Gadget-Prone Consumers May Be Getting Ripped Off

Americans are partial to new-fangled gadgets and gizmos. Forty years ago a television or two, a stereo and a portable transistor radio seemed to satisfy our needs. But in the last 20 years, the consumer electronics industry has whetted our appetite for innovative devices.

One dominant example is cell phones. You can’t drive or walk anywhere these days and not see someone yakking away. Just 15 years ago, mobile phones were merely luxuries for corporate types and the rich.

I’m fairly certain the majority of cell phone conversations are trivial and might go something like: “Hi honey, should I pick up something at the store for supper tonight on the way home?” or “Yo, Frankie, watcha doin’ latuh?” or “C’mon, Samantha, you didn’t really do that on the first date?” Well, you get the point, right?

Cell phones are the most conspicuous doohickeys these days, but iPods — pocket-sized ultra light hard-drive based devices capable of storing thousands of songs — have emerged as a close second. There are a variety of electronic gadgets that inundate the marketplace from portable DVD players to DVD recorders and CD players, none of which would be of any use without the software used with them.

Manufacturers produce and market new items every few years and the older electronics soon become obsolete. Naturally, consumers have to keep pace with the technology. And that pace also includes a variety of software that is constantly flooding the market in the form of prerecorded music, movies and other entertainment programs to be enjoyed at home, plus blank discs from which one can create their own entertainment preferences.

As a habitual consumer I sometimes feel ripped off when manufacturers introduce better-quality copies of music recordings and movies years after the initial releases. The “new and improved” versions and so-called “collector’s” editions — terms clearly used to entice buyers — may include “special features,” a second disc of “extras” or other odds and ends that are usually not worth the higher price.

When compact discs were mass-marketed about 20 years ago, they were rushed into stores to satisfy consumers anxiously waiting to use the recently introduced compact disc players. Hyped for its durability over fragile vinyl records and audiotapes, the sound quality on a lot of early CDs did not meet expectations. In some instances, it was due to the unavailability of the master recordings, which offer top quality sound when reproduced. But, in their haste to produce software for eager consumers, they circulated substandard merchandise. Nevertheless, two or more years later, they inevitably found a better sounding source and redistributed the same, albeit improved, material. Predictably come the remixed, remastered, redone-to-death editions — at $18 or more each!

In a few instances, there have been too many versions of the same disc. A perfect example is the 1970 rock and roll classic, Derek and the Dominoes’ “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,” which at my last count has been released in no less than four versions, each one with superior sound quality.

This strategy is an opportunity to present the best sounding recording available, but it also leaves audiophiles shelling out more bucks every time there’s an upgrade. Supplementing them with alternate versions of songs and other features for a “special deluxe” version are only vital to the most ardent fans.

DVD manufactures are now pulling the exact same scam on movie lovers. Years after a movie is issued on disc, the reissue is released with improved picture and sound quality and loaded with extras. But, once again, the extras do little to enhance the viewing experience even though they sometimes provide interesting trivia about the making of the movie.

However, never, NEVER buy a DVD promoting deleted or “lost” scenes. After watching those features with movies I’d bought or rented, I understand why those scenes have been deleted and lost. They didn’t belong in the movie in the first place and were suitably left on the cutting room floor.

In some cases, aside from improved picture and sound, one thing that’s new and improved on reissues is the damn price that can be $10 to $20 or more dollars more than the original.

Despite the subtle rip-offs, consumers are buying it — literally. But I wish companies that issued second-rate items at first-rate prices would offer rebates or credit towards future purchases. For those with extensive music and movie collections it just might smooth the progress of costly technology!