Posted Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 07:00 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
AV receivers are "embarrassingly backward compared with the rest of your home theater gear."
Nearly every week around this time, a major electronics producer are unveils their latest line of AV receivers. Topping the list of must-have features? Connectivity options with a growing array of streaming standards throw-in. Understandably, AV receiver makers compete by attempting to add features that are dazzling with techno jargon and a growing extent of capability.
In an article on CNET, however, the modern day receiver is being decried as backward, ugly, space-hogging, packed with useless features, and only for enthusiasts who know what they are doing.
The standard receiver footprint and black casing are called out. Those dazzling features? "Featuritis." "We end up with receivers that can do everything, but nothing well."
The Pioneer VSX-823-K on-screen display and the Yamaha RX-V475 remote are lambasted as a "bad experience" and "completely intimidating to anyone who's not a home theater enthusiast."
Ultimately, the article makes clear that while many people enjoy and utilize many features of mainstream receivers, (at least those that are not unnecessary or poorly executed,) what the mainstream consumers need is more like an amplifier with HDMI inputs. The alternative is to continue to feed sound bar sales until most AV receivers are just discontinued altogether.
Source: CNET
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