The annual Consumer Electronics Show was held recently in Las Vegas and for the, let's see... Let me do the math here... It was my 24th consecutive CES in Las Vegas. Each year, I get more jaded regarding this show. And I'm not alone as this year overall attendance was down, and a number of major manufacturers in specialty audio and video products either did not show at CES, or they showed off-site. My company did the latter as we showed at the Mirage this year, which is not part of CES. More about that later on.
The big buzz at CES this year was 3-D television and a number of companies - including LG and Panasonic - showed prototype flat panel units that featured built in 3-D capabilities. These televisions will require special glasses for viewing 3-D images on the screen and the first ones should be on the market by this summer. The 3-D format these manufacturers will be using is similar to the same type of 3-D that is used in IMAX movie theaters where polarized glasses make filtered images appear to pop out of the screen. I'm not quite sure how these manufacturers achieve this as IMAX and other 3-D systems I've worked with in the past have always had projected images on screens.
No manufacturer announced prices for their 3-D televisions, but industry estimates peg the price for a 42" flat panel with 3-D capability as starting at around $3000. 3-D content will be coming in the form of games, Blu-Ray DVD's, and programs broadcast in 3-D. DirecTV and Panasonic announced a joint venture at CES that will culminate in the satellite provider upgrading their system this summer to allow their subscribers to view 3-D content that is broadcast by a 3-D network. ESPN recently announced the debut of ESPN 3-D will take place on June 11 when they broadcast a World Cup game between host South Africa and Mexico. DirecTV is also working with other broadcasters such as Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, HDNet and TBS who hope to be able to deliver 3-D programming beginning this summer.
One thing that really isn't being discussed is the possible harmful effects of 3-D television. A few years ago when we were working with Sensio, a Quebec company that was pioneering stereoscopic 3-D processors, we learned that prolonged exposure to 3-D images can affect the equalibrium of some people to the point where they can get physically sick. I was told by a Microsoft engineer who had been working on 3-D games for their XBox platform that doctors told them that the most a person should be exposed to 3-D at one time is 45 minutes. That's why they were leery of coming out with 3-D games as some people play these games for up to 4 to 6 hours at a sitting. But prolonged 3-D exposure affects people differently and the only warning I've seen from manufacturers in regard to how 3-D will physically affect a person is to go to a 3-D movie and see if it doesn't make you ill. That's it. It will be interesting to hear some instances where watching long periods of 3-D made someone sick.
Interactive TV was also big at CES. Manufacturers will have televisions that will have built in Wi-Fi capabilities, some will support Skype communications, and Panasonic and Vizio announced a collaboration with Netflix which will allow the consumer to download movies directly to their television. The up and coming Vudu on-demand movie service will be featured on some Mitsubishi, Sharp and Toshiba models later this year.
Speaking of movies, Blu-Ray players continue to grow in numbers and in performance. A number of manufacturers showed units that will feature upgraded BD-Live capability that will enhance the movie you're watching by being able to download additional content from the Internet and be able to add features as you're watching the movie. For example, the BD-Live content for the movie "Julie and Julia" will allow for a person to download some recipes Julia Child used in her cookbook, "The French Chef". The movie "Transformers" allows for a BD-Live download of a short feature called "Robot Ninjas". The jury is still out on the benefits of BD-Live, but one thing is for certain. We probably won't see any conventional DVD players being manufactured by 2012 - or sooner. The good thing is that you'll be able to play your regular DVD's on a Blu-Ray player (as well as CD's, SACD's and HDCD's).
Computer geeks are breathlessly awaiting the arrival of the long rumored Apple tablet-style computer that will allow a user to take their computer just about anywhere. That didn't happen at CES, but a number of other companies showed their prototype versions of slate tablet computers that will no doubt come out soon after Apple finally releases its tablet.
Mobile DTV will be even bigger come 2010. Qualcomm's Flo-TV has been hampered by the lack of programming (only about 15 channels) and the fact that only a handful of users could pick up the system. However, Qualcomm announced at CES that they have partnered with Apple to bring Flo-TV to iPhones. They've developed a new battery pack for iPhones that will double as a receiver. Not to be outdone, a new company by the name of Tivit (right) showed a device that will allow for streaming of television programming to any Wi-Fi device - including iPhones and Blackberrys. It's small and will fit in a pocket to stream video instantly.
With the recession still a hot issue with manufacturers, retailers and consumers, we saw a number of specialty audio and video companies pull back from CES this year. For the past four years at CES, my company has shown our products in suites at the Hilton. The Hilton was part of CES, but we found ourselves more and more isolated as many other manufacturers began to show privately off-site at other hotels along the Las Vegas Strip. With a number of high-end exhibitors over at the Venetian, we found that a number of our dealers and clients weren't willing to make the long trek between the two hotels.
This year we had three suites at the Mirage, just across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Venetian. I was hoping we'd get into the penthouse suites on the top five floors of the hotel, but we were relegated to smaller suites on the 2nd, 3rd and 6th floor. It was possible that we couldn't get those suites because it was our first year there. While it was nice in that our bedrooms were attached to the suites, but it didn't afford us much of a view. Whoever said that nearly every room at the Mirage had a spectacular view didn't stay in room 3001.
While we showed a few new products from Focal and Cambridge Audio, the biggest splash my company made was showing the Micromega WM-10 Airstream wireless hi-fi music network in our 2nd floor suite. The WM-10 Airstream is a dedicated WHi-Fi network that allows users to stream WAV or lossless music files from their computers to their hi-fi systems. It uses 802.11 technology - the best wireless technology available - to stream music to the unit, then it has a built in high-quality digital-to-analog circuit that converts the information to high-fidelity analog information that then plugs into an existing stereo system.
As more and more people are using their computers to store music, they've found that the sound quality of the outputs on most computers is pretty bad. It's usually caused by cheap D to A converters that inhibit the sound quality. We've been selling the Cambridge Audio DacMagic unit for a little over a year and while it does a remarkable job in upgrading the sound quality out of computers, it doesn't allow for wireless transfer of music. Since most computers in homes are in a room away from the main sound system, the DacMagic doesn't allow for the mobility of music. The Micromega WM-10 Airstream is a great alternative for a wireless D to A converter. I had one in my house for a couple weeks before I began to let dealers use it before Christmas and the sound quality was just stunning. You honestly couldn't tell the music was being streamed from a computer. It sounded almost as good as listening to my Cambridge Audio 840C CD player - and that's a helluva CD player.
We had a morning press conference with editors and writers from nearly 20 print and on-line audio magazines showing off the WM-10 Airstream. While I didn't attend the press conference, I understand the demonstration was a huge hit and nearly everybody who witnessed and heard the demo requested a unit for themselves so they could do their own review on the product. We even had people seeking us out who had heard about the demo from others.
It was up in the air as to whether we'd attend CES in 2011. Frankly, my "give-a-shit" factor for CES is pretty low. But our showing off-site at the Mirage was deemed as a success by my boss and he plans on having us come back again next year. While we were affected by the economy in 2009, it didn't hurt us as it did other manufacturers. Still the savings we realized by not showing as part of CES was amazing. It cost us about 1/8th the amount to show at the Mirage as it did at the Hilton. I've always liked the Mirage and even though it is showing some wear and tear, it's still one of the nicer places in Vegas. I think I'll actually look forward to going back next year.
Always good to read your spin on electronics. Don't think we're ready to get a 3-D television, though.
Posted by: R. Coleman | January 20, 2010 at 06:25 PM