Flappo...You forgot tosay Toshiba are selling a Glasses Free tv right now too.......

You're quite right. That's how fast technology moves these days. Before the end of my last sentence ... Whooooosh !

A shame that B&O went applephobic when Ballegaard Sørensen (TBS) became boss. TBS came from Lego where he had established a strong relationship to Microsoft, and this was considered a strength back then.

How time flies. Today, putting Windows inside a mediacenter is like tossing charcoal and saltpeter inside a rocket engine and expecting it will take you to the moon. A number of people in the thread clearly don't know much about Apple OS and software infrastructure, and what it is poised to do to the way we use media.

B&O's head of store development went to Loewe some years ago, after giving up on the ossified B&O store experience. Apple/Sharp/Loewe makes sense, obviously. Will be interesting to follow developments.

soundproof wrote:

A shame that B&O went applephobic when Ballegaard Sørensen (TBS) became boss. TBS came from Lego where he had established a strong relationship to Microsoft, and this was considered a strength back then.

@ Flappo:

This is so funny...You've seen the light -all others (that don't buy apple) are unenlightened, mindless jerks...
Like a true fanatic, you get angry when somebody criticize your 'God'.
Sorry we're not up to your standards.

Flappo wrote:

There ya go , something called research , you might try it some time before you launch into one of your mindless rants.

Research requires reading from different sources -try it 😎

A company has the opportunity of checking the working conditions at the subcontractors they choose.
Some companys don't care. But if a company claims to have higher moral standard than other, then they should do something and not just talk about it.
Apple could have done something long time ago. But only when journalists started writing about it, they reacted...And then offcourse they are now improving the working conditions. Nobody likes bad publicity.

Thank you for your promotion of the the new apple tv...According to you, nothing that B&O can come up with can compete with that...

Well -what are you doing on this site for loosers...Trying to recriut new disciples..?

B&O hooking up with Microsoft and ignoring Apple  is why Beosound 5 became an expensive version of the non-starter Zune.

B&O hooking up with Microsoft and ignoring Apple  is why Beosound 5 became an expensive version of the non-starter Zune.

erg4000 wrote:

B&O hooking up with Microsoft and ignoring Apple  is why Beosound 5 became an expensive version of the non-starter Zune.

Mentioning the Beosound 5, reminded me of something that's been at the back of my mind re a question being a newbie to the B&O world re connectivity.

To go briefly off topic - in the case of a Beosound 5 Encore connected to a NAS, rather than using the analogue 'powerlink' outputs from the Beosound 5 Encore to say a pair of Beolab 5's, is there any way one can get a digital signal from the Beosound 5 Encore/NAS to the SPDIF digital input on the Lab 5's thus bypassing the analogue powerlink of Beosound 5 Encore to Lab 5's - i.e. a digital signal to an active loudspeaker with an SPDIF digital input available.  

I know you can do this with an Beosound 5/Beomaster 5, as the Beomaster has a SPDIF output, but the Encore appears to have the analogue powerlink outputs only.

Many thanks

Best regards

John... 😐

Every now and then, I like re-posting an old letter that I sent to TBS as it only seems more true with time.  I sure wish B&O would / would have listened.

March 20, 2005

Mr. Torben Ballegaard Sorensen

Bang & Olufsen a/s       

Peter Bangs VEJ15

DK 7600, Struer

Dear Mr. Sorensen,

I am writing in hopes that you might briefly indulge the thoughts of one of your company’s most adamant supporters.

I am a loyal Bang & Olufsen user and have been for the past several years.  I love your company, your company’s history, and, of course, your products.  I literally daydream about B&O equipment.  I am also a loyal Apple computer user having switched from Windows powered machines about five years ago.  Over the past several years, I have sold many of my friends on the virtues of both B&O and Apple products.  In my humble opinion, B&O and Apple share many similar corporate ideals and, therefore, B&O and Apple subsequently share similar customers.  Both companies design simple, ergonomic, and integrated products that appeal to individuals who appreciate technology working “invisibly” in the background to make for a cleaner user interface.  And, both companies value ergonomics and design more so than their respective competitors.

Though B&O and Apple certainly make a couple of similar products, I likewise see these two companies as more complementary to each other rather than outright competitors.  B&O is primarily an audio / video equipment manufacturer, and Apple is primarily a computer software / hardware manufacturer (and soon to be media distributer).  In my opinion, B&O makes the best A/V equipment and Apple makes the best A/V software.  I foresee Apple’s software becoming increasingly important in the arena of consumer media consumption.  I would therefore very much like to see B&O work more closely with Apple; in fact, I see any union of these two companies’ products as a way of solidifying and guaranteeing B&O’s future presence in the rapidly changing marketplace that is consumer media.

For the past couple of years, I have actually contemplated writing you and enclosing a piece of Apple equipment (a wireless Apple Airport Express Wi Fi hub) as I would love to somehow convince someone within your company of the elegance of Apple’s software and what I see as Apple’s plan to change the way consumers acquire music and video.  I keep hesitating to do so as I realize that this would seem incredibly audacious on my part - I am not an engineer or audio / video specialist (I am actually a retinal surgeon).  Also, I realize that B&O has it’s own audio / visual software, it’s own “media hub”, and it’s own mp3 player.  Yet, I believe in my heart that Apple is about to change things in a very fundamental way, and I want B&O to be a part of this change.

Just to briefly outline what I see happening to the A/V market from the perspective of a well-informed consumer:  I see Apple’s iTunes software and Apple’s wireless audio and video hubs as revolutionizing the way music and video are acquired and played.  These integrated pieces of software and hardware have changed the way we listen to music in my house - we now send it wirelessly to our B&O stereos from our Apple computers.  These integrated solutions are driven by a magnificently clean user interface that incorporates constantly updating software that also allows for music and videos to be purchased.  And, Apple’s software allows me to do this for either Apple and Windows based computers.  I have also set up this same type of home audio system for many of my friends, and I have been able to experience first-hand how much people enjoy this particular confluence of technology.  Soon, we will be able to do this with video, too, when Apple releases their “iTV” product (name subject to change).  I fully expect to wirelessly send movies to my B&O television in the very near future.

I believe that Apple’s market share in terms of computer users will start to significantly rise over the next few years, but (more importantly) I believe that Apple’s software and their wireless hubs will find their way in to consumers’ living rooms (regardless of which type of computer, stereo, or TV the consumer owns).  I believe that Apple will soon introduce some sort of computer based audio-video “server” that will become the proverbial and oft-promised “digital hub” that consumers have anticipated for so long.  And, I believe that this digital hub will (like the iPod and iTunes) be designed for Windows and Apple machines, and (like the iPod and iTunes) become the de facto standard.

My humble suggestion is that B&O find a way to partner with Apple and start using Apple’s software (which runs on Windows and Apple machines) to power your hardware.  I realize that this would represent a fundamental shift in philosophy for B&O away from “in house” software design.  However, if Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, were to demo B&O televisions and audio systems utilizing Apple’s forthcoming “media hub” and software, I believe it would be a boom to your company that would actually make it difficult for B&O to keep up with demand.  Likewise, and with all due respect, I see Apple’s software design teams as better than those of any other company (including Microsoft and B&O) as Apple is simply so committed to this vision and so good at designing the “end user experience”.

In talking with some B&O employees, I get the impression that B&O does not contemplate the Apple market much (if I am wrong, please excuse my ignorance).  Part of this may be based on Apple’s seemingly meager market share, but, as I pointed out, I see this as a moot point as Apple’s audio / video software will be independent of computer type.  As an aside, because B&O and Apple attract the same type of consumer, I believe that the percentage of B&O users who also use Apple computers is much higher than the percentage of Apple computer users in the general market place.

Thank you for taking the time to read my overly lengthy letter.  For the record, I do realize how truly ridiculous it must sound having someone like me write someone like you and offer advice about future corporate trends.  I am very passionate about both B&O and Apple, and I so desperately want these two companies’ products to better integrate.  Plus, I obviously feel that some sort of union like the one I am proposing would offer future dividends for B&O as well as secure B&O’s place in an increasingly volatile marketplace.  Please also know that it is not my intention to in any way denigrate B&O’s software, wireless efforts, or the Beomedia product.  On the contrary, my sole impetus in writing this letter was to offer my admittedly amateurish outlook on a topic that I feel has the potential to strongly effect a company that I love very much  - Bang & Olufsen.

Sincerely,

Mark J. Douglas, MD

P.S.  I would love to send you an Apple Airport Express or Apple’s upcoming “iTV” product (when it comes out in a few months) if these are things you might like to personally try.  I only hesitated in doing so out of fear that a package being sent from a consumer to the president of a company might not actually make it in to your hands.  Please do not hesitate to contact me about sending you one of these devices - it would be my honor to do so.

BeoNut1 that is the most beautifully written letter!!! What a shame Tue wasn't the CEO then, maybe things would have changed!!!

I myself have been using Mac computers since 1995 and my current MacBook which ive now owned for 2 years gets an absolute minimum of 10 hours use everyday - I can't believe that the battery hasn't deteriorated yet - I still get on average a good 7 hours of life. My Best Friend who is a Windows user was only saying tonight how much he hated Windows and is incredibly excited for the launch of the new MacBook Pro scheduled in June.

Anyway, a lovely letter and how clever you are by predicting hat has indeed come true 5 or 7 years later!!!!!!!!!!

Best

Paul