The British Accent
The home electronics/home cinema revolution has a firm hold in the United Kingdom (Great Britain). While some may feel that the U.S. is the center of the home electronics revolution, they are sadly mistaken. Across the seas both the Japanese and European home electronics industries are flourishing, in some cases, with products and quality not available in the U.S.
In focusing on the British scene, there are several great publications on home electronics, such as HiFi Choice, which bills itself as "The finest HI-FI magazine in the world", What HIFI?, which also does a thorough job covering Hifi audio, Home Cinema Choice, covering home theater and satellite products, What DVD?, a new entry in the magazine market covering the growing impact of DVD, and, lastly, a kind of quirky, but excellent, magazine called T3 (also known as Toys for the Boys) which sort of combines home electronics and other diversionary hobbies with high style, a sort of high-tech Esquire Magazine.
Just as in the U.S., the British also have a wide selection of mail order home electronics dealers, including Dixon's Online, Keene's Electronics World, Superfi and Techno-Sound Audio Insight.
While the familar names that dominate home electronics in the U.S. also have presence in the British market, such as, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba, the above manufacturers are also joined by excellent home-grown British companies. These include Arcam (makers of audio components), Acoustic Energy, B&W Loudspeakers, Castle Acoustics, Celestion Speakers, CURA Loudspeakers, KEF, JAMO (largest seller of speakers in Europe), Roksan (British manufacturer of high end audio products), Samuel Johnson Audio, Trichord Research, and Wharfedale.
Here in the U.S. we have the feeling that we have the best of technology, but if you check out the above resources and company sites, you will find that Britain is a treasure trove of Audio and Loudspeaker products, multi-system TV's and VCR's, and, last, but not least, taking a leading role in the introduction of Digital TV and Digital Satellite systems.
So, if you are curious about what is going on abroad in the world of home electronics, are searching for that multi-system TV, VCR, or multi region DVD player and don't know where to find it, or are planning a move to the U.K. and despair over the possible loss of your high tech hobbies, cheer up! Britain has everything you need, with a touch of style.
Tea anyone?
Also, to check out my special UK Netlink Resource Pages, Click Here.
GUIDE NOTE: If you live in the UK and have any information to add to this artcle or a link that you would like me to include in my UK Netlinks Page, feel free to email me at hometheater.guide@about.com
with your questions and/or comments, or check out my new Forum Dicussion on UK Home Cinema/Electronics.
