[lentulusgracchus]

You notice, though, that they haven't backed off even an inch from the old "let's drive sales with upgrades" game, deliberately obsoleting as much expensive equipment as possible as often as possible.

Wonder how long HDMI 1.4 will last? They're practically telling you they're going to obsolete it out from under you just like analog TV. "Oh, sorry, nobody broadcasts that standard any more ....."

[djf]

Well, except for CD’s, I’ve tried to stay analog. I’m forced into digital for TV, but I can live with that.

I have an old AKAI 7.5 IPS R2R, and if I record a CD to it and play it back, it actually sounds better. Something about smoothing out the signal I guess, gives it a warmer, less bright and harsh sound.

To each his own, right?

[TomGuy]

Wonder how long HDMI 1.4 will last? They're practically telling you they're going to obsolete it out from under you just like analog TV.

It sounds like the HDMI 1.4 is to HDTVs what USB is to PCs.

USB has become the new connection standard for peripherals (try to find a new product that connects via parallel, serial, etc.) USB is great for connecting peripherals. Just plug and play. And most USB peripherals are 'hot swappable', meaning that they work almost immediately so you don't have to reboot to get them to work.