improved.

Chad Evans, a sales representative for the buying group ProSource, believes audio companies are trying to finish out the year on a “positive note.”

In this image released by Paradigm, this image shows Paradigm's 
current sales. (Paradigm)

“Right now is the best time to buy home electronics,” Evans said. “Manufactures want people to shop. They’re going to make them shop by discounting products that usually are not discounted.”

Evans said audio companies have to report to shareholders. He said manufactures have to focus on audio quality and sales numbers.

“Now we have companies like Klipsch that were once independent who are owned by big corporations,” Evans said. “It’s now owned by Audiovox, they have numbers they have to fill.”

Jared Walth, a manager at AVWORX in Layton, Utah, said he hasn’t seen a big increase in sales so far. He said he expects this week to be slow.

According to Walth, AVWORX will match any prices its customers find on their products. He said he gets a lot of people looking for prices on Sony’s home audio ES line.

Jim Young, the president of AVI Systems in Draper, Utah, said its normal for people to look for sales during the holidays. He said buying a product at a “good price” is a benefit but shoppers need to remember there is more to audio than the price.

In this image released by Klipsch, it shows it's R-20B soundbar sale. (Kipsch)

“People buy on emotion during the holidays,” Young said. “In the audio world its more than just buying the equipment. You need to know how to set it up.”

Young said AVI would sell its customers audio equipment but would also give them options for home automation, video and room layout.

Klipsch’s website currently has its R-20B soundbar marked down $200 for its holiday sale. It's website said it has never done a sale for the holidays “like this before.”

Paradigm has all of its products marked down 15% below MSRP. It also is doing a free center channel speaker with purchase of its Monitor Series tower speakers. It’s website says the sale will run until December 31.

Definitive Technology currently has its Dolby Atmos enabled speakers marked down $200. It’s also giving away free surround speakers with a purchase of tower speakers.

Denon’s website shows most of its AVR receivers on sale $50 to $150 off MSRP.

4K prices drop to lowest yet

 By Devin Brown

For the first time, 4K LED TV prices are expected to fall for the holidays starting on Black Friday. This will be the first time, according to Utah dealers, 4K TV prices drop below $1500.

Utah dealers from Sony, Samsung and LG said they can get the same prices as “big box” stores. Many believe the price drop is a good thing for consumers. According to some AV integrators, 4K is the next replacement to 1080p HDTVs.

In this image released by RC Willey, it shows the Sony 4K in their ad. (RC Willey)

BrandSource is one of the nation’s largest buying groups – a purchasing group that represents multiple small business dealers across the country. Chad Evans, a sales representative for Brandsource’s electronic division ProSource, said this is the first time 4K has been affordable to most Americans.

Evans said in previous years retailers had 4K TVs in Black Friday ads but they were still too “expensive.” He said 4K prices from last year were “three times” the prices now.

“One of the reasons there weren’t very many 4K sales was that manufactures didn’t have the inventory,” Evans said. “This is the first year that they actually have a surplus of TVs available.”

Joseph Bodell, a sales manager at Custom Sound Company in Salt Lake City, Utah, said he’s not excited for the holidays but he’s glad prices on 4K TVs are dropping.

“As manufactures drop prices we’ll meet them,” Bodell said. “We might not have them in stock but we can order them in.”

Bodell said Custom Sound has to match prices with Best Buy and RC Willey to stay competitive. He said the company’s profit margin on 4K TVs is still higher than 1080p TVs.

Jim Young, the president of AVI Systems in Draper, Utah, said 4K is the solution to a “noisy” picture from 1080p TVs.

LED HDTVs, according to Young, were only designed to be used on smaller screen sizes. Young said TV companies use 1080p formats on TVs as large as 90”.

“4K fixes the distortion that you get with 1080p,” Young said. “Nowadays we have a lot of people sitting close to TVs in apartments and condos. With 4K you won’t see all the imperfections like 1080p.”

Young said if he has customers who want a big picture larger than 80” he’ll try to sell them a projector with a high reflection screen – a better reflection will give the viewer a better picture. He said AVI can do projector and screen installations for the same cost as large LED TVs.

In this image released by Best Buy, it shows Best Buy's Black Friday ad. (Best Buy)

AVI will match prices on 4K TVs, must be same model, but it doesn’t plan on making its customers wait in a line for a TV.

“We’ll order the TV for you,” Young said. “We’re all about custom AV. If a customer wants a 4K model from RC Willey we can either match their price or beat it.”

Young said his company doesn’t plan on advertising any sales for 4K. He said he sends his customers to RC Willey to find which TV they like then he will order it from a distributor.

According to BlackFriday.com, advertised 4K TV sales for Utah showed most were from Samsung, LG and Sony. Best Buy, Sam’s Club and RC Willey will have 40" to 65” 4K TVs on sale. Prices vary from $599.99 to $2499.99.

Utah Denon dealer reacts to Heos update

By Devin Brown

On December 1 Denon will release its first major update for its wireless multi-room audio system Heos. Jim Young, the president of AVI Systems, a Utah Denon dealer, thinks the update will help sell Heos but is still hesitant to sell it against the more popular Sonos and Bose systems.

The update will give users the option to set up new devices with a home’s Wi-Fi. Other new features will add apps such as, iHeartRadio and SiriusXM Radio. It will also give integrators the option to program Marantz AV receivers to control the Heos system.

Jeff Coates, the director of sales for D&M Group – the company that owns Denon – said he’s excited for the update to be released. He said currently Heos users have to set up their systems with a 3.4 mm audio cord. According to Coates, this has caused confusion among Heos customers.

Coates said Heos was designed to be “easy.” He said he wants everyone to be able to use it.

“The update is the next step for our customers,” Coates said.

Young’s company, even though it sells Denon AVR receivers, doesn’t sell Heos products because of the Sonos lawsuit. In October Sonos filed against Denon for patent infringement. The price of Heos might increase, according to Young. He said if the lawsuit results in Heos paying a settlement it will mean fewer profit margins for dealers.

“We’re still waiting to hear what happens with the lawsuit,” Young said. “I think it’s a good product but it’s too soon to start carrying.”

Coates said the Sonos lawsuit won’t “stand up” in court. He said D&M’s lawyers told his company to “continue with business as normal.” He said one reason for the lawsuit is because Heos product names resemble Sonos speaker names – Play 1, Play 3 and Play 5.

“We probably shouldn’t have named are products with 1, 3 or 5,” Coates said. “But really what we have done isn’t any different from what Bose has done. Sonos just noticed how well we’ve done.”

AVI is a dealer for Bose and Sonos, they offer wireless multi-room audio systems. Young said both systems have things to offer. The Bose SoundTouch products, according to Young, give people the option to have button “pre-sets” on top of each Bose speaker.

“With Denon and Sonos products you need a phone to operate your music,” Young said. “With Bose you can have your phone in the other room and still pick your music with the pre-sets.”

On Heos’ website, under the FAQ page, people have asked when Heos might release a soundbar. The website says, “It may become an option for the future.”

Coates would not comment if Denon plans to release any new Heos products next year in conjunction with the update.

Megaplex expects more ticket sales during the holidays

 By Devin Brown

Utah’s Megaplex Theatres expects to sell more movie tickets this holiday season than last year. There are two movies behind this prediction: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1” and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”

In this image released by Lions Gate, shows the movie poster for
"The Hunger Games; Mockingjay-Part 1." (Lions Gate)

Managers at Megaplex said they expect high attendance because The Hobbit and The Hunger Games are the final part of their franchises – The Hunger Games is part one of two. The company’s promotion, $5 Tuesdays, is also expected to help.

Due to a slow summer movie season, 2014’s movie ticket sales are behind 2013. According to Boxofficemojo.com, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is currently the largest grossing movie of the year earning $330 million In 2013 the largest grossing movie was “The Hunger Game: Catching Fire” earning $424 million.

Adam Tillman, the digital projection manager for Megaplex Theatres, said July was the slowest in the company’s history. He said people have been waiting to go to the movies this year. New blockbuster hits, according to Tillman, will make them go to the theaters.

In this image released by Warner Brothers, it shows the movie poster
for "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies." (Warner Brothers)

Tillman said the company’s Valley Fair theaters, which have nine screens, are expecting more than 95,000 people for November.

Aaron Thompson, the event sales manager for Valley Fair, said he has already seen an increased number of theater reservations for this month. Thompson said he’s had more this month than November 2013. 

Tillman said in August Megaplex added $5 Tuesdays for all of its theaters in Utah and Nevada. He said Megaplex received a lot of good feedback from its customers. He believes the company will have good sale numbers for December because of the discounts and movie releases.

Thompson said he thinks The Hunger Games and The Hobbit will help with sales for next year. These movies, according to Thompson, will be a “starting point” to a good movie year.

Valley Fair is already receiving reservations for the new Star Wars movie, “Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens,” scheduled for release in December 2015.

Megaplex’s managers said they are ready for the increased number of people.

Lions Gate Entertainment, the movie studio that produced The Hunger Games, reported last weekend the movie earned $123 million. According to Lions Gate’s website, The Hunger Games franchise has earned $1.5 billion worldwide.

The Hobbit will be released on Dec.17. Warner Brothers Pictures, the movie studio that produced The Hobbit, said the franchise has earned more than $1 billion worldwide. Boxofficemojo.com said it expects the new movie to earn $235 million. 

Pioneer Electronics gives webinar on Dolby Atmos for its Atmos enabled products

By Devin Brown

On Wednesday participants from all over the U.S. listened to Craig Eggers, the director of home theater marketing for Dolby, and Andrew Jones, the lead speaker designer for Pioneer Electronics, explain how to use Dolby Atmos on Pioneer Elite speakers and receivers.

The webinar covered placement of speakers, installation questions and connectivity troubleshooting. Both men believe Atmos will change the AV home theater market. But only if it’s demonstrated correctly.

Eggers said the technology won’t sell if dealers let the product sit “statically” on shelves. He said using visuals won’t convey what Atmos can do.

In this image released by Pioneer, it shows a Atmos setup with
Pioneer's Atmos enabled speakers. (Pioneer)

“Dolby Atmos is the most exciting thing to come to our industry since the introduction of surround sound more than 20 years ago,” Eggers said. “You’ve got to see it. You got to hear it to believe it. It begs to be experienced.”

Jones, who designed all of Pioneer’s Atmos speakers, said he was excited about Dolby Atmos because it gave him a “solution” to height speaker problems. He said most movies really need a front height speaker – speakers that sit above the left and right channel speakers. The height speakers, according to Jones, were first used in 9.1 surround sound systems to give audiences sound from above their heads. Atmos gave Jones the option to add to existing 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems.

When Pioneer went to design its new speaker line they had to follow Dolby’s instructions on the design of the Atmos enabled speakers. According to Jones, everything else in the 7.1 or 5.1 systems was his design.

“The idea of having an upward firing speaker bouncing off the ceiling requires certain specifications,” Jones said. “These are things that Dolby themselves have researched and provide that we as manufactures have to meet.”

According to Jones, the Atmos enabled speakers sit on top of Pioneer’s tower and surround speakers. Each Atmos driver is angled 70 degrees to get the right sound reflection off a horizontal ceiling. He said then the sound would travel back to the listening area.

In this image released by
Pioneer, it shows Pioneer's
SP-EFS73 tower speaker.
The speaker retails for
$699.99 each. (Pioneer)

Jones said most ceiling materials will work with Atmos. The only material known to Pioneer to have problems are sound reflection tiles. Jones said the tiles should be replaced. The ceiling height, according to Jones, should be between 8 to 14 feet high.

Jones said the Dolby Atmos enabled speakers have a perceptual filter. He said it’s there to enhance the “perception” sound coming down to an audience from overhead. Jones said the filter also limits how much sound leaves through the front firing drivers and how much leaves through the upward firing Atmos drivers.

Eggers said one of the biggest problems Dolby sees with Atmos is when users don’t set their Blu-ray players to bitstream audio output – a setup feature to bypass a Blu-ray player’s audio processor. Eggers said people need to rely on the Atmos processor in receivers to decode the signal.

Both Jones and Eggers said listeners need to be placed a minimum of 3 feet away from any speaker in the room. They said it’s the best way to get the full “effect” of Atmos and to avoid any crossover – when two sounds mix.

According to Eggers, when Dolby released Atmos to commercial theaters it saw the number of theaters double from when it released Dolby Digital – a Dolby 7.1 surround sound format.

Eggers said there are more than 100 Atmos mixing facilities around the world. He said next year Atmos will be available for more Blu-ray movies, broadcast and video games. He did not give any expected dates on when the new formats might be released to the public. 

DIRECTV announces it will have 4K content

By Devin Brown

On Thursday Nov.13, in El Segundo, Calif., DIRECTV announced it would start streaming the next day in 4K to Samsung 2014 4K televisions. 

Using its Genie HD DVR, the company said it would have more than 20 different movie titles available to stream via an internet connection. The company said it would only stream movies and will change to broadcasting in 4K when demand increases. 

Romulo Pontual, the executive vice president for DIRECTV, said in a press release, “for more than 20 years, DIRECTV has been changing the way people watch TV as the first to move the industry from analog to digital to HD and now the ultimate TV experience with 4K TV. The picture quality and depth of detail that 4K provides is nothing short of remarkable.”

In this image released by DIRECTV, it shows the Genie HD DVR, with
this device Samsung 4K TVs can play 4K movies. (DIRECTV)

Kip Chambers, a DIRECTV dealer and AV installer, believes the announcement will have low impact on the 4K market. He blames the availability of 4K content on the consumer market. 

“Mainly no one wants it,” Chambers said. “I’ve had one customer buy a 4K TV. It’s hard to just try to explain what 4K is without being able to demo it.”

Adam Tillman, the director of digital cinema for Megaplex Theatres, said Sony is leading the movie market with 4K. He said Sony Pictures has more than 2,000 movies filmed or re-mastered in 4K.

Chambers said he would rather use the 4K media player from Sony. The company currently sells nine different 4K TV models. The media player only works with Sony 4K TVs. 

James Merrill, a salesman at Kelly Electronics in Logan, Utah, said he hadn’t heard about the new press release from DIRECTV. He said it will be a long time before DIRECTV broadcasts in 4K. He said the company currently broadcasts in 1080i and uses 1080p for pay-per-view movies.

Chris Laughlin, a salesman for National Satellite in Logan, Utah, said National hasn’t received any training from DIRECTV on how to use 4K movies on DIRECTV’s Genie DVR. 

“People are going to view it like 3-D,” Laughlin said. “I’ve had four people in the last couple of years ask about that. I don’t think people will take advantage of it.”