BYOHDMI…

For the following exercise I would like you to pretend – as I like to do – that money’s no object and answer the questions accordingly.

Is it difficult to procure a television set with HDMI inputs?
Is it difficult to find HDMI cables to use with said television set?

You get the idea here?  HDMI-enabled TVs aren’t a hard thing to find (geez, Target’s gotta be carrying them soon…) if you know what you’re looking for.  Most electronics stores will have multiple models to choose from.  It only takes money…

Likewise, the necessary cables (uh, HDMI cables) are plentiful in any self-respecting electronics or computer store.  These are simple ideas for anyone who’s into high-end television and electronics systems.  So wouldn’t it make sense that Sony would have an inside track on these items?

At GDC 2006, a few PS3 demos were setup for spectators to check out.  None were being demo’d in High Definition.  When asked why, the first response was that TVs with HDMI were hard to come by.  (It seems the TVs there had HDMI ports.)  The second response was that HDMI cables were hard to come by.  (A visitor to the show offered his, but was turned-down.)  I suspect if they’d continued to inquire, the answer would have gone something like, “PS3’s with HDMI are hard to come by”…

It makes the most sense that Sony’s not ready to show the HDMI features of the PS3, but they could have just said that.  We all know it’s still a few months out before the next generation console ships.  So they’ve still got work to do…at least Sony should be able to beat Microsoft’s Vista to market.  (I know, Apples to oranges…)

A potential issue however, could be that the PS3’s spec will handle HDMI 1.3.  An issue that will effect anyone with a TV that supports HDMI 1.1.  (This is just about everyone who has HDMI currently.)  So it seems that if you bought a High Definition TV in anticipation of 1080p output from the forthcoming PS3, you may have to upgrade your set once again when it finally does ship. 

Maybe it’s best to go back to pretending you’ve got all that money you’ll need.
For the following exercise I would like you to pretend – as I like to do – that money’s no object and answer the questions accordingly.

Is it difficult to procure a television set with HDMI inputs?
Is it difficult to find HDMI cables to use with said television set?

You get the idea here?  HDMI-enabled TVs aren’t a hard thing to find (geez, Target’s gotta be carrying them soon…) if you know what you’re looking for.  Most electronics stores will have multiple models to choose from.  It only takes money…

Likewise, the necessary cables (uh, HDMI cables) are plentiful in any self-respecting electronics or computer store.  These are simple ideas for anyone who’s into high-end television and electronics systems.  So wouldn’t it make sense that Sony would have an inside track on these items?

At GDC 2006, a few PS3 demos were setup for spectators to check out.  None were being demo’d in High Definition.  When asked why, the first response was that TVs with HDMI were hard to come by.  (It seems the TVs there had HDMI ports.)  The second response was that HDMI cables were hard to come by.  (A visitor to the show offered his, but was turned-down.)  I suspect if they’d continued to inquire, the answer would have gone something like, “PS3’s with HDMI are hard to come by”…

It makes the most sense that Sony’s not ready to show the HDMI features of the PS3, but they could have just said that.  We all know it’s still a few months out before the next generation console ships.  So they’ve still got work to do…at least Sony should be able to beat Microsoft’s Vista to market.  (I know, Apples to oranges…)

A potential issue however, could be that the PS3’s spec will handle HDMI 1.3.  An issue that will effect anyone with a TV that supports HDMI 1.1.  (This is just about everyone who has HDMI currently.)  So it seems that if you bought a High Definition TV in anticipation of 1080p output from the forthcoming PS3, you may have to upgrade your set once again when it finally does ship. 

Maybe it’s best to go back to pretending you’ve got all that money you’ll need.