Who’s the Lucky Winner? (Of Circuit City’s Former Customers)

With the recent resignation of Circuit City from the retail face of consumer electronics, what will happen to the business of Circuit City’s former customers? Results do not look promising for consumer electronics specialists like dealers and small businesses, who undoubtedly would give customers a more personal and service-backed purchasing experience. In a survey, it was revealed that 66% of Circuit City’s customers would be taking their business to Best Buy (55%) or Walmart (11%). The remaining 34% of customers could be considered potential specialty customers for a smaller CE business or an audio video dealer.

Of the customers who would be turning to big-box stores to satisfy their CE needs, the following reasons were given for their choices.

40 % Price

29% Product Selection

22% Store Location

The lukewarm news for CE specialists is neither great nor terrible, because these customers who shop based on price and location are not as likely to appreciate the benefits of working with a CE specialist anyway. They are mostly transactional customers who do not require a high level of customer service, and are not necessarily the ideal candidates to which CE specialists market. So, unfortunately, there may only be a precious minority of CC customers that will become customers of CE specialists, like Advanced Technology Services.

With Circuit City on the verge of their liquidation sale, consumers are already starting to shop elsewhere. A tidbit of advice: don’t forget your local businesses and dealers! Businesses like Advanced Technology Services help you get the best return on your investment in the consumer electronics you choose to purchase. Along with the personal customer service you receive during your purchasing decision, you will find a selection from higher quality and feature-rich products and services, as well as continued support over time as you use them. Also, many dealers like Adv. Tech Services are experienced in consulting to help you find multiple solutions to your CE desires. We offer products and services in several areas of residential, commercial, and mobile applications from internet connectivity to audio video equipment to home security. Contact us so we can help you get started down the road to your technological goals!

LG Quitting on Plasmas: Fact or Fiction?

Suspicion is that rumors are flying about the possibility of LG leaving the market as a plasma producer. LG’s vice-president, Lee Gyu-Hong, has been reported as saying that the future is uncertain for LG in the plasma sector. If LG does pull out of the market, they would be following the recent resignations of Vizio and Pioneer plasma. These changes would leave all the work to only three major manufacturers on the plasma market – Panasonic, Samsung, and Hitachi. Is this a sign of doomsday for the plasma TV or will the lack of competition cause Panasonic, Samsung, and Hitachi to rack up in sales? It seems that manufacturers are pulling away slowly as profitability decreases, going from six major brands to a possible three in the timespan of a few months!

Shortly after this rumor of LG’s withdrawal hit the media, there was a contradictory response from George Mead, Marketing Manager for Digital Displays at LG Electronics UK. He said reportedly that the UK division of LG did not intend to withdraw from the plasma market at all, although there were discussions going on at LG about the major changes going on currently in the plasma market. Other specifics from his conversation seem to support the idea that LG is doing well in the UK, but what about the US market? LG’s recent release of the LGH9000 plasma television, which uses a wireless HDMI connection, leads us to believe that LG, as a company, will persevere. Is it possible that LG would continue to prosper in other markets while withdrawing from the US market, like Phillips did last year?

As a Pioneer dealer and Samsung dealer, Advanced Technology Services wants to continue to support our customers through this time of change in the plasma market. We will continue to offer superior customer service to those who have purchased Pioneer televisions from us. Please comment on our blog below or contact us via our website with any questions, thoughts, or concerns.

Flat Panel TVs: Is Buying Cheap Brands Worth Saving Dollars?

Big distributors like Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Costco are turning out less expensive flat-panel televisions almost as quickly as milk and eggs. While this might be a slight exaggeration, it seems that as the price of these TVs declines, the quality does the same. When is it worth it to save the money, and when should you be worried you are actually wasting dollars on a low-quality product?

Surely you are looking for the best bang for the buck, even if it means you may have to make a slightly larger investment for a better return on your money. If you are not penny-pinching, it is best to go for a better quality product from your local audio video dealer, like us, Advanced Technology Services. If you are penny-pinching, maybe it is not the right time to be buying a flat-panel television!

Remember that most of the televisions sold on discount in large distribution-style stores are often stripped of the best features that can be found with the devices that we, as a Toshiba and Pioneer Elite dealer, sell and service on a consistent basis. These TVs in stores may also be made by brands you are not familiar with. The products and brands we sell have passed the test of time. Sometimes, finding positive feedback and reviews for many of these new, cheap, no-name brands is tough.

It is important, when choosing the right television, to listen to the audio, check out the connections, and put your “hands-on” the product you are buying, in addition to just seeing the screen. It’s a big purchase and you should be completely satisfied with your choice! We are happy to demonstrate the product you are interested in buying, answer any questions, inform you of the products offerings, and provide product support after your purchase.

If you are looking to build a new home theater system or a RV satellite system feel free to give us a call or email anytime!!

Senate puts DTV Conversion Delay Bill Back In the Race

The “DTV conversion delay” bill, which was defeated in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, may be on its way to revival.  A similar bill was passed with unanimous support in the Senate on Thursday.  The bill was a bi-partisan proposal by Senators Jay Rockefeller, democrat, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, republican.  It not only delays the date that broadcasters will be required to change from analog to digital signal from Feb 17 to June 12, but it proposes that the stations will be allowed to change over sooner if they choose to do so.   Now that the bill has passed in the Senate, it may be brought up for a vote in the House, for which it would only require a majority vote to be passed.  In the previous vote, under other certain rules, a two-thirds majority vote was required.  The vote was 268-158, meaning that if the voters repeat their decisions, the bill will pass in the House unanimously.

The Nielsen Co. has been referenced heavily in this continuing battle for TV signal conversion.  Although the company has stated that over 6 million households are unprepared for the change, 94% of the country’s citizens are ready to go!  Isn’t there a better solution for helping the remaining estimated 6%, rather than holding up something that has been in the works for 10 years now?

Check us out for all your RV Internet systems and In Motion Internet needs

House Votes Against Delaying Digital Conversion

House Votes Against Delaying Digital Conversion When brought up for vote in the House of Representatives, the bill proposing a delay of the digital broadcast conversion from February 17 to June 12, was defeated. It did not receive a two-thirds majority vote, which was needed to pass the bill. The vote was 258 in favor (236-Dem, 22-Rep) and 168 against (155-Rep, 13-Dem). The bill could be brought up again for regular floor vote, in which case, it would only require a majority vote to be passed. The “mostly” democratic support of the bill to delay the conversion is based on the fact that they believe that a large number of households (6.5 million) are unprepared for the conversion, a statistic which is confirmed by the Nielsen Co. These citizens are particularly among the poor, rural, and low-income representation of Americans, who either live in areas that receive major stations through analog signal or can’t afford to purchase the equipment necessary to receive signal after the conversion. The government has made coupons available for $40 toward the purchase of a digital conversion box; however there is currently a wait list of 3.2 million requests. The National Telecommunications & Information Administration is only sending out new coupons as older, unredeemed coupons reach the 90-day expiration. Joe Barton, republican congressman of Texas, is pushing for legislation that will aid in this problem without postponing the conversion. Most republicans feel there is no need to delay the conversion. Those against the bill believe that it would incur heavy costs for public safety agencies and wireless companies who are waiting to use the spectrum that will become free after the conversion. Television stations, as well, would be required to pay more to operate both systems for several more months, an expense that is most likely not built into this year’s budget. In addition, Jonathan Collegio, of the National Association of Broadcasters, has voiced that the Nielsen Co.’s statistic on number of unprepared households does not take in to account those who have purchased a converter box and not installed it; those who have requested, but not received coupons; or those who subscribe to cable or satellite television for their home theater system. The Obama administration has not made a comment in reference to the outcome of the vote.

Circut City Sale….. Is It Really Worth the Headache

The Circuit City liquidation sale is now in full swing, only a few days after the company of 60 years finally declared bankruptcy.  Many items are marked 30% off, such as cables and furniture, while the most desirable items are not offered at such great savings.  Several items such as mp3 players, televisions, home theater design, gaming consoles and computers are only marked down 10%.  While Circuit City has turned over operation management of the remaining 500 plus stores to four liquidation companies, it can be expected the heftiest sale prices will not be revealed until the last minute.

Many of these remaining Circuit City stores are attracting lengthy lines of eager customers to what is supposed to be a grand liquidation sale.  Some of these shoppers are calm and some are as hasty as if the store will vanish into thin air within moments.  It seems that the energy for scooping up the deals comes to a halt once the disappointing reality hits about the actual savings.  According to these shoppers and other consumers who have publicly voiced their opinions, the liquidation is not all it should be and many are glad to see the company go under.  Shoppers know they can receive better deals on electronics from other distributors, retail electronic stores, or from an audio video dealer.

A concern that can be addressed here and now is whether during this liquidation the following will remain valid: extended warranties, gift cards, and the refund/exchange policy.  Extended warranties will be honored due to the fact that they are managed by an outside vendor.  Gift cards can be used as well during the remainder of the sale, but of course, will be invalid once the company stores are all officially closed.  Spend them if you have them.  For any merchandise purchased from January 16 forward, there are no refunds or exchanges allowed, but if purchased prior to this date, the standard 14-day refund/exchange policy applies.

Digital Pushback!! Is it happening

Currently being debated in the Senate is a bill that would push back the date of the analog to digital broadcast conversion to June 12, approximately 4 months past the current deadline of February 17.  The bill was proposed by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman, John D. Rockefeller (Democrat, West Virginia), and is likely to be strongly supported by President Obama, who has already called for a possible postponement after the $1.34 billion budget was maxed out.  

The main concern is that many consumers are not ready for the changeover.  This conclusion was drawn after a report from Nielsen Co. stated that approximately 6.5 million households were unprepared for the transition.  Many people are not anticipating the changes that are necessary in order to view channels on home theater systems or mobile satellite TV.  At the same time, opinions have been voiced by public citizens that these remaining people have had plenty of forewarning, but have chosen to ignore the upcoming change.

Disadvantages of the possible pushback include confused consumers, dual broadcasting costs for television companies, and the fact that the organizations that had planned to use the newly available spectrum space will be scrambling to change plans.  This possible delay also leaves public broadcasters with the fear of a lack of funding, due to the fact that they will have to continue to pay to operate both the analog and digital signal with an already slashed budget for FY09.  The bill will still allow television stations to crossover before June 12, though it may also cause confusion and frustration for the viewers.

Circut City Is Closing it’s Doors

Long-lived consumer electronics store, Circuit City began the process of closing its doors as of Friday, January 16, 2009, when bankruptcy judge Kevin Huennekens approved the liquidation plan. The sales will begin at a 10-30% discount for the liquidation, which should last through March before finally closing the doors.

Circuit City has made attempts to save the company through layoffs of high-paid employees, changes in management, seeking potential buyers, and opening small concept stores. Earlier in 2008, Blockbuster Inc. made an offer of$1 billion to buy Circuit City, but the offer was withdrawn in July. Two other interested potential buyers were Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego and the Golden Gate Capital private equity firm, who were both interested in operating the company at a reduced size of 180 to 300 stores. In the end, these efforts have not been successful in preserving the future of the company.

Circuit City has struggled ever since opening of electronic guru, Best Buy Co., whose stock market shares rose +2.20 on Friday, growing to 29.34 for an 8% total increase. It is also not surprising that this closure for the famous electronics store follows the worst retail holiday season since 1969. Consumers are voicing their opinions of Circuit City in public forums and media to the tune that this closure does not come as a surprise. Many think that Circuit City might still be in business if they weren’t so overpriced in comparison to the competition. Even during the liquidation sale, many items are only discounted 10%. These prices are not even coming close to beating prices at other electronics stores and wholesale distribution stores who also sell products from home theater design as well as home theater installation.

By the completion of Circuit City’s closure, 567 US retail stores and 34,000 jobs will be lost. In Canada, the outcome is uncertain for the765 retail stores and dealer outlets.

Consumer Electronics are Going Green

This year, the expectation has been set for citizens, companies, and government to act with an environmentally conscious mindset.  Is this a trend for 2009, or is it a lifestyle that will be adopted to improve our society?

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2009, many company’s booths featured “green” products, alternative energy sources, eco-friendly packaging, and environmental efforts.  This is a convention that we, as an audio video dealer, try to attend consistently so that we stay informed of the latest developments in the field of electronics.  Some of these companies had a separate “green” section at the booth, and some had side-by-side models of “green” models and previous models of their products to demonstrate the improvements in eco-friendliness.

The efforts demonstrated by these companies included, but were not limited to:

use of recycled materials in product manufacturing

buy-back and recycling programs for used products

new products on the market that are more energy efficient

charitable environmental causes and projects

emphasis on compliance with Energy Star ratings

Specifically, Toshiba was honored with “green” ratings by Greenpeace for its eco-friendly laptop, Portege R600, which fell on the list shortly under the “greenest” product, Lenovo’s L2440x computer monitor.  Toshiba has begun a tree-planting program in Southern California’s areas damaged by wildfire, to make an effort toward their goal of reducing their carbon footprint upon the planet.

LG, Panasonic, and Samsung are among some of the companies who are now producing TVs and/or washer and dryer sets that operate on less wattage than the previous generations of these products.  The LG50, LG60, and LG70 series of LCD televisions also include an ambient light sensor for adjusted power usage, so when less energy can be used to operate the device, it will.  In addition, Panasonic and Sony are also involved in recycling and buy-back programs for CRTs, laptops, batteries, and other types of electronics that need to be disposed.

In an effort to create awareness of power usage, energy-monitoring devices are starting to appear on the market from companies such as:  P3 International, Ecobutton, and Green Plug.  These plug-in devices monitor and measure energy flow and may cause idle devices to hibernate when appropriate.

Alternative energy sources have been extended to produce a device we all probably thought was either unimaginable or would only exist in the millennial world of the Jetson’s:  a pocket sized solar panel.  The smallest version of this portable energy source, made by PowerFilm, unfolds from a package that is wallet-sized, holds two AA batteries, and retails at $55.  This is an incredible tool for hikers, backpackers, boaters, and members of the military.

Across the board, electronic companies are making efforts to give consumers the option of being “green” in their purchasing decisions.  It is up to us to meet their challenge not only this year, but in our future.

We look forward to bringing you greener ideas and products with out future home theater design. Doing our part creating a greener earth.

Blockbuster On Demand….. Is It Really Here?

Blockbuster is coming to terms with the fact that internet video streaming and downloading has put video rentals stores on their way out the door.  In response, Blockbuster has a new product on the market for movie-watchers to view on their home theater systems, the MediaPoint Player.

MediaPoint makes is possible to download videos over home internet or mobile internet connection for immediate viewing.  The device is made by 2Wire Inc. and costs $99 when purchased from the website.  The first 25 movie rentals from blockbuster are free, while they run $1.99-$4.99 afterwards.  As a latecomer to the market, Blockbuster meets these other competitors who are already on the market:  Roku Netflix Player $99, Apple TV $229, and Vudu $299.

MediaPoint Player fails to compare in these ways

1. Download time for each movie can range up to an hour, depending on connection speed.  It begins playing in the meantime, but can only play forward continuously during this time.  It cannot be stopped and resumed or fast-forwarded and rewound until the download is complete.
2. User interface on screen and on the remote are not as user-friendly as the competitor’s products.  Image on screen can be blurry on a HDTV and the buttons on the remote have complicated and cryptic appearance.
3. Standard definition is the format for most movies available for rental.  Some are in HD, but are not marked as such when selecting from the screen.
4. 24 hour rental rule keeps you from being able to watch half tonight and half tomorrow night.  In this case, it would have to be downloaded and paid for a second time and you wouldn’t be able to fast-forward to the pick-up point until the download was complete.  Otherwise, you would have to complete the movie earlier in the evening before the hourglass ran out!
5. Pricing model is not incomparable to Apple and Vudu, but is easily beaten by Netflix.  Netflix has its content licensed differently, allowing a pass off of savings to the consumer for unlimited viewing at a measly $9/mth.  Also, the library of blockbuster contains about 2,000 titles up against Netflix’ staggering 12,000 title stash.

Advantages of the MediaPoint Player

1. Blockbuster has quicker availability for rental than Netflix, releasing them as soon as one month from the DVD public release date.  However the Roku (maker of the Netflix Player) is teaming with Amazon to offer rentals in the same fashion as Blockbuster currently is able to do.
2. Blockbuster (along with Apple and Vudu) downloads movies instead of streaming them like Netflix, so the quality is more consistently high quality once the download is complete.

There are some positive characteristics about the MediaPoint from Blockbuster, but in this race, the first place medal is going to another runner.

As an audio video dealer we look forward to bringing you more information on topics like these