January 2009
12/02/09 16:54
January 2009 - CES Show, Las Vegas ... consumer technology manufacturers gamble on one of their hardest hitting showcase events
But first, what is it? It’s a show – a big one, organised by America’s Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), representing more than 2,200 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products.
CHECKOUT THE PHOTOS AT THE END OF THIS BLOG.
Arriving in Las Vegas from a snowbound UK via a dog leg and snowbound Minneapolis, it was quite a novelty to feel natural heat and have to dig out sunglasses.
I attend the opening and as always underestimate the sheer size of the show and the fact it is actually spread over two or three locations in Vegas as the main international conference centre is never big enough.
My first impression on a brisk walk around the main halls, particularly the North halls, was there was nothing stunningly new but what was shown by a number of companies revealed that thin had got thinner, green got greener and 3D is still confusing everyone.
There’s clearly also a big issue as to how to get content from one end of the room to the other, to which I mean an American size room not an English size room, as it would appear the average American needs their Blueray HD content besides them feeding a large flat panel TV at the other end of the den, and thus arguably too far away for HDMI cables.
Several manufacturers were showing the latest flat panel TVs, some as thin as 6mm. It’s achieved by one or two companies by moving as much of the electronics as possible into the stand; seeing HD content on 6mm or less deep screens is extremely impressive.
Some companies were also showing OLED. The next generation of ultra flat, on two stands they were showing them curved, while SONY rolled out the world’s first flexible colour OLED screen ultra flat going from flat to curved (does this mean TV in the round?)
Also noticeable, given the cynical environmentally friendly Americans, was the range of large screen flat panel with considerably reduced power consumption figures. For instance on the LG stand, an LCD monitor in energy saving mode was running at half power to a normal LCD monitor.
All exhibitors were stating between 50 and 60 % power consumption savings but without revealing any picture deterioration (though that could have been carefully engineered suggests the cynic).
In conjunction with thin getting thinner, big getting bigger and green getting greener, most companies were showing enhanced picture technology with some, particularly Sony, showing the world’s first 240Hz LCD HDTV.
The comparison picture quality visually took your breath away. It just goes to show that with true HD content on an enhanced screen, the experience is almost better than real!
What was interesting was nothing to do with the technology but more to do with the brand presence. For example, Philips were not showing while Sony and Panasonic had stand in similar size to Hitachi and Sharp.
These were all dwarfed by the stands from Samsung and LG, brimming with new or enhanced technology, these were visually and informatively the best stands of the show. LG were showing everything from screens, monitors, PC’s, DVD players and a huge range of laptops, all running Blueray and wirelessly interconnecting.
The biggest assault was the large range of 3D TV’s being shown, some requiring glasses (much easier to view – less headache) and others were showing 3D content on screens not requiring glasses (but these required fairly critical viewing angles and created a bit of an eye/brain conflict).
A subset of 3D, gaming companies were working actively on next generation 3D games but without using 3D as a trick mode. This enabled cartoon characters to have real depth rather than just two dimensional.
Several manufacturers were showing 3D TVs requiring glasses. These were Hollywood movies which have been commissioned in 3D such as the new version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Barring the first two minutes where they trick 3D FX such lobbing things out of the screen to make the audience duck, progressed into using “normal 3D” to give the film some real depth. A notable scene employed a T Rex of sheer menace not only in scale but, by the clever use of Dolby sound via a massive subwoofer, sound, with the very ground vibrating every time the monster moved. Does this equal immersed TV?
In conjunction with Blueray, one or two companies - particularly Pioneer - were showing BD Live.
This is where a Blueray disc interfaces via the internet allowing streaming content to supplement the disc content, enabling interactive dialogue via broadband to other users, thus taking the whole visual experience to a completely different level.
Some companies are beginning to address the issue of how to make all this kit talk to each other without necessarily terrifying the average consumer.
For instance Panasonic were showing a number of solutions as to how the consumer could interface with a library of MP3, films, photos, all seamlessly interconnecting content presented on one large screen in a way that was intuitive for the average user.
Wandering round Sands Exhibition Hall, I found a number of companies showing advanced ideas in technology which are still some way off commercial reality. Fun though.
Intel were showing how via a home monitor wirelessly connected to health based diagnostic machinery can connect directly to either your local doctor or hospital in real time without involving the patient having to travel. Talked about for some time, it was nice to see some real solutions.
All work and no play etc so I went round the automotive exhibition area, too. It is always amazing how large American vehicles are still; you can cram a ton of audio visual kit into a Hummer.
The auto industry often leads in improvements in usability. New technology has to work with the driver, who in theory should be keeping his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, improving text to speech and voice recognition technology no end. If it can work in a car then it should be able to work in a living room.
Bit by bit, the future is now.
How thin? This thin...
How Green? This Green...
No more snagging! Bye bye wires...
But first, what is it? It’s a show – a big one, organised by America’s Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), representing more than 2,200 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products.
CHECKOUT THE PHOTOS AT THE END OF THIS BLOG.
Arriving in Las Vegas from a snowbound UK via a dog leg and snowbound Minneapolis, it was quite a novelty to feel natural heat and have to dig out sunglasses.
I attend the opening and as always underestimate the sheer size of the show and the fact it is actually spread over two or three locations in Vegas as the main international conference centre is never big enough.
My first impression on a brisk walk around the main halls, particularly the North halls, was there was nothing stunningly new but what was shown by a number of companies revealed that thin had got thinner, green got greener and 3D is still confusing everyone.
There’s clearly also a big issue as to how to get content from one end of the room to the other, to which I mean an American size room not an English size room, as it would appear the average American needs their Blueray HD content besides them feeding a large flat panel TV at the other end of the den, and thus arguably too far away for HDMI cables.
Several manufacturers were showing the latest flat panel TVs, some as thin as 6mm. It’s achieved by one or two companies by moving as much of the electronics as possible into the stand; seeing HD content on 6mm or less deep screens is extremely impressive.
Some companies were also showing OLED. The next generation of ultra flat, on two stands they were showing them curved, while SONY rolled out the world’s first flexible colour OLED screen ultra flat going from flat to curved (does this mean TV in the round?)
Also noticeable, given the cynical environmentally friendly Americans, was the range of large screen flat panel with considerably reduced power consumption figures. For instance on the LG stand, an LCD monitor in energy saving mode was running at half power to a normal LCD monitor.
All exhibitors were stating between 50 and 60 % power consumption savings but without revealing any picture deterioration (though that could have been carefully engineered suggests the cynic).
In conjunction with thin getting thinner, big getting bigger and green getting greener, most companies were showing enhanced picture technology with some, particularly Sony, showing the world’s first 240Hz LCD HDTV.
The comparison picture quality visually took your breath away. It just goes to show that with true HD content on an enhanced screen, the experience is almost better than real!
What was interesting was nothing to do with the technology but more to do with the brand presence. For example, Philips were not showing while Sony and Panasonic had stand in similar size to Hitachi and Sharp.
These were all dwarfed by the stands from Samsung and LG, brimming with new or enhanced technology, these were visually and informatively the best stands of the show. LG were showing everything from screens, monitors, PC’s, DVD players and a huge range of laptops, all running Blueray and wirelessly interconnecting.
The biggest assault was the large range of 3D TV’s being shown, some requiring glasses (much easier to view – less headache) and others were showing 3D content on screens not requiring glasses (but these required fairly critical viewing angles and created a bit of an eye/brain conflict).
A subset of 3D, gaming companies were working actively on next generation 3D games but without using 3D as a trick mode. This enabled cartoon characters to have real depth rather than just two dimensional.
Several manufacturers were showing 3D TVs requiring glasses. These were Hollywood movies which have been commissioned in 3D such as the new version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Barring the first two minutes where they trick 3D FX such lobbing things out of the screen to make the audience duck, progressed into using “normal 3D” to give the film some real depth. A notable scene employed a T Rex of sheer menace not only in scale but, by the clever use of Dolby sound via a massive subwoofer, sound, with the very ground vibrating every time the monster moved. Does this equal immersed TV?
In conjunction with Blueray, one or two companies - particularly Pioneer - were showing BD Live.
This is where a Blueray disc interfaces via the internet allowing streaming content to supplement the disc content, enabling interactive dialogue via broadband to other users, thus taking the whole visual experience to a completely different level.
Some companies are beginning to address the issue of how to make all this kit talk to each other without necessarily terrifying the average consumer.
For instance Panasonic were showing a number of solutions as to how the consumer could interface with a library of MP3, films, photos, all seamlessly interconnecting content presented on one large screen in a way that was intuitive for the average user.
Wandering round Sands Exhibition Hall, I found a number of companies showing advanced ideas in technology which are still some way off commercial reality. Fun though.
Intel were showing how via a home monitor wirelessly connected to health based diagnostic machinery can connect directly to either your local doctor or hospital in real time without involving the patient having to travel. Talked about for some time, it was nice to see some real solutions.
All work and no play etc so I went round the automotive exhibition area, too. It is always amazing how large American vehicles are still; you can cram a ton of audio visual kit into a Hummer.
The auto industry often leads in improvements in usability. New technology has to work with the driver, who in theory should be keeping his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, improving text to speech and voice recognition technology no end. If it can work in a car then it should be able to work in a living room.
Bit by bit, the future is now.
How thin? This thin...
How Green? This Green...No more snagging! Bye bye wires...