Last week, I made my annual trek to Las Vegas & joined the 140,000 other attendees from 130 countries at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, to spend some time trying to find the most interesting highlights among the 2,700 exhibitors on display. The CES celebrated its 40th anniversary this year by reminding visitors that the first CES had only 110 exhibitors in 1967, the year that the show began, so it was quite amazing to reflect on how far technology has advanced both in popularity & complexity over that time period.
Some of the tech hype last week was stolen from this year’s CES by Apple’s announcement of the iPhone at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. However, there was definitely some cool new hardware on display at the CES, ranging from the biggest (Sharp’s huge 108” LCD 1080p HD flat panel, which will be available in the 3rd quarter of this year for around $100,000) to the smallest (Sony’s unbelievably bright & clear 27” HD flat panel using Organic Light Emitting Diodes that was a mere 4/10’s of an inch thick, which was just a working demo with no plans for commercial release at this time; up until now OLED’s could only be used in tiny screens, like those on mobile phones).Last week, I made my annual trek to Las Vegas & joined the 140,000 other attendees from 130 countries at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, to spend some time trying to find the most interesting highlights among the 2,700 exhibitors on display. The CES celebrated its 40th anniversary this year by reminding visitors that the first CES had only 110 exhibitors in 1967, the year that the show began, so it was quite amazing to reflect on how far technology has advanced both in popularity & complexity over that time period.
Some of the tech hype last week was stolen from this year’s CES by Apple’s announcement of the iPhone at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. However, there was definitely some cool new hardware on display at the CES, ranging from the biggest (Sharp’s huge 108” LCD 1080p HD flat panel, which will be available in the 3rd quarter of this year for around $100,000) to the smallest (Sony’s unbelievably bright & clear 27” HD flat panel using Organic Light Emitting Diodes that was a mere 4/10’s of an inch thick, which was just a working demo with no plans for commercial release at this time; up until now OLED’s could only be used in tiny screens, like those on mobile phones).
CONTENT DISTRIBUTION
Lots of new product announcements revolved around content distribution, as various companies are positioning to become the primary conduit from which consumers will get entertainment to their video displays. Bill Gates unveiled IPTV for the Xbox 360, which will start using that videogame console as a set top box, capable of delivering an unlimited number of TV channels, games, movies, voice & video communications through the Internet, in cooperation with AT&T, British Telecom, and other global telephone companies.
Sony announced a Bravia Internet Video TV system that will enable their new LCD TV’s to receive HD video programming over broadband connections. Sling Media has developed a new Slingcatcher product (available mid-2007 for under $200), which will allow distribution of video content via the Internet to any TV set (in the same way that the original Slingbox allows viewing video content via the Internet on any PC). Within the home, Philips described a wireless HDMI system that will transmit 1080p HD images over 25 feet between computers & TV sets without any signal degradation, to be released in May for $299.
PANEL DISPLAYS
Virtually every display manufacturer was showing off panels capable of displaying 1080p HD images, which is the best quality that HD offers at present (not through broadcast, though, only through the new & very sharp Blu-ray Discs or HD-DVD’s). But booth after booth from manufacturers like Panasonic, Toshiba, RCA & Polaroid was full of very good-looking 720p HD panels, both plasma & LCD, that did an excellent job of reproducing clear images at prices that continue to drop (with various rebates & store discounts resulting in street prices as low as $1,000 for some 42” models).
A few companies were also showing off how far existing imaging technology could be pushed. Pioneer, for example, had a 60” HD laser panel with various technical refinements that will be included in their future generation sets; it was brighter & sharper than anything else at the show & had especially deep black levels, due to a dramatically increased contrast ratio that cannot even be measured using existing techniques.
Likewise, Sharp was displaying new generation LCD panels with improved contrast ratios (increased from 1200:1 to 3000:1) and faster response time (increasing the frame rate from 60Hz to 120Hz, so that an extra interpolation frame can be added between every image that is displayed) for smoother action scenes.
Sony unveiled a brand-new 70” Bravia LCD flat panel with a picture every bit as good as their superb SXRD rear-projection model, but without any huge box; unfortunately, the technical refinements in the set (including an LCD Triluminos backlight system & the capability of supporting the new xvYCC expanded color gamut for improved color rendition) will push the price up to $32,000 when it is officially launched in a month or two.
At the extreme edge of TV tech, Sharp was also showing a 64” 4Kx2K super high-resolution LCD with 8,840,000 pixels (8 times the count on a “normal” 720p HD flat-screen) to create a image that will probably find more use in medical & technical applications for the immediate future, since no commercial entertainment content is currently being made in this extremely dense video format; the images on this demo were absolutely incredible, like looking at an extremely fine-grained photographic enlargement in crystal-clear motion.
MOST INTERESTING PRODUCTS
The best new toy at the show was the Pocket Imager from Samsung. It’s a tiny DLP video projector, approximately 6”x5”x2” that can display a decent SD (800 x 600) image against any flat surface. One particularly interesting application was demonstrated by putting the projector on its back & shining it on the ceiling, where it could be used on a side table to provide an easy way to watch TV in bed. It also makes a good alternative for a PC monitor, since it doesn’t take up much room on a desktop. Available in a month of two, this unit will retail for $700.
One very exciting new product announcement was from LG Electronics. Their new Super Multi Blue high-definition videodisc player is capable of playing both Blu-ray Discs and HD-DVD’s, which will eliminate forever the problem thus far of the complete incompatibility between the two high-definition disc formats. The new LG player, which will ship in 30-60 days & retail for $1,199, will provide full 1080p images from both types of the high-definition discs & will also up-convert standard DVD’s to the 1080i HD format.
However, as the “most needed” new product, I’d have to choose the Home Decor speaker system from Acoustic Research. It’s a 5.1 surround speaker system that comes with a variety of acoustically transparent speaker cover options. So, instead of having to look at tabletop speakers, you see a bunch of books or a mantle clock. Instead of a wall-mount speaker, you see a sconce. Instead of a floor-standing speaker, you see a basket or a plant stand. Instead of a subwoofer, you see a leather trunk.
Great sound and the ability to keep a decorator-conscious wife or significant other happy...now that’s true technological progress!
