CES 2008: Day 3
Travelling from booth to booth looking for that hot new item
Tags: CES 2008 Categories: DVD/TV Features, Features, PC Features, Tech Features
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jan 8th, 2008
 |
Day 3 started early enough, after getting up, showering, going to get breakfast, and getting a couple of things posted to the website, I was headed to the first appointment of the day which was a press conference at 7:30 with MusicIP. I was very much in the minority, with more executives and representatives of the company than members of the press. First up was a performance of a few songs by Nashville artist Shannon Lee Briggs. Andrew Stess, the CEO of Music IP then came out to describe briefly what the company does. MusicIP provides technology that works with MP3 players to manage the content. There are pieces that help to no only find specific songs, but to also recommend new music. The new partnership today that was announced was with LyricFind, to allow MP3 players to find songs not jut by title, but by song lyric. With all of the songs that are being loaded onto MP3 players the ability to find a song can be very useful. I saw a demonstration of the tool in action, where dynamically created playlists were created instantaneously based on what song was playing at the time. Based on “mood” users can create a list of songs with a whole mess of variables. I plan on using it as I convert my music collection throughout the year and I’ll le you know how it goes.
Westinghouse showed off its upcoming (March and April) line of TX televisions each featuring 1080p through all connections, including component (for those Xbox 360 owners that bought their console early – the nes without the HDMI). A new line of 1080p sets (26”, 32” and 40”) with front loading DVD slots look perfect for the bedroom. There is also a range of “kitchen” displays that can be wall mounted or under the counter. A new line of computer monitors coming in March between 16 and 26 inches feature a 2 millisecond response time and range in price form $169 to $499.
I was shown two panels that featured wireless HDMI technology as well. It’s still a ways off, coming in the second quarter for commercial use, and then consumers will be able to get it at their local retailer towards the end of this year or early next. This new feature will add about $200 to the price of a set, but it could very well be worth it. Another cool item I saw was what they are referring to as “passive 3d” which is a combination of software and monitor hardware that makes almost any image 3D – including video. Yes, there is a limited viewing area, and it is still in development, but the applications for this (such as gaming) are rather exciting. It’s still quite a ways off though.
I checked out the company making the wireless HDMI for Westinghouse: Pulse-Link. John Santhoff, Chief Technology Officer talked up the technology and said that it is currently headed out to manufacturers (such as Westinghouse) and products are soon to appear on retail shelves. It will b e a while before the Westinghouse sets reach the consumer, but Gefen will be offering a solution that will work with any television. The CWAVE brand is what consumers need to look for. This is an exciting technology. What makes it even more exciting is that the company is able to pump that same signal through coax cable or a powerline. Pulse-Home is working on “whole home’ solutions with its CWAVE branded solutions.
Further meetings with more companies and people led to the final event of the day with Mitshubishi unveiling its Laser TV.
President & CEO of Mitsubishi Digital Electronics, Masaharu Abe came out and touted laser as “the best solution” for big screen entertainment and said it “will create a new category in the TV market.” Frank DeMartin, Vice President of Sales and Marketing remarked that “It’s the most pure light source on the planet.”
Even though the screen size was 65 inches (rather large) from where I was at, which was pretty far away in the “cheap seats” the picture looked amazingly clear and sharp – even the text. As impressive as this unveiling may have been, until more consumer ready units become available and we are able to look at them on a side by side comparison, we are holding final judgment. It does look damn cool though.
Also unveiled was the company’s 3D television technology, which showed off a trailer for Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D as well as clips fro a few films, including Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. This was very nice and we hope to hear more about this in the future. The 3D effects were very well done.
[ Post the first comment | View related posts ]
Tags: CES 2008
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jan 8th, 2008 and is filed under DVD/TV Features, Features, PC Features, Tech Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
