Since we at Home Theater & Sound do rely on manufacturers to submit product samples for our reviewers to test, I am not going to burn any bridges and name names. It would not be that telling really, because most manufacturers of home-theater components have used catch phrases at one time or another to latch onto consumers looking to spend their dollars wisely. We can’t blame the manufacturers too much anyway...caveat emptor always applies, especially in the realm of digital processors for home-theater systems. One such example of a marketing term (and that is what it is) is "future proof." Let’s take a moment and examine what exactly this means in terms of actual reality, and why it is a red herring.

First, "future proof" is an impossibility. If one does not know what will happen in the future, one cannot say they are unconditionally prepared for it. So let’s take the term "future proof" and morph it into "future preparedness" right away. Do you think "future preparedness" will catch on? Me neither, let’s try another. If a component is upgradeable, either through hardware or software updates, it has some chance of being what I would call "short-term obsolescence proof." This means that when there is a new feature/format/interface on the horizon, a company can probably predict what it will take to update a new product six months from now with the new gizmo. This can be planned for in advance with some certainty, and has been implemented successfully by more than a few companies. OK, since "short-term obsolescence proof" is too lengthy for most product brochures, let’s go back into the hat and see if we can find a better catch phrase for industry leaders. How about "the upgrade may be available at some point" syndrome. After all, there is a myriad of things to consider. The innards have to be gutted, a new back panel and front panel must be added, all the bugs need to be ironed out, and then, on top of that, hopefully another upgrade won’t be precluded by the changes just made. Is it worth it? Maybe not, so don’t call the product "future proof."

I am being hard on manufacturers here; make no mistake about it. There are quite a few abandoned machines out there though, whose owners were promised a "future proof" unit. These processors are yesterday’s news, and have a resale value less than the price to ship the unit from one side of the country to the other (ground, uninsured). What makes more sense to me? Well, a manufacturer could list the upgrades that are planned for in their products. Several processors that were released in the last year were designed to be upgradeable to Dolby Pro Logic II, and these upgrades have been implemented successfully. This is an honest attempt by the manufacturer to increase the shelf life of their product, and to provide some level of upgradeability to the consumer. This is a valuable feature, and one the consumer will pay for. Do you hear me out there?

OK, we’ve been a bit hard on the guys that make the gear, but let’s not forget that at times consumers are a bit unrealistic. In the realm of processing there are new developments every time you turn around, or at least it seems that way. Some are definitely important, but are they going to be universally implemented in every product? Do they need to be? Of course not. It is likely that the consumers are being driven, to a large extent, by marketing, and not by a genuine need to improve a given system. Does a consumer really need to add more speakers when she has a sub-par center channel and needs better amplification right now? In many cases the upgrade money is better spent in other places; places that will provide more audible improvements to her system. Consumers and dealers need to keep this in mind.