As any of us who are in the consumer electronics industry, or who have owned AV equipment through the years know, things have changed quite a bit over time. Components use more advanced materials in their construction and features continuously evolve to accommodate more complex configurations. But perhaps the greatest change has been the transition from analog to digital formats. This transition concerns not only television signals, but encompasses a broad range of technology, impacting nearly every aspect of AV systems and changing the way in which end users interact with the technology.

Digital technology is everywhere; our computers, tablets smartphones, cars, entertainment and even appliances rely either entirely or to some degree on the power of data. We went from analog tube radios to streaming digital media through the air in a relatively short time, historically speaking.

Since the introduction of the NTSC analog television system in 1948, work began almost immediately on developing methods for transmitting information, and these efforts would serve as the foundation for the digital transformation that was yet to come. Over 50 years later, the Analog Sunset began as the world began to shift into all-digital formats. Today, our entertainment streams from the Internet, from device to device, and from a computer algorithm into our senses.

In seeing how these developments have taken shape, we can anticipate some of the things the future may hold. Advancements in virtual reality promise to enhance our entertainment options exponentially. There was a time when the phonograph, the radio and a black & white television with rabbit ears were basically your only choices. People would have scoffed at the tale of sending color moving pictures from one person to another half way across the world, over a handheld telephone with no cords! It’s not that different from dreaming about the sci-fi “holodeck” today, in which you can find yourself climbing a mountain on Mars as though you were actually and physically there. Components, gadgets, sources and experiences only stand to get better and more capable with time, so what is fiction one day is in the palm of your hand the next.

Cool Home Technology has been, and will be, on the cutting edge of AV technology as it happens. We live in exciting times, and we invite you to come along for the ride!