New major information on the very rush décutété streaming box have disclosed via the rod, and as a long -standing user of Sonos, I salivate the borderline with promised features here – it looks like the device that I would dream when to think what I would like a sound streaming box to be. In fact, it started ringing too beautiful to be true, then you arrive at the prices and a reminder on the software behind, and it begins to collapse.
Let’s start with super stuff. The box will apparently connect to your TV and act as a wireless streaming center for the best Sonos speakers, which means that your beautiful ultra arc ultra ultra sound bar would not have to be connected to your TV via a cable .
We are heading towards the era of wireless sound bars, and I have already said that if Sonos does not find a way to make its wireless sound bars with large brand televisions, it is condemned. But wireless sound bar connectivity is the less interesting part.
Apparently Sonos will allow users to do what they have dreamed of for ages and have several wireless sound speakers in a separate surround configuration, no sound bar required. The report indicates that Sonos finalizes which speakers will be compatible, but basically, the idea is that you could have an ERA 300 from Sonos on the left and to the right of your TV to provide have the same thing behind you for a 4.0.4 configuration , For example.
Add a Sonos submarine and you have a fleshy bass; I hope you could also add something like a Ray Sonos as a central channel, because I am not particularly in these “virtual” central configurations, such as the offers of Quad Home Theater Sony Bravia when used with a TV No Sony.
The possibility of using sound speakers as the left and right channels is something that hardcore users of the R / Sonos Landet R / Sonos essentially require daily, and Sonos has always resisted gently in response. But it seems that we are going in this direction, and I would like it to be as flexible as possible.
The streaming box, apparently named Pinewood, also offered several HDMI ports, which will pass the video to the TV so that it acts as an HDMI switch. I love This idea, as a person whose television has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, and one of them is the HDMI EARC port, which means that a sound bar eats my precious 4K 120Hz space.
This is such an intelligent way for this to stand out on the Apple TV 4K (2022) or Google TV Streamer, and is a really useful and unique feature. You will get more HDMI ports using this product, without losing one; It is a proposal of great value and solves real problems.
The final dream offer is the one of which I am much more skeptical as an affirmation. Supposedly, the streaming interface will offer research, recommendations and a truly unified control interface from all the best streaming services, including Netflix.
Netflix is a real thorny customer with whom to work in this regard. This does not allow something like Apple’s TV application to make emissions that you watched and let you recover them, because it does not want you to use another application as “reception base”. He does not like his programs to appear in universal research tools. What he wants is that you go to Netflix for everything, where he can recommend 100% Netflix emissions and films.
Could Sonos be the company that finally persuades Netflix to play well and not be the only center of your streaming universe? It does not seem likely, but it is possible … for reasons which bring us to the first of the great faults of this whole affair.
Premium with advertisements
According to the Verge article, the streaming box has a “beautiful” interface design, but the whole was developed with an ad-tech company. So maybe Sonos put Netflix on board for his fancy interface, because he is ready to give the streamer better data on your habits, and Netflix will be compromised in exchange for earning more money by showing better advertisements people.
It’s just speculation on my part, but something should change things for Netflix, and the entire advertising element really weighs on the entire project.
If the sonos interface is full of announcements, or if people feel like supporting all their data, we have already said that the entire effort of the streaming box feels condemned – and although c ‘Was before we know about the promised real surround sound and sound sound and sound and the change of HDMI, it was also when we thought that the price would be $ 150 to $ 200.
Now let’s move on to the real problem: the price from $ 200 to $ 400. This is a category where Apple – Apple! – Keep its offer in less than $ 150. And if the software is indeed designed around advertisements, a price in super-premium will simply not be accepted.
The tastes of Google TV and Amazon Fire TV are also designed around advertisements, but the devices on which they are in terms of are generally very cheap, you therefore have the impression that the announcements you subsidize to get something to a great value.
If the Sonos streaming box approaches the $ 400 mark, it will only be for a very niche audience, when it could be something much more popular.
To be fair, the addition of a load of HDMI ports obviously adds expenses and complexity, and apparently Sonos will include advanced Wi-Fi for the best performance.
And I must also note that the price of four speakers of $ 449 Sonos Era 300 with a streaming box of $ 400 would be $ 2,200, which is exactly the same price as the Quad Theatre Sony Bravia, of which he would be a direct equivalent. It is therefore not out of line compared to a similar product.
But that means that only richer hardcore will be interested, when otherwise, it could be so good for so many people.
Hoping that Sonos will bring the dream side of the things I want, and will find a way to keep the price realistic – because if it can make things work, the best bars of his could be in the opinion of a sound streamer and a combo Surround.
